Course: BMK 321 – Marketing Research / WINTER 2013 Professor: Dr. Caitlin McLaughlin
Office: H-214
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: TUESDAY / THURSDAY: 5:30 – 6:30pm
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
This course concerns the use of marketing research as an aid to making marketing
decisions. Specifically, this course addresses how the information used to make
marketing decisions is gathered and analyzed. Accordingly, this course is appropriate for
both prospective users of research results and prospective marketing researchers.
OBJECTIVES:
After this course, you:
Should be able to translate a marketing problem into a feasible research question
Should be able to appreciate marketing research as a process that involves a
sequence of activities, each compatible with the preceding stage(s)
Should have a thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of
alternative research designs
Should be aware of the many sources of marketing information and have some
knowledge of the various means for gathering such information
Should be more sensitive to the biases and limitations of marketing data and data
analysis
Should have a general understanding of univariate and multivariate data analysis
techniques (i.e., should be able to decide when a particular technique is
appropriate and understand the managerial implications of analytical results)
Should be able to design and execute a basic survey research project
TEXT:
Malhotra, N. K. (2012). Basic Marketing Research: Integration of Social Media, 4th Edition.
2
GRADING SCHEME:
3 Individual Research Studies 30% Project 40%
Final Exam 20% Class Assignments 10% NOTE:
Assignments are due at the start of the class indicated. Late assignments will not be accepted. All assignments should be typed unless permission is provided by the professor.
No supplemental tests or examinations will be provided. Bishop’s defines the various letter grades:
A Superior A- Outstanding B+ Very good B Good
B- Better than average C+ Above average C Average D+ Below average D Poor
F Failure
Just doing what was assigned in a perfunctory manner does NOT earn you an A, or a B. Consistent, thoughtful, creative work is necessary for a high grade.
In this class your work is being graded – not you. If you are not pleased with the grades that you are receiving, feel free to come see me about how you might make them better. Greater effort is not necessarily the key, especially if that effort is misdirected.
DESCRIPTION OF COURSE EVALUATION: Class Assignments
There will be class assignments multiple times throughout the course of the semester. If you are not there, then it is your responsibility to get the assignment and hand it in at the beginning of the next class.
Simply handing in the assignment will ensure that you receive half of the points. A minimal effort will ensure you 75% of the points. A good, thoughtful effort will ensure that you receive full points for the class assignments.
Written Assignments
Each student is required to follow the APA guidelines when submitting written work (e.g., double-spaced, 1” margins, 12-point font, and list of references). Ten percent of points on each assignment submitted will be allocated to an evaluation of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
3
Individual Research Studies
You will have to complete 3 short individual research studies. The due dates for these assignments are provided in the outline.
Assignment 1
Find a formal market research study that has been completed in the last 12 months. You will then pick an organization that this study is relevant, provide a summary of the research findings, identify impacts of findings to the chosen organization, and provide recommendations. This paper cannot exceed 2 single spaced pages.
Assignment 2
You will be provided a choice of 3 market research reports outlining new products that will be released. You must provide a brief summary of the new product, identify current competitors and substitute products, identify potential market segments for these new products, and provide marketing mix recommendations to the organization that developed the new product. This paper cannot exceed 2 single spaced pages.
Assignment 3
For this project, you have to discuss how your buying patterns, needs, and wants have changed due to the global recession. If they have not changed, you must identify the reasons why your behaviour has not changed. You must provide concrete examples of any behaviour change. This paper cannot exceed 2 single spaced pages.
Project
Everybody in the class will be involved in a marketing research project. The marketing research project can be performed by a single individual or by a group of up to 6 individuals. A typical project includes formulating the research problem, designing a questionnaire, selecting a sample frame, collecting respondent data, entering data, analyzing respondent data, and writing a research report.
In addition to conducting a research project, you / your group will:
Write a research proposal
Write a comprehensive research report
Make a 30-minute, formal in-class presentation about the research project Students should use SPSS for Windows to analyze survey data. This statistical package is included on laboratory computers, and a limited version of the package is available on the Internet.
Date Assignment Due Percentage Breakdown
Feb. 14 Proposal 20%
Feb. 21 Research Instrument 15%
Mar. 28 In-Class Presentation 25%
4
Research Proposal
1. Title Page
2. Table of Contents
3. Executive Summary
a. Major findings
b. Conclusions
c. Recommendations
4. Problem Definition
a. Background of the problem
b. Statement of the problem
5. Research Design
a. Type of research design
b. Information needs
c. Data collection from secondary sources
d. Data collection from primary sources
e. Scaling techniques
f. Questionnaire development and pretesting
g. Sampling techniques
h. Fieldwork
6. Data Analysis
5
Research Report
1. Title Page
2. Table of Contents
3. Executive Summary
a. Major findings
b. Conclusions
c. Recommendations
4. Problem Definition
a. Background of the problem
b. Statement of the problem
5. Research Design
a. Type of research design
b. Information needs
c. Data collection from secondary sources
d. Data collection from primary sources
e. Scaling techniques
f. Questionnaire development and pretesting
g. Sampling techniques
h. Fieldwork
6. Data Analysis
a. Methodology
7. Results
8. Limitations & Caveats
9. Conclusions and Recommendations
10. Exhibits
Make sure that whenever you make a decision (e.g., sampling frame) you need to justify
why that was the correct decision for you to make.
6
MARKETING RESEARCH
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week Date Topic Readings
1 Jan. 8 Introduction Chapter 1
Jan. 10 Introduction, Problem Definition Chapters 1, 2
2 Jan. 15 Research Design 3
Jan. 17 Secondary Data Chapters 4, 5 3 Jan. 22
Exploratory Research Designs
Individual Assignment 1 Due Chapter 6
Jan. 24 Focus Groups
4 Jan. 29 Descriptive Research Designs Chapter 7 Jan. 31 Causal Research Designs Chapter 8 5 Feb. 5 Sampling: Design & Procedures Chapter 12
Feb. 7
Sampling: Sample Size Decisions
Individual Assignment 2 Due Chapter 13
6 Feb. 12
Class cancelled – Extended Office Hours
Feb. 14
Scaling
Proposal Due Chapter 9, 10
7 Feb. 19 Questionnaire and Form Design Chapter 11 Feb. 21
Fieldwork & Data Preparation
Research Instrument Due Chapters 14, 15
8 Feb. 26 Data Analysis: Descriptive Statistics Chapter 16 Feb. 28 Data Analysis: Hypothesis Testing Chapter 17 9 Mar. 12 Data Analysis: Regression Chapter 18
Mar. 14
Final Report Preparation and Presentation
Individual Assignment 3 Due Chapter 19
10 Mar. 19 Review Session Mar. 21 Final Exam 11 Mar. 26
Class cancelled – Extended Office Hours
Mar. 28
Formal research presentations Research Report Due
12 Apr. 2 Formal research presentations Apr. 4 Formal research presentations
