Acknowledgements We would like to express our gratitude to the following persons
Methodological approach Pre-understanding and pre-assumptions
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- Methodological perspectives
- Hermeneutics
- Qualitative method
Methodological approachPre-understanding and pre-assumptionsFirst of all, We do not take a post-modern perspective in this study. This means our analysis of the problem will not be a post-modern one. Post-modernism, post-modern advertising and the post-modern consumer is what we are studying. But we do this with a rationalists perspective. We will consider the multinational companies, who's advertising material serves as input to the study, not as idealistic groups of artists, randomly choosing their ways of communication, but rather as profit maximising companies defined in microeconomic theory. When companies invest in marketing, according to microeconomic theory, their goal is to benefit from this investment via higher demand for their products. The companies may want this with either a short or a long time perspective. Regardless of this, we state that their intention is to profit from the investment just as they would like to profit from any other investment in capital or labour. Due to the preferences of the young post modern consumer, known to some companies, it can sometimes be optimal to hide marketing efforts. Just because a firm chooses not to advertise in the same channels, to the same extent or in the same shape, this does not imply that its profit maximising behaviour has changed. Further on, we expect companies to use all available information to optimise their marketing efforts. Anything that is possible in marketing will be done if it serves the organisations long term objectives. In short, the consumer might be behaving post-modern. The companies have the preferences of a profit maximising organisation. Methodological perspectivesScience can be viewed from different perspectives, depending upon which Scientific school one refers to. We will in this part of our paper present the two schools that have had the strongest influence upon the division between qualitative and quantitative methods. Namely positivism and hermeneutic. The school of the positivism thoughts is based upon the thoughts of natural science, while the hermeneutic school and its thoughts is based upon historicism. In this theory part we will not deal with positivism since this perspective is not the base for our study. Instead we will briefly explain what are the main characteristics of the hermeneutic school. HermeneuticsThe hermeneutic view is holistic, which means that one thing can not be understood without its context. A single word will for example give a meaning together with other words in a sentence. It is ideal not just to understand a single phenomena but to understand and uphold as much as possible in a specific situation. It is not until the whole context is understood that real comprehension is reached. ( Lantz 1993) According to hermeneutic thoughts there is a big difference between explanation and understanding. A happening can occur and be explained in a similar way, due to same reasons. But an understanding of the happening differs from one occasion to another, depending upon the persons involved, and as mentioned earlier also their social background. ( Anderson 1979) We have decided to let our research have a hermeneutic departure, since it is in our interests to understand why certain commercials work and other don't, if that should be the case, that is. We want to understand at least some of the reasons for the participants views on the advertising. Qualitative methodThis part will present the main differences between qualitative and quantitative method , but since our research is qualitative in nature, the main focus will be put upon qualitative methodology. Different qualitative methods of data collection will briefly be presented and the one we intend to use in our research will be more thoroughly explored. Depending upon the problem area the researcher chooses either a qualitative or a quantitative approach to research. Generally a quantitative approach seeks knowledge that can measure, describe and explain phenomena. While a qualitative approach seeks knowledge that can understand and explore the phenomena. There obviously is a difference between the two approaches and its search for knowledge. The difference between the two approaches is widely discussed by different authors and the distinction varies depending upon the researcher and its discipline. (Starrin & Svensson 1994) has identified the following distinctions made by various researchers. 1. The first distinction between qualitative versus quantitative methodology lies within the precision of measuring of data. Data that can give very precise answers is said to be quantitative while data that gives no definite answers is more quantitative. 2. The second distinction that has been identified between the two disciplines lies within the degree of subjectivity and objectivity. Qualitative data is characterised by its believes in subjective perception, while quantitative data is more objective and independent of subjective experiences. 3. The third distinction has been made in connection with two scientific theories. The qualitative method has been connected with anti-positivistic or rather hermeneutic thoughts, while the quantitative method has been connected with positivistic thoughts. 4. The final distinction being identified has been done by dividing qualities with qualitative characteristic from qualities with quantitative characteristic. Temperature and distance is for example easy to measure, while beauty is not measurable. Making a distinction of this kind can be hard since it is not easy to draw the line between what is qualitative and not. ( Starrin & Svensson 1994) We have now decided which Scientific theory we believe our research fits into, and with which methodology our research will be proceeded. How do we now get the needed information for our research? No matter if the research is qualitative or quantitative in nature the information being searched have to be characterised by the following four concepts. Though the four concept have different meanings depending if the research is qualitative or quantitative.
( Patel & Tebelius 1987) Since our research will take a qualitative departure we will below further explore the four concepts, but only from a qualitative perspective. The importance within the first concept is to get as wide information as possible about the problem area of the research. The researcher have to make sure that the chosen situations and respondents can contribute with relevant information. The respondents will be chosen systematically and according to predetermined criteria. For example their position in society. Further on it is also important to make sure that the research problem is important, not only for the researcher, but also for the people being researched. The respondents have to believe that the problem is relevant, in order to give honest and meaningful information. In order for the research to be more applicable it can be good to use various forms of collecting data, like participation observation, focus groups, interviews etc. If the researcher is aware of the life conditions of the persons in the research the chance to get more comprehensive and valid information is higher, as a result the concordance between the intended research and its results will be higher. Though it is important to emphasise the objectivity, since important aspects might be forgotten and taken for granted because they seem so obvious. One condition for making interpretation possible is that words and actions are the same. But also that the people being researched are honest about their experiences and feelings. In order for the researcher to get as reliable information as possible he/she can let the people in the research read the interpretation, as a check up that the right perceptions have been caught.. Finally the researcher being exact and honest is decisive for a good research. This is specifically important in the interpretations, since this part is dependent upon the researcher only. The researcher has to be able to present arguments for the interpretation, present different alternatives, if there are any, as well as give the reader a clear line of the content of the research and on what basis the conclusions are made. ( Patel & Tebelius 1987) In the study we are about to pursue we want to explore the mindset of young consumers. In marketing research there are a few common ways to gain this knowledge. Depending upon different factors like for example the market, product type and the aim of the study, one uses the most appropriate type of research. Download 201.4 Kb. Share with your friends:
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