MKT 601 Marketing Research Summer 2011 (April 7, 2011)
Instructor: Jule B. Gassenheimer Class Hours: Wednesday 6:30-9:30
Office: 317A Crummer
Email:
Telephone: (407) 646-2404
Fax: (407) 646-1550
Office Hours: By appointment. I am basically available when you need to meet
NATURE AND PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
Whether or not students go into marketing, most MBAs will find themselves in situations where they are required to read and interpret market research findings to make critical decisions. Because Marketing Research can be technical, managers reading a market research report will very often end up drawing incorrect and incomplete conclusions if they are unfamiliar with the basic ideas and tools of marketing research. All too often, we find managers making severely flawed decisions because they lacked the proper background to interpret market research findings the correct way. The fundamental objective of this course is to build solid market research literacy. The course is targeted at managers or soon to be managers who will be using market research information and not at those who plan to go into a career in statistic and data analysis. It is specifically suited for students wanting to go into consulting, business development, entrepreneurship and marketing management. At a minimum, students will better understand one set of tools organizations use to make marketing decisions.
Course Description
Marketing research is the formal process of gathering information needed by managers to make decisions with respect to marketing opportunities and problems. For example, a marketing manager might want to know the degree to which a new product will be acceptable to a group of consumers; the price consumers would be willing to pay for a new product; the degree to which customers are satisfied with a product or service; demographic information about an area where a new store might be located; the image of a company relative to its competitors; and so on. This course provides an in-depth look at the marketing research process; a significant portion of the course is the development and execution of a marketing research project. Research exercises using mini-case analyses and data base applications will also be incorporated into your learning experience.
The course is broadly structured to follow the steps in the marketing research process. The topics include problem definition, research design (exploratory, descriptive and causal), data collection methods, measurement, questionnaire design, sampling schemes and data analysis. Emphasis will be given to both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of marketing research.
Required Text and Materials
(1) Churchill, Gilbert A., Jr., Tom J. Brown and Tracy A. Suter (2010), Basic Marketing Research, 7th Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Publishing
(2) SPSS for Students (Packaged with the Textbook)
Course Requirements
Your grade will be determined by your performance on one exam, class participation (including attendance and in-class exercises), and a comprehensive group research project. The point distribution for the course is as follows:
Exam (1 @ 150 points) 150
*Class Participation 80
(10 of the 80 points are for Observation Assignment)
(20 of the 80 points are for SPSS Tutorials)
(50 point are for attendance and quality of class participation, and
quality of evaluations of final presentation , peers and self)
SPSS Individual Case Assignment (Marty’s Department Store) 20
Research Project:
Research Request Agreement & Presentation 50
Secondary Research Report & Presentation 50
Preliminary Research Report & Presentation 50
Research Report 150
Oral Presentation and Q&A 50 350
TOTAL 600 points
The following scale will be used to assign final grades:
A: 93 to 100%
A-: 90 to 92%
B+: 88 to 89%
B: 83 to 87%
B-: 80 to 82%
C+: 78 to 79%
C: 73 to 77%
C-: 70 to 72%
*If you do not come to class you cannot earn participation points. If you do not turn in your SPSS tutorial completion notification on time you cannot earn participation points (4 points per assignment).
Assignments. From time to time, you will be assigned work to be completed outside of class that will support the topic being studied. In general, such assignments will be due during the next class period. These assignments require individual effort and understanding. Falsely acknowledging completion of the assignment is a breach of the academic integrity code.
Exam. One exam will be given. The exam will cover textbook readings and lecture material. Although time will not permit us to address all topics during class, you are responsible for all material presented in the assigned chapters in the text (except where noted). The exam is closed book but you can bring one 8 ½ X 11 sheet of paper (any font and any margin) to class with notes. Put your name on the sheet and turn it in upon completion of the exam.
Class Sessions and Class Participation.
Perhaps the most important aspect of this class, and its most effective learning tool, will be the exchange of information and access to different points of view. Rather than merely rehashing concepts developed in the text, class sessions will be devoted to probing, extending, and applying the text material. It shall be assumed that students have done the assigned readings before coming to class. Oftentimes part of a class session will involve mini cases and team members working on their major research project. This designated time will allow the team to apply the concepts introduced in the readings assigned for that lecture.
The class participation component of the grade will be based on each student’s willingness to provide constructive oral comments. Participation in class discussion is extremely important and each student is expected to contribute. Please feel free to ask questions and to voice your ideas and opinions in order to enhance your learning and the learning of your classmates. I can assure you that your insights are greatly valued. (Please note, if a student is not in class he/she is unable to contribute. If the student has an excused absence, the best way to make up the points is to be involved in subsequent class discussions. The responsibility to get involved is up to each student.)
Class Participation Expectations:
*Class attendance
Come to class and come to class on time (if you arrive late for class, it is your responsibility to come see me at break to insure that your attendance is marked.)
Stay until the end of class
Provide depth and completeness in your responses
Turn in out-of-class assignments on time
Be an active participant in group exercises.
Avoid engaging in non-class related activities during class (e.g., Please, please, please - turn off all cell phones, no web surfing unrelated to the class discussion, no text-messaging, no e-mailing, no checking e-mail, etc during class).
Provide honest, detail support for peer and self evaluations.
Provide honest, detail comments on final project presentations.
Research Project. Marketing research is best learned by actually conducting research. Accordingly, you are required to identify a marketing research problem for an organization or company and to complete a research project that provides decision makers with solid information with respect to the opportunity or problem at hand. You will work in teams (teams will be organized during the first class session). You will have the option to pick your own team. I may however assign an additional member(s) to your team. There should be no less than five individuals and no more than six individuals on a team.
Project topics. You will choose your own project topic. The important criteria are that: (1) the project is do-able in the time frame, (2) the project involves original data collection, through some kind of survey, and have a real client, and (3) the client has agreed to be a partner in the project. (The client needs to sign off on the deliverable for the project.) A copy of that agreement must be included in your research request agree report and the final report.
Work on the project. This project is an integral part of the course. Please realize that the project is time consuming and cannot be done effectively if left to the last minute. Your first challenge will be to organize yourselves so that you can work effectively as a team. You will need to select a team leader.
During the course of the semester, your team will be required to turn in four written reports concerning the Marketing Research Project (and in most cases accompanied by a presentation), the Research Request Agreement and presentation (50 points), Secondary Research Report and presentation (50), Preliminary Research Proposal and presentation (50 points), Research Report (100 points), Report Presentation (50 points). Please invite your client to the final presentation. You will also be asked to turn in a draft of your questionnaire. Failure to turn in your questionnaire on time will result in a deduction of 5 points from each member’s participation grade. You will also lose the opportunity to receive feedback on your questionnaire before sending it out in the field.
The Research Request Agreement will detail precisely the nature of the client's research problem. This report, not to exceed 5 pages (double spaced, 12 pt. font (Times New Roman , Arial, or Calibri), should review the nature of your discussions with your client, provide background on the situation, and define the research problem(s). Your client needs to sign the Research Request Agreement. Please note: I expect your projects to address meaningful issues and will reject projects that lack merit. If there is a question about this, please see me prior to the completion of the first report. You will also be required to overview the research problem(s) for the class. Please take these presentations seriously.
The Secondary Research Report will contain the data you collected from secondary sources. This is data that have already been collected for some other purpose, but is relevant to your research problem. The presentation should be limited to 10 minutes with 5 minutes for discussion. (Overheads are due via Blackboard (Assignment function) prior to the beginning of class June 8th.)
A draft of your questionnaire is due prior to midnight on June 3rd . Consider the following when developing your Questionnaire:
1. Does the questionnaire cover the information that you listed when determining the information needed.
2. Is the wording of the questions simple and clear?
3. Does the questionnaire avoid leading or bias questions?
4. Are the questions properly sequenced?
5. Does the respondent have the ability to answer the questions accurately?
6. Is the introduction appropriate?
7. Are the instructions clear?
8. Is the layout attractive and easy to code?
The Preliminary Research Report will include (a) a summary of the decision problem and research problem(s) being addressed, (b) a comprehensive discussion of secondary data and/or exploratory research conducted and (c) a complete discussion of the research design, data collection method and forms, and sampling plan for your project. This report (roughly 15 pages (double space, 12 pt. font), plus appendices) is to provide the rationale for decisions you have made and will serve as a summary of the project prior to data collection. In addition, your team will present an overview of your project's research design to the class. The presentation should be limited to 10 minutes with 5 minutes for discussion. (You may want to read ahead in the book. I will be happy to meet with any or all teams throughout the semester.)
The Final (complete) Research Report will provide a written summary of the complete project. The emphasis of the oral presentation will be on the results obtained and your interpretation of these results. The Research Report should be written for the client such that he/she can easily see how your research has provided answers to the research problem(s). Managers are typically not interested in flashy displays of numbers, graphics, etc.; rather, they want to see answers presented in an easy-to-understand format. You should present these answers via whatever means allow you to best communicate the information (e.g., graphs, tables, figures, text). Remember that, in general, you will be writing to managers, not other researchers. One appropriate technique is to discuss the results in the text of your report, using only those numbers and charts necessary to support your comments, and to provide more complete information about data, analyses, etc., in a technical appendix. Do not include your printouts. The Preliminary Research Report is due June 29th (see schedule). By the following week I will grade the preliminary report and provide feedback on how you can improve. The final Research Report is due at the time of the Oral presentation during finals week (see schedule). (The report should be professionally bounded.) Late papers will be penalized a letter grade (this goes for all reports and assignments).
Note: These assignments build upon one another. Please take my feedback and the feedback from the class as constructive and use this opportunity to make your final report the best it can be.
Note: You are responsible for getting a copy of the final report to your client. You must turn in a copy of the cover letter sent to the client along with the final report. The members of your team will not receive final course grades until I have evidence that you have carried through on your commitment to your client.
Note: All team members need to present twice during the semester unless they have a major speaking role in the Final Research Report Presentation. All team members must be available to field questions from the class during all of the presentations. Only for the final report presentation do teams members need to dress business professional.
Teams will make formal oral presentations of their projects to the class during the final week of classes. You should assume that you are presenting your results to the managers of the company or organization for which the project has been conducted (and, in fact, some teams may have the opportunity to actually do such a presentation). ALL TEAM MEMBERS SHOULD DRESS BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL. Again, you should use whatever media best allows you to communicate the essence of your projects. Each member of the class will complete an evaluation form for each team's presentation. The grade that I assign for the oral presentation will be influenced by the evaluation from your classmates.
The members of each team will complete a peer evaluation on other team members. Individual grades will be determined from the team’s grade and modified based on peer evaluation of participation. Team members will be asked to evaluate other members using a letter grade format (A, B, C...). Members receiving an average grade of B or above will receive the team’s grade. Team members receiving an average grade of C will receive a grade one letter lower than the team grade. An average grade of D will receive a grade two letters lower and an average grade of F will receive a grade three letters lower. (See the Peer and Self Evaluation Forms later in the syllabus). Each team member MUST justify the grade by providing detailed comments about each member’s contributions. Failing to provide comments will result in a loss of points from the participation grade.