UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT 3220Y
MARKETING RESEARCH
Course Outline
Fall 2002
Class Location: TBA
Class Time: Tuesdays, 6:00 – 8:50 p.m.
Class Web Page: http://classes.uleth.ca/200203/mgt3220y/
Instructor: Chris Holdsworth
Phone: 202-6627
E-Mail: christopher.holdswor@uleth.ca or chrishol@telusplanet.net
Office Hours: Before or after class or by appointment
REQUIRED TEXT:
Malohotra, Naresh K. 2002. Basic Marketing Research: Applications to
Contemporary Issues. Upper Saddle River NJ: Prentice Hall.
Companion Web site: http://www.prenhall.com/malhotra
COURSE OVERVIEW
To stay competitive and to avoid the high costs of making poor decisions, companies
need to make marketing decisions that are sound. Such decisions require relevant,
accurate, reliable, valid, and current information. The role of Marketing Research is to
provide that information. This course is designed to familiarize students with the
methods, such as observation, focus groups, surveys and experiments, used to
generate knowledge utilized in making marketing decisions.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the course students should:
1. Be familiar with the basic principles and methods of marketing research.
2. Know the strengths and weaknesses of the various methods.
3. Know when and when not to use each of the methods covered.
4. Know how to develop a research proposal and questionnaire, collect and analyse
qualitative and quantitative data and write a research report.
COURSE FORMAT:
The course will follow an interactive lecture-discussion format supplemented with
periodic video presentations. Lectures and class discussions and small group activities
will not necessarily repeat or cover all the material in the text but will elaborate on
selected topics and use additional case studies to provide a deeper understanding of
the material. Assigned textbook readings may be augmented with suggested
additional readings and handouts. Although not a grade component, students are
required to contribute to class discussions so attendance and participation is therefore
essential. The instructor may boost a student’s marks if they are on the borderline of
one letter grade and the next and they have actively participated. Since there is no
better way to learn than by doing, students will also be involved in a semester-long
group project that will provide practical experience designing and carrying out a real
marketing research study.
ASSESSMENT
Assessment for this course will be based on the following components:
1. Midterm Exam
Date: October 15
Weight 20% of final grade.
The mid-term exam will cover the assigned readings and all material discussed in
class plus material presented in any videos. The exam will consist of multiple choice
and short answer questions.
2. Final Exam
The final exam will cover the assigned readings and all material discussed in class
plus material presented in videos since the mid-term - i.e. it is not cumulative. The
exam will consist of multiple choice and short answer questions.
Date: Dec 10
Weight: 30% of final grade
Exams must be taken at the scheduled times. Students will be excused only on the
presentation of a valid written excuse from a physician or employer. On receipt of
such written authority alternative arrangements may be made at the discretion of the
Instructor
3. Group Project
Students will work in teams of 4 to complete a marketing research project for a local
organization. Teams will be formed the second week of class and some time will be
given in class to work on the project. The project will involve contacting a local
organization and defining the research problem. It will also involve designing the
project, collecting primary and secondary data, analyzing the data and writing a
comprehensive research report. In other words, the research project will involve a
real organization, a real research problem and real data. The group project will be
worth 50% of the final grade.
The project needs to be completed in 3 phases.
Phase One: (10%) Each group will need to develop a short (no longer than 7 pages)
research proposal. This should provide some background on the organization, a
review of relevant literature, and a discussion of what you propose to do.
Date due: October 8
Phase Two: (15%) Students will be required to develop a questionnaire and sampling
plan. This section should explain the sample, instruments and procedures used and the
data collected. This section should be 5-7 pages long. In addition it should also
include a revised proposal.
Date Due: November 12th
Phase Three: (25%) Students will be required to perform an analysis of the data they
have collected (both qualitative and quantitative) and write a comprehensive report
based on the sum of their research and analysis. This section should be 10-15 pages
long. The total project should not exceed 25 pages double-spaced, excluding any
appendices (e.g. copies of questionnaires used, computer output etc.).
Date Due: December 3rd.
GRADING SYSTEM:
Each item of course work will be weighted as above and a final mark out of 100
calculated. This will then be converted to a letter grade in compliance with the
University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management's formula as follows:
A+ =
A=
A- =
B+ =
B=
B- =
95-100%
89-94%
84-88%
79-83
73-78
70-72
C+ = 67-69
C = 63-66
C- = 60-62
D+ = 57-59
D = 50-56
F = 0-49
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE LECTURES, READINGS & PROPJECT DATES
Sept. 10: Introduction (Chapter 1)
Sept. 17: The research problem and design. (Chapters 2, 3)
Sept. 24: Secondary research, Research Examples and Cases (Chapters 4, 5)
Oct. 1: Qualitative Research (Chapter 6)
Oct 8:
Observational Research/Survey research (Chapters 7)
(Project Phase 1 Due)
Oct 15: Midterm Exam
Oct 22: Experiments/Measurement (Chapters 8, 9)
Oct 29: Questionnaire design/Sampling (Chapters 11, 12)
Nov 5: Editing and Coding, Univariate and Descriptive Stats (Chapter 15)
Nov12: The Logic of Statistics – test of association – chi-square (Chapter 16)
(Project Phase 2 Due)
Nov 19: Comparison of means tests – t-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
(Ch. 17)
Nov 26: Correlation and regression (Chapter 18)
Dec 3:
Presenting the Results/Review (Chapter 19) (Project Phase 3 Due)
Dec 10: Final Exam