Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Marketing Research
Teaching staff
Introduction
Course summary
The course addresses the main issues of quantitative marketing research in different areas through analyzing the best practices applied in companies. The issues of how to develop a marketing research strategy is also discussed.
Teaching methods
Lectures, seminars, group work, in-class exercises and tests, presentations, case studies, home assignments
Course objectives
- ·to equip students with the theoretical knowledge and practical tools enabling them to develop a strategy and implementation of quantitative marketing research;
- ·to understand and implement steps of development of marketing research;
- ·to introduce statistical techniques used in marketing analysis; to illustrate benefits of each technique;
- ·to exchange ideas and best practices applied towards marketing research strategies.
Pre-course requirements
Marketing - 1
Knowledge of SPSS
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 11 - To be familiar with the main concepts and theories related to humanity and society.
- 22 - To be able to identify the nature and behaviour of producers, consumers and investors.
- 26 - To comprehend and use the basic concepts of marketing and the main sectorial policies and understand the commercial environment in which these companies operate.
- 34 - To develop the ability to predict situations and anticipate events, as well as be able to recognise and interpret an economic situation within a specific context.
- 35 - To analyse time series.
- 52 - To develop interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of a team.
- 53 - To acquire the skills necessary to learn autonomously.
- 54 - To be able to express one’s ideas and formulate arguments in a logical and coherent way, both verbally and in writing.
- 60 - To acquire knowledge that promotes respect for other cultures and habits.
- 68 - To develop mechanisms that encourage sensitivity towards social welfare issues.
Syllabus
Content of the course
Topic I: Qualitative Research - General context; the company-consumer relationship
Socio-cultural environment
Dominant, emerging and residual trends.
The company-consumer relationship.
- The emotional bond.
Topic II: Basic notions of psychology
Role and task of psychology
Main Schools
Psychology and Business
Psychology and Consumption
Topic III: The role of research
The role of the researcher
Types of company demand
- Manifest
- Latent
Main tasks
Elaboration of the project of the field work and the Study
Topic IV: The Process of a Study
1. Customer demand
-Briefing elaboration
2. The research project.
- Elaboration of the project.
- Objectives and methodology.
-Other aspects: timing, materials, budget, etc.
3. The Study.
- Fieldwork
Focus groups, interviews, mystery shopping, etc.
- Analysis of results
- Preparation of a report for the client
- Presentation of results
Topic V: Quantitative Research
Types of research
Sources of information
Ethical issues in market research
Design of questionnaires and formats
Topic VI: Sampling
Population and selection strategy
Sampling
Data collection methods
Data Tabulation
Data analysis
Topic VII: Advanced Methods
Regressions
Factorial analysis
Topic VIII: Report Preparation and Presentation
Report structure
Report Preparation
Presentation of the data
Tentative plan of sessions
Week 1: Qualitative Research - General context; the company-consumer relationship
Socio-cultural environment
Dominant, emerging and residual trends.
The company-consumer relationship.
- The emotional bond.
Week 2: Basic notions of psychology
Role and task of psychology
Main Schools
Psychology and Business
Psychology and Consumption
Week 3: The role of research
The role of the researcher
Types of company demand
- Manifest
- Latent
Main tasks
Elaboration of the project of the field work and the Study
Week 4: The Process of a Study
Customer demand
-Briefing elaboration
Week 5: The research project.
- Elaboration of the project.
- Objectives and methodology.
-Other aspects: timing, materials, budget, etc.
Week 6: The Study.
- Fieldwork
Focus groups, interviews, mystery shopping, etc.
- Analysis of results
- Preparation of a report for the client
- Presentation of results
Week 7: Midterm presentation of group projects
Week 8: Quantitative research. Classification. External vs Internal
Introduction: Definition, classification (secondary: external and internal data). Internal secondary data
- The differences between primary and secondary data
- The different classifications of secondary data, including internal and external sources
- The advantages and disadvantages of secondary data
- The opportunities and challenges of big data
- How to evaluate secondary data
- What packaged information is and the differences between syndicated data and packaged services
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of packaged information
- Some common applications of packaged information
- How digital data are tracked and used
- The uses of social media data, user generated ocntent and their advantages and disadvantages
- The future potential of the Internet of Things
- The ethical responsibility that comes with managing big data
- Internal Reports System
- Marketing Intelligence System (MIS)
- Marketing Decision Support System (DSS)
- Marketing Research System
Week 9: Survey Data Collection Methods, Designing the Questionnaire
Primary Data: Survey Research and Observation Methods: why, when and how.
- The advantages of surveys,
- The various modes of survey administration
-Various considerations when selecting a specific method of data collection
- Types of scales that are commonly used in marketing research
- What reliability and validity of measurement instruments
- Steps involved with the design of a questionnaire
Week 10: Sampling and sample size
- The reasons for taking a sample
- Probability and nonprobability sampling
- The steps involved with online data sampling and developing a sampling plan
- Axioms about sample size and considerations when determining the sample size
Week 11: Field Work and Descriptive Analysis
- About errors and how to control them (if possible)
- What a dataset, coding of data, and the data code book are
- Data quality issues in data sets
- What the different types of statistical analyses used in marketing research are
- What descriptive analysis is and how to do it
-When to use a particular descriptive analysis measure
- How to perform descriptive analyses with SPSS
-How to report descriptive statistics to clients
Week 12: Implementing Basic Differences and Associations Tests
- Why differences are important
-How to test for significant differences between two groups (percentages and averages)
- Analysis of variance: testing for significant differences in means among more than two groups
-How to test for differences between two means within the same sample (paired sample differences)
-The null hypotheses for various differences tests described
- The types of relationships (or associations) between two variables
- How relationships between two variables may be characterized
-What correlation coefficients and covariation are
- About the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, and how to obtain it in with SPSS
-How to communicate correlation findings insights to clients
- What cross-tabulations are and how to compute them
- Chi-square analysis and how it is used in cross-tabulation analysis
Week 13 & 14 (3 classes): Regression Analysis, Factor Analysis and Conjoint Analysis
- What bivariate linear regression analysis is, including basic concepts such as terms, assumptions, and equations
- What multiple regression analysis is, including the basic underlying conceptual model, terms, assumptions, and computations, including how to do it with SPSS
- Special uses of multiple regression, including “dummy” variables, standardized betas, and using multiple regression as a screening device
- What stepwise multiple regression is, including how to do it with SPSS
-Some warnings regarding the use of multiple regression analysis
- How to report multiple regression analysis insights to clients
- Factor Analysis Model
- Statistics Associated with Factor Analysis
- Method of Factor Analysis
- Conducting Factor Analysis (Number of Factors, rotation, interpretation, factor scores)
- Conducting Conjoint Analysis – what is it used for?
- Interpreting the Results
- Assumptions & Limitations of Conjoint Analysis
Week 7 (1 class): Communicating Insights
- The characteristics of clear and effective communication: DOs and DONTs
- What plagiarism is, why it is a serious problem, and how to properly reference sources
- Methods for communicating insights, including videos, infographics, and immersion techniques
- Typical attributes of a marketing research report
- How to position the report for the audience
- The elements that should be included in the marketing research report
- The basic guidelines and principles for writing effective marketing research reports
- How to accurately represent data using visuals, such as figures, tables, charts, and graphs
- The basic principles for presenting an oral report
- The role of data visualization tools and dashboards
- Methods for disseminating results across the organization
This is a generalized program. Instructors reserve the right to introduce modifications and changes.
Group Project
Project analysis has to be conducted by groups of 4–5 students in the format of a case study. The goal is to learn to conduct marketing research using primary data. Using an example of company selected by students in the first part of the course, we simulate a real-life situation of an MNE’s marketing research.
(a) Student teams will present their projects to the rest of the class.
(b) The well-written report should incorporate material from lectures, the course literature and readings, and additional academic and/or media material found independently by the team. The report has to provide a clear introduction to the situation of market in a target country. The report must show an explicit relation between the goals of MNE’s and the appropriate method of marketing research and data collected.
The correct application marketing research analysis tools and delivery on time are the key criteria of the project quality.
Examination
The exam is an closed-book one. Duration is 90 minutes
The exam will consist of several questions related to the curse content and problem solving/ critical reasoning cases.
The exam questions will be based on all issues covered by the course, in particular, the material presented in lectures, readings, and case examples. Further advice and information on the exam will be given to students in class.
Grading system
|
Activity |
Weight |
|
In-class activity (quality of participation) |
20% |
|
Group project presentation midterm |
10% |
|
Group project – final presentation |
40% |
|
Final written examination |
30% |
|
|
|
Bibliography and resources
Main coursebook:
- Gilbert A. Churchill and Dawn Iacobucci (2010), 10th Edition: Marketing Research Methodological Foundations. South-Western Publishing Co. (ISBN-10: 1439081018).
Additional:
- Naresh K Malhotra (2008), 5th Edición: Investigación de Mercados. Pearson/Prentice Hall. (ISBN 10: 970-26-1185-7). Spanish version of the 5th Edition: Marketing research. An applied orientation (2007). Pearson/Prentice Hall. (ISBN 10: 970-26-1185-7)