October 2006

Muddled by Multivariate Methods? We Give You the Building Blocks for a Better Understanding


Do the terms "Multidimensional Scaling," "Factor Analysis" and "Linear Regression" make your head spin? You are not alone. Many marketing researchers in our industry who most typically work in qualitative methods, but are looking to learn the "basics" of quantitative approaches, are hungry for a digestible form of this information which can otherwise appear somewhat daunting.

To respond to this need, PBIRG (The Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence & Research Group) invited GfK V2 to present its expert quantitative capabilities at PBIRG's Annual Conference in the form of an educational "primer session" to introduce participants to basic multivariate methods used in pharmaceutical marketing research, in a straightforward, non-technical style. We were pleased by the positive response from the participants and in fact, due to these "rave reviews" we were asked to repeat the material at PBIRG's Fall Education Session. Similarly, we've been invited by several clients to present the topic for their departments.

Given this level of interest, we thought that many of you may also find the material of value. Thus, we present to you two resources. The first is an article authored by Bart Weiner, President, and Paul Teta, Ph.D., Executive Vice President of GfK V2 for PBIRG Perspectives, which gives an excellent written overview of the content. Paired with the second resource, the presentation slides, you should have all you need to get up to speed!

If you would like us to conduct this same workshop on-site for your department, please contact Bart Weiner at bweiner@gfkv2.com.


Key Takeaways:

After reading this article and walking through the presentation slides, you will have a better understanding of:
  • When to implement common multivariate methods
  • How to choose an appropriate method for a given market research problem
  • The sample requirements needed for the proper application of multivariate research
  • Emerging techniques that are on the horizon
What are the most commonly used multivariate methods?
  • The materials will provide an introduction to the multivariate models underlying conjoint/discrete choice modeling, forecasting, market segmentation and brand equity analysis
  • Emphasis will be placed on the practical application of these techniques
  • Each approach will be presented via a real-life case study
What is meant by multivariate?
  • The materials will distinguish between univariate and multivariate techniques.
What sample sizes are required?
  • The materials will shed light on this often-asked question.
What are the emerging techniques should I know about?
  • The materials will discuss cutting-edge multivariate approaches, including techniques such as hierarchical bayes and latent class modeling

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