MKTG 482
Marketing Research
Spring 2009 – Course Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Hemant Patwardhan
Office: Thurmond 127 Phone: 323-4802 E-mail:
Class hours: TR 11.00 am to 12.15 pm
Room: Thurmond 405
Office hours: M – 10 am – 12 noon
T – 2 pm to 3 pm
W – 10.00 am to 12.00 noon; 1.00 pm – 4.00 pm and by appointment
Webpage: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/patwardhanh/
I. Required Text:
Essentials of Marketing Research – Joseph Hair, Jr., Mary Wolfinbarger, David Ortinau, Robert Bush (2008 edition); ISBN: 978-0-07-338102-2; McGraw Hill Higher Education
II. Course Description and Objectives
The primary objective of the course is that students gain an understanding of the marketing research process through lecture and hands-on-experience solving marketing problems. Students will learn to conduct qualitative and quantitative research studies, to use analytical research methods and techniques and will develop skill in interpreting and communicating research results. A student satisfactorily completing this course should be an intelligent buyer/user of research services and be able to conduct simple in-house research projects.
III. Grading will be based on the following components:
1. Exams: There will be three exams. Anything covered in class or in the assigned chapters or additional readings is fair game for an exam question. As a policy, make-up exams will not be given. Only in extreme cases, they may be considered and must be scheduled with the instructor at least 48 hours prior to scheduled exam time.
2. Group research project: A large portion of your grade will be determined by your performance on a marketing research project. You and your team will act as a marketing research firm. In conducting this project, you will experience what it is like to work for an actual marketing research firm. You will design a questionnaire, gather data, code, clean and analyze data and prepare a professional report of findings. As part of this class, you are acting as a professional provider of marketing research, and are expected to act professionally, and to strive for excellence.
You will be divided into teams of approximately 5/6 students, and each team will work independently on the project. The project will proceed through several phases as explained below. A contact person for the team will be designated as someone who will coordinate the activities of the particular team. Each team will be required to complete all phases, and your overall project grade will depend on your performance on all phases. A team grade will be assigned after completion of each phase and the final project grade will be the average grade across the phases. Peer evaluations will be collected at the end of each phase, and the individual student’s grade may be subject to downward revision based on the peer evaluations. The phases are discussed below:
1) Questionnaire design: Based on the project’s Research Objectives (RO), each team will generate and proof questions for the questionnaire. As part of this phase, members of each team will contribute questions, and will combine them into a complete questionnaire, pretest the questionnaire, and prepare a final version of the questionnaire for use in the next phase, data collection. Successful completion of this phase will require each team to draft a set of survey questions, prepare a questionnaire, pre-test the questionnaire, and then prepare a final questionnaire. You will turn in a copy of the final questionnaire on the assigned date, for which a grade for this phase will be assigned to the team.
2) Data collection: Once a questionnaire has been produced, and a target sample has been determined, each team will administer the survey to a minimum of 100 people fitting the characteristics of the target sample. Successful completion of this component of the project will depend on your returning the 100 completed questionnaires by an assigned date, and that the questionnaires are completed by the appropriate sample. Follow-ups will be done to assure you accessed the appropriate sample. A grade will then be assigned to the team.
3) Data coding, cleaning and entry: After the questionnaires have been returned, each team will then code, clean and enter the completed questionnaires into SPSS. SPSS software is available in the computer lab located in Thurmond 301, and you will be given brief instructions on how to use it prior to the deadline for this phase. Instructions on data cleaning and data entry, as well as the use of SPSS, will be given as part of our class discussions. To earn maximum points for this phase, each team must turn in a data file in SPSS, and that file MUST have been cleaned. In order to earn maximum points for this phase, each group’s file must be ERROR FREE and turned in ON TIME.
4) Data analysis: As part of this class, you will each learn the basics of data analysis and will learn how to perform some specific tasks using SPSS. Again, you will be given brief instructions on how to use SPSS prior to the deadline for this phase. At the beginning of the semester, the class will outline the basic research questions based on the objectives of the client. These research questions will be broken down into a detailed list of questions to be answered using the data collected in phase 2. Some questions will deal with Descriptive Statistics and some will deal with Inferential Statistics. Upon completion of the data gathering and entry, each group will work independently to answer the research questions using their data set. Your completion of this phase will require proper analyses to answer the research questions. You will turn in all your SPSS output along with a brief summary of the research questions you addressed, and what the analyses revealed. Your analyses and interpretations will be checked for accuracy, and your team grade will be based on this as well as the appropriateness of the analyses you employed.
5) Report generation: The teams will then produce a final report. We will work together as a class to agree on a structure and format for the report. Successful completion of this phase will require that the written report be turned in ON TIME, follow required formatting, and describe the analyses, findings and conclusions assigned to that particular group.
6) Final presentation: Similar to the process for generating the report, the teams will again work to prepare and give a final presentation. We will again work together as a class to agree on a structure and format for the presentation. In order to earn maximum points, the presentation file must be turned in ON TIME, be ERROR FREE, follow required formatting, and cover the analyses, findings and conclusions.
For each of the above phases, your performance will be reflected in both the overall outcome of the phase for each team, as well as your individual contribution to the completion of the phase. Team members will be asked to provide evaluations of each member’s contribution to each phase, and those evaluations will be used in determining the final grade for each individual for each phase. Because we are simulating a real life research project, there is no flexibility on due dates for project materials and quality of work is critical.
Part of the successful completion of each phase requires each team to meet deadlines and carry out the modifications suggested by the instructor. This is the responsibility of everyone in each team. Failure to do the above will negatively impact the grade of each individual in the team. Thus, your overall project grade will reflect the team’s performance across the 6 phases, including meeting deadlines, the quality of each particular phase, and your individual contribution to the efforts of the team on each phase. If you do not contribute the same effort as other team members, you will not receive the same grade. Example: Group Grade on a Project Phase = A (95); Your Peer Evaluation scores = 20/25 (You obviously didn’t do enough). Your Grade on the Project Phase would be: (95 X 20/25) =76 (C).
Grading components: Your final grade will be calculated as follows:
Exam 1 20%
Exam 2 20%
Exam 3 20%
Group project 35% (Average of assigned grades on all phases)
Class participation 5%
Total 100%
Grading Scales:
94%-100% = A; 90%-93% = A-;
87%-89% = B+; 84%-86% = B; 80%-83% = B-;
77%-79% = C+; 74%-76% = C; 70%-73% = C -;
67%-69% = D+; 64%-66% = D; 60%-63% = D-;
59% or less = F;
IV. Attendance: Your student catalog states that you are expected to attend class and are responsible for the academic consequences of absence. You are responsible for all requirements of the course regardless of absence. After the last date for withdrawl with an automatic ‘N’, students may not withdraw from courses without documented extenuating circumstances. Additionally, if your absences total more than 25% in the course, you will receive a grade of N (if you formally withdraw before the drop date), or F or U (after the drop date).
For this course, 25% equals approx. 7 absences. Beyond 7 absences, a grade of N or F/U (as applicable) will be assigned. Attendance at all class sections is strongly encouraged, and punctuality is appreciated. You are responsible for obtaining notes for any material missed due to class absence, and you should check with classmates in case you miss any important announcements. You should also check with classmates to obtain copies of any notes from a class you miss. Think of this as a professional marketing research firm, where showing up for work is not optional, and prior notice and an excuse for missing a day of work is expected.
Please DO NOT schedule trips or other events that will conflict with the final exam period assigned by Winthrop. Winthrop requires all students to attend their final exam periods. Failure to do so will result in a grade of zero for the project (the entire 35%).
V. Cheating: Any form of bribery, cheating, lying or plagiarism will not be tolerated. This applies to exams, projects, and assignments.
VI. Academic Dishonesty: Students are expected to be familiar with the University policy on academic dishonesty which is readily available in the University Catalog. Any infringement of the academic dishonesty policy is a serious concern and will be dealt with accordingly by this instructor. Such infringement may result in the student being assigned a grade of "F" for the
course, or more severe action may be taken. Such infringement will also be reported to the Office of the Vice President for Student Life as outlined in the University Policy.
VII. Prerequisites: Prerequisites for this course are MKTG 380, QMTH 205, and QMTH 206.
VIII. Students with Disabilities: Winthrop University is dedicated to providing access to education. If you have a disability and need classroom accommodations, please contact Gena Smith, Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities, at 323-3290, as soon as possible. Once you have your Professor Notification Form, please inform me as early as possible in the semester.
IX. Course schedule: The schedule for our discussions of class material, and for the project phases, appears below. Necessary deviations from the schedule will be announced in class. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to contact me or a fellow student to learn of changes or to obtain notes for any material covered during a class you miss. The material covered in class will be important for exams and for your ability to produce a high quality project. Please do not underestimate the importance of attending class.
Course Schedule:
(Note: Subject areas generally follow the text. Class discussions and power points will usually cover more details/topics than the text. The text serves as back-up reading. Some topics in the text may not be covered in class discussions but nevertheless will be fair game for exams. This schedule may be modified as we go along. We will however try to stick to it as much as possible)
Date / Lecture / ExamsJan 13 / Student and Course introductions; Understanding the syllabus
15 / Project Discussion; Form Teams
20 / Marketing Research for Decision Making (refer Chapter 1)
22 / The Marketing Research Process (refer Chapter 2)
27 / Research Design and Implementation (refer Chapter 6)
29 / Research Design and Implementation (refer Chapter 6)
Feb 3 / Class Exercise (Bodyline Health Clubs)
5 / Attitude Measurement (refer Chapter 8)
10 / Attitude measurement (refer Chapter 8)
12 / Overflow / Exam 1 Review
17 / EXAM 1
19 / Issues in Data Collection; Designing Questionnaires (refer Chapters 8 and 9)
24 / Fundamentals of Data Analysis (refer Chapter 11)
26 / LAB 1: SPSS – Data recording, values and labels, treatment of missing values; Descriptive Statistics in SPSS; variable re-specification, recoding, graphing
Mar 3 / Sampling Fundamentals (refer Chapter 7)
5 / Sampling Fundamentals (refer Chapter 7)
10 / Hypothesis Testing – Chi Square Tests of Association (refer Chapter 12)
12 / LAB 2: SPSS – Chi Square Tests of Association / Lab shifted to Mar 31
24 / Hypothesis Testing – Hypothesis tests with 1 mean (refer Chapter 12)
26 / Overflow / Exam 2 Review
31 / EXAM 2 / Lab # 2
Apr 2 / Hypothesis Testing – Hypothesis tests with 2 means (independent samples) (refer Chapter 12)
7 / Hypothesis Testing – Hypothesis tests with 2 means (dependent samples) (refer Chapter 12); One Way ANOVA / Exam 2 review
9 / LAB 3: Hypothesis testing for means (one sample t test, independent samples t test and dependent samples t test procedures)
14 / Correlation and Regression Analysis (refer Chapter 14)
16 / LAB 4: Correlation and Regression Analysis / Take home EXAM 3-1 to be given to students
21 / Overflow / Exam 3-2 review
23 / EXAM 3-2 / In-class exam; Take home due in class.
Finals Week / Project Presentations **
(Tuesday May 5 @ 11.30 am) / Final project reports due
** Note: NO exceptions possible according to Winthrop University policy