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Marketing Research Dr. Regina P. Schlee Phone: 206-281-3638 E-mail: rschlee@spu.edu REQUIRED TEXT: Contemporary Marketing Research, 4nd ed., Carl McDaniel and Roger Gates, 1999. COURSE OBJECTIVES: This course is designed to provide an understanding of what marketing research is, what kinds of information it can provide, and how it can be used by marketing management. Although, most of you will not work for a marketing research firm after you graduate, most of you will actually use many of the techniques we learn in this class in your career. Many of our alumni have had to develop research designs, draft a questionnaire, and supervise research suppliers. Throughout the quarter, we will also focus much attention on the ethical issues that apply to marketing research. My personal experience has been that marketing research has more ethical dilemmas than any other area of marketing. We will examine solutions to these ethical dilemmas from the perspective of the Christian faith.
Upon completion of the course, you should be able to: 1. Determine when marketing research is necessary. 2. Evaluate alternative research designs. 3. Locate different sources of data. 4. Evaluate alternative methods of data collection. 5. Determine appropriate sampling plans and sample size. 6. Determine necessary research budget. 7. Evaluate marketing research vendors. 8. Design questionnaires. 9. Supervise the marketing research process. 10. Analyze data. 11. Interpret research findings. 12. Develop recommendations based on research findings. 13. Prepare marketing research reports. 14. Know the ethical issues in marketing research.
In addition to the course specific topics discussed, we will also continue to build on the competencies that are important in any business setting. * effective written communications * effective oral presentations * teamwork * the development of leadership skills
EXAMINATIONS AND GRADING/EVALUATION CRITERIA: General philosophy about the course: In contrast to Marketing and Society which is primarily a conceptual class, Marketing Research is a class where you learn to use and to evaluate various research techniques and to apply statistical analyses. So, instead of working on a large project for the whole quarter, I will ask you to complete several different assignments. Tests: The tests will be based on both lecture and textbook material. The questions will be multiple choice, short essays, and special problems. Focus Group: Groups of 3-4 students will conduct focus groups. Each group will be responsible for: preparing a focus group outline, recruiting focus group participants, conducting the focus group, preparing a focus group report, presenting your analysis in class. Students will evaluate each other’s contribution. Problems: These assignments are worth 100 points each. Each of the problems focuses on a specific marketing research competency such as field work, questionnaire development, statistical analysis of data, etc. Class Attendance and Participation: I believe that class attendance and participation greatly facilitate student learning. Students will be asked to participate in many in-class and out-of-class group activities. Research activities in and out-of-class will count towards your participation grade. Please notify me by phone or e-mail if you need to miss a class for health reasons, or for a personal or family emergency. Participation is also measured by the way you behave in class. Positive participation activities include the following: being polite towards others, being helpful, encouraging others, being friendly, showing interest in what others are saying, reaching out and trying to include all group members in group activities, and doing your personal best in group projects. Negative participation activities include the following: being habitually late for class, talking while someone else in involved in a class discussion or while I am lecturing, mocking someone or being disrespectful, leaving someone out of group activities, disrupting class activities, independent reading while I am lecturing or while we are engaged in a class discussion, being engage in unrelated activities while in class, behavior that disrupts others’ ability to participate in class, etc. Academic Dishonesty: Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. If someone is caught teaching or plagiarizing, he or she will receive a grade of 0 for the test or assignment. Fortunately, instances of academic dishonesty are rare. Make-Up Exams: Make-up exams will only be given in cases of extreme personal or family emergency (serious personal illness, hospitalization of family members, death in the family, etc.). Make-up exams taken on a different day than the rest of the class will be different than those given in class. Late Assignments: In cases of extreme personal or family emergency, late assignments will be accepted without penalty. In all other cases, there will be a 10% penalty for work submitted 1 day late, 20% penalty for work submitted 2 days late, etc. There will be no credit given for assignments turned in after I have given back the corrected and graded papers in class. Grading Philosophy: A’s will be reserved for exceptional quality work. B’s will be given for work representing strong performance in the class. C’s will be given for work that meets basic or minimum requirements for the class. D’s and E’s will be given for work that does not satisfy minimum requirements for the class.
Grading: The maximum number of points that will be given for each activity are as follows:
Grading Scale: A 930-1000 A- 900-929 B+ 870-899 B 830-869 B- 800-829 C+ 770-799 C 730-769 C- 700-729 D+ 670-699 D 600-669 E 0-599
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