Furthermore how often something is mentioned isnt

Furthermore, how often something is mentioned isn’t always a sign of its impor-
tance to the research. However, tabulation can keep researchers honest, serving as
a counterweight to any biases. In other words, if a researcher assumes a category
is important but it’s only mentioned a handful of times, it can’t be argued that that
category will be central to the decision process later. Tabulation can also be used to
identify co-occurring themes.
Step 2: Data Display
Tables, figures, diagrams, and matrices are helpful in summarizing data: They compact
larger amounts of text and quickly convey ideas in a visually organized way. Exhibits 9.6,
9.7, and 9.8 in your textbook provide examples.
Step 3: Conclusion Drawing/Verification
During this step, the project is checked for common biases and other threats to drawing a
credible conclusion, which are listed in Exhibit 9.9. The researchers must establish credi-
bility at this stage as well. Credibility is the degree to which the research can be trusted.
As you may have guessed by now, a credible research study is both reliable and valid.
Emic validity means that the research results make sense to the people who were being
studied; this is a form of member checking. Cross-researcher reliability results when
the same coding is used by different researchers. But what complicates qualitative data
analysis is the fact that no absolute, “correct” way to interpret data exists. So how can the
data be either valid or reliable?
Triangulation helps lend credibility to qualitative research. This is the act of checking
the analysis against multiple perspectives, including different data collection methods,
different data sets, previous time periods, other researchers, and so on. Having other
qualitative researchers look over the analysis, or provide a peer review, also bolsters
the credibility.
Writing the Report
When writing about the research findings, researchers need to remember that nonre -
searchers or those who otherwise weren’t involved with the study are likely the ones who
will read the report. Therefore, the study should be well explained and organized into
three main sections:
1. An introduction, which includes details about the research problem and objectives
as well as the methodology that was used

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MARKETING RESEARCH
Lesson 4
2. Analysis of the data and findings, which explains the results of the study and
includes secondary data to support claims, data displays to summarize and clar-
ify ideas, and verbatims, or quotes from respondents that underscore important
information
3. Conclusions and recommendations, a section in which the researcher summarizes
the main points and provides some next-step suggestions
Self-Check 4.1
Complete Review Questions 1–9 and Discussion Questions 1 and 4 at the
end of Chapter 9 in your textbook.