While there are many variations in the "steps" that should occur when conducting a marketing research project...it can generally be assumed that each step listed below would be logical except:

a$.$ One would probably have to establish a research question before designing the research plan to follow.

b$.$ One should probably determine which subset of the population is to be sampled before collecting data from the general population

c$.$ One must first collect data before actually analyzing data.

d$.$ One should collect data before designing the research plan.