Introduction
The research will use water as the product. The research will involve two groups; the control group and the experimental group. The people in the control group will be given water in two cups labeled A and B. This water will be the same, but people will be advised to taste both and give their comments. People in the experimental group will be given the same water, but one cup will be labeled with Evian brand, and the other one will have no brand name. All the four types of water to be tested by both groups are the same water. In addition, people in the experimental group will also be required to taste the water in both cups and record their rating on a questionnaire. To create awareness among people in the experimental group, some water bottles with brand levels will be placed on the desk.
Research objectives
- How a preconceived idea about a products brand name affects customer’s judgment on:
- Quality of a product
- Taste of the product
- Whether knowing the brand name of products has some effects on the customer when choosing the best quality.
A summary of some of the background research in this area and rationale for your study
Several types of research concerning various disciplines have been earlier conducted in this learning institution. Most of the research done here in the past has proofed to be successful. This research would be participated by other students, as they are the main participants.
Clearly stated hypothesis
When customers are provided with a preconceived idea concerning the brand name of a product, customers tend to choose the brand name products as the best quality compared to the competitors’ products. This is likely to happen even when both products are no-name brands.
What is your independent variable, how many levels/conditions, and how will you operationally define it?
Independent variable: the independent variable is whether the group is told the brand name of the product or not. The experiment would contain one 1V, which has two levels (Rummel, 2008). This will be defined as whether good taste or bad taste.
- Control group: these are people who will not be told anything about the brand name of the product. They would only be told to taste the water in two cups and choose the one that tasted better.
- Experimental group: these people would be told the imaginary brand name for one type of water and not the other. They are then requested to taste both and choose the one that tasted better than the other.
Will this be a between-subjects or within-subjects design?
The subjects will only be used once, hence it will be a between-subject design.
What is your dependent variable, and how will you operationally define it?
Dependent variable: this is which product they choose as having a better taste. This would also be whether a good or a bad taste for the product.
Are there any un-controlled or extraneous variables? If so, how might you control them?
There would be a presence of extraneous variables like the pre-knowledge of the Evian brand among the people in the experimental group. This would be controlled by ensuring that an extraneous variable remains constant to all experimental units, throughout the research (Rubin & Babbie, 2010).
What scale of measurement will your DV be measured in?
The dependent variable will be measured in nominal, as there would be categorical numbers used as identifiers. Male will be coded as 1 and female will be coded as 2.
Which statistic will you use to analyze your results?
The results will be analyzed by T-test, as it would be necessary to assess how different are the two means of the two groups. It is the best analyzing method, especially when trying to compare the means of two groups (Bernard, 2011).
References
Bernard, M. (2011). The research procedures of social scientists. New York: Pennsylvania.
Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. (2010). Research methods for social work. New York: Cengage Learning.
Rummel, F. (2008). An introduction to research procedures in education. Michigan: University of Michigan.