Defining the research problem and research objectives is often regarded as the most difficult step in the marketing research project. Although this step is challenging, it is critically important because it is impossible to solve problems that have not been clearly defined. With the research problem defined, researchers must decide on the type of research they will pursue to generate the data they need. The three types of research (also called objectives) are exploratory, descriptive, and causal. Match the problem description into the type of research that would most likely be used to generate the appropriate data.

1. Exploratory
2. Descriptive
3. Causal

a. Thirsty athletes: Greg needs to understand how the consumption of sports drinks varies by geographical region.
b. Hypotheses help: Joe's research problem is still not clearly defined, and he needs to generate some hypotheses for his research.
c. High heels: Sophia wants to know if she can increase the sales of shoes in her boutique by moving the display from the back of the store to next to the registers.
d. Yoga love: Gema wants to open a yoga studio in her hometown, but first she wants to understand how her hometown's residents feel about practicing yoga.

Problem Description and Type of Research

a. Thirsty athletes: Greg needs to understand how the consumption of sports drinks varies by geographical region.

2. Descriptive

b. Hypotheses help: Joe's research problem is still not clearly defined, and he needs to generate some hypotheses for his research.

1. Exploratory

c. High heels: Sophia wants to know if she can increase the sales of shoes in her boutique by moving the display from the back of the store to next to the registers.

3. Causal

d. Yoga love: Gema wants to open a yoga studio in her hometown, but first she wants to understand how her hometown's residents feel about practicing yoga.

1. Exploratory

Explanation:

1. Exploratory research clarifies the nature of the problem to be addressed.  It is a preliminary research undertaken before additional research is conducted.

2. Descriptive research describes the situation of a problem by asking how, what, where, and where questions instead of focusing on “why” a particular phenomenon occurs.

3. Causal research (or experimental studies) determines whether a variable or more variables cause or affect the values of other research variables.  It traces the cause and effect of a phenomenon.

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