Independent Internet Research- Valid Research?

Hawthorne Effects- temporary change in behavior and performance in response to a change in the environmental conditions; subjects behavioral studies change their performance as a result of being observed; can be due to new or increased attention; used to identify any type of short-lived or increase productivity.
-This term was originally used to describe how people reacted to changes in their work environment and worker productivity, it is now used in all types of experiments and trials and is a confounding variable in the results.
-Experimenters and study participants may be guilty of committing the Hawthorne Effect.

Studies and criticisms of the Hawthorne Effect describe the direct application of this concept to modern human resources, organizational behavior, and management theories. I read in a HBS publication that leadership that pays sufficient attention to the people and cultural variables and the relationships among people are more successful than ones that do not. Basically, improving employees’ work environment will make them more productive. The article credits the historical Hawthorne experiments with ideas concerning motivational influences, job satisfaction, and resistance to change, group norms, worker participation, and effective leadership.

Placebo Effects- medical phenomenon in which an inert treatment (the placebo) improves a patient’s condition relative to similar patients who receive no treatment at all; placebos have no effect on the body, but patients treated with them report improvement similar to the experimental substance
-Related to the patient's beliefs about what the placebo will do
-Physiological effect of a placebo depends upon its suggested or anticipated action
-Related to this power of expectation is the person’s belief that the treatment that they are taking is real: in both those taking real drugs and those taking placebos, those that believe they are taking the real treatment (whether they in fact are or not) show a stronger effect, and vise versa, those that think they are taking the placebo (whether they are or not) a lesser one.
-Used to create "blind" trials in which the participants do not know whether they are getting the active treatment or not, so that physical effects can be measured independently of the participants' expectations--expectations are equal in all cases.

The Placebo Effect is not limited to medicine or substances. In the 70’s, it was examined for the interest of subliminal messages in advertising. The purpose of certain words and animal figures subliminally placed in advertising was to buy the products or follow the suggestions in the ads.

*Both the Hawthorne and Placebo are effects of EXPECTATION.

Convenience Samples- patients are selected at the convenience of the researcher; researcher makes no attempt, or only a limited attempt, to insure that this sample is an accurate representation of some larger group or population
-The people who were left out might behave differently than the people in the convenience sample, therefore the results may not be indicative of the larger population of interest
-Non-probability sampling technique
-Selected only according to specific characteristics that the researcher cares about

Amidst the economic recession

Something that caught my attention:
I was at a meeting with the Dean of the School of Pharmacy and some of my student peers and we were discussing ways to raise money for our end of the year party. The Dean suggested to ask for a corporate donation. And that there was one company in particular who was doing extremely well despite the current economic situation and that they are the ones we should approach if any (from a pharmacy perspective). She was talking about Giant Eagle. This raises a lot of business questions in my head. Why Giant Eagle over a country-wide chain like Walgreens? Is it because they are locally owned and operated? Are their pricing plan and FuelPerks offering that much more of an advantage? How have they built a better “pharmacy” reputation when they are better known as a grocer? Or are people overlooking this fact and other factors are more important to their decisions as consumers?

"How much is your time worth?"

You might find this interesting:
http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/08/commentary/everyday/sahadi/
I completely agree with Hamermesh rather than the complex equation proposed by Walker when determining the value of my time. Doing something I dislike very much makes me more miserable than suffering (or the thought of) over the money I lose for paying a replacement. One of two conclusions can be drawn about my value of time. Either money CAN buy me happiness. Or money may not buy me happiness, but at least it can make me miserable in comfort.

Statistics and Journals in general

We spend a lot of time in pharmacy school learning how to analyze the validity of journals. Due to the nature of our profession, it is important to distinguish between research outcomes that do and do not have the power to change practice. Statistics are involved, but do not have as much of an influence on determining whether or not a drug works and the incidence of side effects. These things either do or do not happen. In the medical field, I would say that it is more difficult to “misuse” statistics because of the nature of the profession, and we haven’t learned this to be a common error in conducting trials.

Social Lubricant

Global Study?

How would you plan & execute a study that posed questions about beauty to thousands of women in many countries?

• Choose countries in which results would have the largest impact on sales/business
• Randomly obtain addresses
• Write survey in primary language of country to avoid selection bias
• Provide mailing envelopes and stamps
• Offer incentive for answering the questions
• Objective, not phrased with suggestive questioning
• Multiple choice best for calculating results, but leading and don’t get all-encompassing results; fill in best for honesty and descriptive, but people don’t find them easy and are less likely to complete. Mix of both??
• Broad spectrum of “beauty”- not solely physical attributes
• Learn who the “teen idols” are in each
  

What specific questions would you want answered in such a study?

• Most important traits that make a beautiful woman
• What factors play a role in society
• Preferred types- hair, clothing, skin, height, weight, quiet/outspoken
• Do you see yourself as beautiful?
• Whose opinion matters most about your beauty?
• How do you rate your knowledge about beauty?
• Where do you get or who do you go to for beauty advice?
• Favorite brands/places to shop
• Amount of money spent on “beauty” products per month
• What magazines do you read?
  

Does Dove have to be concerned that their brand will be associated with “robust” women?
No. I think it makes you think about why the people are in the ad and what message Dove is conveying more so than the image or quality of their brand when compared to another. I can remember thinking “what the hell?!” when I first saw a Dove Girl commercial. This was more of a “what the hell, she’s not a mode,” than “what the hell is Dove trying to do” expression. I have actually forgot about the marketing campaign until this assignment proving that it has had zero effects on my thoughts about their brand and my buying habits.The ad will definitely make people talk which in itself implants the brand into consumers’ minds. Although consumers may not want to be like or envy the Dove Girls, if women can relate or connect to something about the brand, it may influence buying habits.

What marketing implications does your team see?