Course: Marketing Research Methods

Required Course Textbook:

Basic Marketing Research, Naresh K. Malhotra, Pearson Education, 3 edition. Published by Prentice Hall.

Course Description, Objectives, & Contents:

This course will provide a thorough coverage of various marketing research tools along an applied orientation, including a systematic analysis of the steps comprising the marketing research process, starting with research problem definition and terminating with data collection, analysis, and presentation. After taking this course, students should be able to: (1) demonstrate a good understanding of the marketing research concepts, and (2) apply them to address real-life marketing situations.

Course Outcomes

1. Defining Marketing Research and what are the major classifications of marketing research
2. Understanding the role that marketing research plays in designing and implementing successful marketing programs.
3. Understanding the importance of and the process used for defining the marketing research problem.
4. Defining research design, classify various research designs, and explain the differences between exploratory and conclusive designs.
5. Comparing and contrasting the basic research designs: exploratory, descriptive, and causal.
6. Defining the nature and scope of secondary data and distinguish secondary data from primary data.
7. Explaining the difference between qualitative and quantitative research in terms of objectives, sampling, data collection and analysis, and outcomes
8. Discussing and classifying survey methods and describe the various telephone, personal, mail, and electronic interviewing methods.
9. Explaining the concept of causality in marketing research.
10. Explaining measurement and scaling.
11. Understanding how noncomparative scaling techniques differ from comparative scaling, and the distinction between continuous and itemized rating scales.
12. Understanding the purpose of a questionnaire and its objectives.
13. Discuss the process of designing a questionnaire, the steps that are involved, and the guidelines for each step.
14. Explaining the steps involved in the sampling design process.
15. Describing the classification of sampling techniques and the difference between nonprobability and probability sampling techniques.

Topics Covered

1. Defining the Marketing Research Problems and Developing an Approach
2. Exploratory Research Design: secondary data
3. Exploratory Research Design: syndicated sources of secondary data
4. Exploratory Research Design: qualitative research
5. Descriptive Research Design: survey and observation
6. Causal Research Design: experimentation
7. Measurement and Scaling: Fundamentals and Comparative Scaling
8. Measurement and Scaling: Non-comparative Techniques
9. Questionnaire and Form Design
10. Sampling: Design and Procedures
11. Sampling: Final and Initial Sample Size

Evaluation and Determining Course Grade

1. Exam 1 10 %
2. Exam 2 10%
3. Participation, Homework, and Quizzes 20 %
4. Projects 30 %
5. Final Exam 30%

Academic Honesty

The following list describes the types of academic misconduct that will not be tolerated in any way in this class:
1. Cheating: Use of an unauthorized “aid” while taking a test, having another person take an exam or quiz in the place of the student, stealing an examination, using learning team work as an individual student’s work, unauthorized use of assistance from a lab or computer technician. Note: If the instructor or an exam proctor sees/finds a paper or electronic device with course information during the exam, this will be considered as cheating and the student will receive a zero for the exam and possibly an “F” in the course. It is incumbent on the student to assure that all books, papers, notes, and electronic devices that contain course information are securely stored away — there is a no tolerance in this area.
2. Fabrication: Falsifying data in laboratory results, inventing information for a report, falsifying citations to sources of information.
3. Facilitating Academic Dishonesty: Aiding another student in committing academic misconduct.
4. Interference: Stealing, changing, destroying, or impeding another student’s work. Impeding includes stealing, defacing, or mutilating resources to deprive someone the use of resources.
5. Plagiarism: Using the ideas, words, or statements of another person without giving credit to that person. A student shall give credit to the works of others if the student uses another person’s words, ideas, opinions, or theories or borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative material unless the information is common knowledge.
6. Violation of Course Rules: A student shall follow course rules in the course syllabus when those rules are related to the course content or to the enhancement of the learning process in the course.
“Students who commit any act of academic dishonesty may receive from the instructor a failing grade in that portion of the course work in which the act is detected or a failing grade in the course without possibility of withdrawal. The faculty member may also present the case to the office of student affairs for disciplinary sanctions.

Method of instruction and course requirements

The teaching methodology of the course consists of the following:

• Assigned Readings: Assignments drawn from the course textbook, and outside reading-articles extracted from journals or taken from other books.
• Lectures: Power point presentations designed to clarify the assigned readings, case studies, and handouts. (if needed)
• Class Participation: it includes active participation in materials introduced through subject discussions or personal experience.
• Case Studies: Students will have to prepare and discuss cases in class. Cases will act as a support to the chapter discussed and it will highlight examples from today’s challenges.
• Internet Exercise: Students will be given interactive Internet exercises to familiarize them with different ways to use the internet.
• Review Questions: The review questions will be given as homework. This will enable students to understand key points in each chapter.
• Individual Project & Learning Team Project: It is the research and fact- finding assignments, which constitute an integral part of the course, are designed to allow the student to apply course concepts, learn how to interact within the team, and understand the challenges of working in a competitive environment.
Attendance Policy
1. Attendance in all classes during the entire time is required. There are no exceptions to this policy. If you are not in class, then you missed the material discussed in class. While students may encounter very extenuating circumstances (sickness of such severity that it prevents the student from attending classes, serious illness or death in the family), the fact that you are not in class means that you have missed the discussed topics.
2. A “sign-in” sheet will be passed every class. If you do not sign the sheet, you will be marked as absent even if you attended part or all the class session. If you walk into the class late or leave early, the instructor may still mark you absent. Your signature has to be clear and consistent every time you sign, if the signature does not match your previous ones, you may also be marked as absent. Signing for another student is considered a breach to the honesty policy, under no circumstances a student may sign on behalf of someone else.

Participation, Homework, and Quizzes:

Participation is expected during all classes. Students need to read their book chapters ahead of the class. Students need to conduct research related to the material in order to gain understanding of the subject.
Periodical homework will be assigned. All homework should be submitted on the due date, any late homework will be deducted 20% per each day it is late. Homework cannot be submitted later than three days after the deadline. Please follow the MLA style of writing in all submitted homework or papers.
Pop up quizzes will be conducted from time to time in class in order to make sure that students have read the material assigned for the class on that date. Students also are expected to have reviewed previous material and last class discussion.
Pop up quizzes cannot be made-up if you miss a class. Missing a class would affect your attendance score. In addition, if a pop up quiz happens during a class in which you were absent, your quiz score will be zero. There are NO EXCEPTIONS. Your Quizzes score will be affected because of not being in class during the pop up quiz.
However, since things may come up, and life is not always as we want it to be, your lowest two quizzes grades will be waived when calculating your total Quizzes grade at the end of the course

Exams:

1. There will be two exams and one final exam. Each exam will cover the material discussed in class plus reading assignments. Anything that takes place in class to include discussions, videos, guest speakers etc. is testable. The exams will cover the whole material as indicated by the instructor.
2. Exams in this course can be multiple choice, true/false, and/or short answer questions, essay form, and case studies.
3. Students must be present for all exams. Students who miss exams for reasons other than those stated under the special circumstances provided under “Attendance Policy” above will automatically loose points off the make-up exam score for every day or part of a day the exam is not taken.
4. Exam dates * are as follows:
a. Exam 1: Tuesday, Week 4.
b. Exam 2: Tuesday. Week 7.
c. Final Exam: please refer to the university exams schedule.
*Dates are subject to change.

Course & Reading Schedule:

Attention!
Make sure that you read the chapters assigned for class before you walk into the class. Expect a quiz on the material during the session. The quiz may address previously discussed topics.

Week 1
Chapter 1 Introduction to Marketing Research
Week 2
Chapter 2 Defining the Marketing Research Problem and Developing an Approach
Week 3
Chapter 3 Research Design
Week 4
Chapter 4 Exploratory Research Design: Secondary Data
Exam 1
Week 5
Chapter 5 Exploratory Research Design: Syndicated Sources of Secondary Data
Week 6
Chapter 6 Exploratory Research Design: Qualitative Research
Week 7
Chapter 7 Descriptive Research Design: Survey and Observation
Exam 2
Week 8
Chapter 8 Causal Research Design: Experimentation
Week 9
Chapter 9 Measurement and Scaling: Fundamentals and Comparative Scaling
Chapter 10 Measurement and Scaling: Noncomparative Scaling Techniques
Week 10
Chapter 11 Questionnaire and Form Design
Week 11
Chapter 12 Sampling: Design and Procedures
Week 12
Review

The schedule and procedures in this course, as outlined in this syllabus, are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances and/or as deemed appropriate by the professor.