(Version: March 14th, 2012)
The Ohio State University
Fisher College of Business
Spring, 2012
Professor:
Office:
Phone:
Email:
Office hours:
Course website:
Dr. Peter Ebbes
560A Fisher Hall
614-292-1155 ebbes.1@osu.edu
T R 5:30PM-6:30PM; W 2PM-5PM (or by appointment)
CARMEN at https://carmen.osu.edu/
Class Schedule (location)
T R 3:30PM - 5:18PM
Course Objectives
(365 Gerlach Hall)
Companies need to make decisions. Knowledge is the basis for the decision-making process
(GfK group). The last decade has seen an explosion in the quantity and quality of information available to managers. This course is about “data”: how to gather it and how to make sense of it.
We will focus on understanding data relevant to marketers, the types available, methods of collection and analysis. Course participants will learn to define a marketing research goal, create an effective measurement instrument (such as focus groups or surveys), and rigorously analyze the resulting information. We will focus on how the marketing research process is carried out conceptually, from translating managerial concepts to concrete information about a firm’s customers or competitors. The main sections of this course include the following: problem definition, research design, measurement and data collection, data analysis and reporting.
Course Format
To achieve the course objectives we will use a combination of lectures, case discussions, articles, videos, or guest speakers. Class sessions will be devoted to probing, extending, and applying the material. Analysis of cases will form the basis for applying the concepts in real-world situations.
You are expected to come well prepared for these class discussions.
Additionally, there is a course project that provides you with the opportunity to integrate the steps in the marketing research process discussed in class. Teams are required to come up with their own marketing management problem. An important aspect of the course involves getting
"hands on" experience with marketing research problems, and the project will allow you to conduct an actual research project from the beginning (problem definition) until the end (final report).
Required course material
1.
Course pack. The course pack is available through XanEdu ( www.xanedu.com
). This website allows you to purchase a digital copy or a hard copy (either is fine).
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2.
SPSS statistical software. SPSS can be obtained at no cost from OSU. Instructions of how to get SPSS are given on the last page of this syllabus. It would be good to have access to a laptop with the ability to load SPSS on the hard disk that you could bring to class.
Recommended material
In addition to the course pack, you may be interested in purchasing one or more of the following texts as a reference. However, you are not required to purchase any of them.
Basic text:
McDaniel and Gates, 2010, Marketing research, 8 th
edition, Wiley
A more advanced text:
Iacobucci and Churchill, 2010, Marketing research 10 th
edition, South-Western
SPSS and statistics:
Field, 2009, Discovering Statistics using SPSS, 3 rd
edition, Sage
Huizingh, 2007, Applied Statistics with SPSS, Sage
Moore and McCabe, 2006, Introduction to the practice of statistics, 5 th
edition, Freeman
Student evaluation (grading)
As required by Fisher policy, grading will be based on relative rather than absolute standards.
The average grade in this course will be a 3.5 or lower. A “B” (3.00) average in core courses and overall is required to earn a Fisher MBA degree from The Ohio State University.
Each student’s grade will be determined as follows:
Research project (team) 40%
SPSS assignment (pairs)
Survey assignment (pairs)
15%
15%
Case exam write-up (individual)
Participation (individual)
15%
15%
100%
Research Project
The marketing research project provides you with a learning-by-doing opportunity of conducting a marketing research project professionally. The objective of the research project is to provide you with experience in applying the concepts and methods learned in class to a real world problem. Each team should choose their own problem. The problem should be relevant to a business or governmental organization. The project is to be done in teams of 4 or 5 students. The project proposal must be discussed and approved by me in its early stages.
Guidelines and requirements for the course project and project report
1.
When selecting a project, make sure you have a clear understanding of the research problem(s) at hand, a realization of the organizational constraints for dealing with such a
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problem (including time and budgetary restrictions), and an understanding of how the information provided by your research will facilitate decision making.
2.
Identify the information needed to address the research problem (e.g. use preliminary research techniques such as focus groups or secondary data analysis).
3.
Develop the data collection method. Because this course is built around surveys, your study should use a survey as the main data collection method. You should also develop a
(sampling) plan to collect responses.
4.
Collect data. For the purposes of this course you are required to collect at least 75 completed responses.
5.
Analyze your data using appropriate statistical techniques.
6.
Present your recommendations based on your findings and discuss the limitations of your research.
The final deliverables include, amongst other things, a presentation, an executive summary and detailed results from your data analysis. Each team will make a presentation before submitting the final report. The entire final project report (excluding questionnaire, tables, figures, etc.) should not exceed 15 double-spaced pages. In addition, you will be required to submit a copy of your data file in SPSS format.
At the end of the quarter, team members will rate one another in terms of their relative contribution in team projects. As such, shirking team responsibilities is by far the surest route to oblivion.
Class Participation and Attendance
To a large extent, learning in this class is related to your willingness to expose your insights and viewpoints to the critical judgment of your classmates. Hence, to make the learning process more beneficial and enjoyable, each one of you is expected to contribute to class discussions. This includes preparation for class by reading the text and cases, and presenting your opinions or summaries of material covered in class. The basis for class participation is quality, not quantity
(hence, talking a lot alone does not get you a high grade for participation!). Attendance is a necessary but not sufficient condition for participation. If you do not actively participate, you will receive a low participation grade even if you attend every class.
We should all try to make the classroom atmosphere as beneficial and enjoyable as possible and allow everybody to contribute to the class. You are neither expected to have all the right answers in every class, nor to dominate every in-class discussion. Furthermore, it is perfectly okay to disagree with me and your classmates as long as this is done in a civil and constructive manner.
Be a professional in class!
Out of respect for the other students in your class, it is important for you to focus your full attention to the class, for the entire class period. Most students observe proper decorum, but it takes only one person’s behavior to distract the entire class. The classroom is a professional learning environment, and students’ in-class behaviors should reflect this. Please observe the following rules:
• Arrive to class on time.
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• Once you have arrived, you should leave the classroom only if absolutely necessary.
Leaving to make or take phone calls, to meet with classmates, or to go to an interview, is not considered appropriate behavior.
• If for some reason you must be late for class or leave early, or if you know in advance that you will miss a class, please let me know.
• The use of laptop computers for email correspondence or other non-class related activities (like reading the news or updating your investment portfolio) is rude and disruptive.
• Turn off your cell phone, smartphone and any other communications device during class.
• Late assignments will not be accepted. The only exceptions are for documented emergencies. Failure to meet “due dates” will otherwise result in grade penalties of at least 25%.
Tentative Course Schedule
# Day Date Topics
1 Tue 27-Mar. Welcome, course overview, introduction
2 Thu 29-Mar. Overview marketing research process
3 Tue 3-Apr. Exploratory research / secondary data
4 Thu 5-Apr. Exploratory research / secondary data
5 Tue 10-Apr. TBD
6 Thu 12-Apr. Survey methods
7 Tue 17-Apr. Survey methods
8 Thu 19-Apr. Survey-free-for-all / assignment due
9 Tue 24-Apr. statistical methods for survey data using SPSS
10 Thu 26-Apr. statistical methods for survey data using SPSS
11 Tue 1-May Regression techniques for surveys
12 Thu 3-May Logit regression for surveys
13 Tue 8-May SPSS case – putting it all together / assignment due
14 Thu 10-May Conjoint Analysis
15 Tue 15-May In-class case assignment due
16 Thu 17-May TBD
17 Tue 22-May in-class SPSS labs / team project
18 Thu 24-May in-class SPSS labs / team project
19 Tue 29-May Team presentations / final project due
20 Thu 31-May Team presentations / final project due
Detailed course schedule and readings will be made available through CARMEN.
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A
CADEMIC
I
NTEGRITY
Academic integrity is essential to maintaining an environment that fosters excellence in teaching, research, and other educational and scholarly activities. Thus, The Ohio State University and the
Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM) expect that all students have read and understand the University’s Code of Student Conduct and that all students will complete all academic and scholarly assignments with fairness and honesty. Students must recognize that failure to follow the rules and guidelines established in the University’s Code of Student Conduct and this syllabus may constitute “Academic Misconduct.”
The Ohio State University’s Code of Student Conduct (Section 3335-23-04) defines academic misconduct as: “Any activity that tends to compromise the academic integrity of the University, or subvert the educational process.” Examples of academic misconduct include (but are not limited to) plagiarism, collusion (unauthorized collaboration), copying the work of another student, and possession of unauthorized materials during an examination. Ignorance of the
University’s Code of Student Conduct is never considered an “excuse” for academic misconduct, so I recommend that you review the Code of Student Conduct , specifically, the sections dealing with academic misconduct.
If I suspect that a student has committed academic misconduct in this course, I am obligated by
University Rules to report my suspicions to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. If COAM determines that you have violated the University’s Code of Student Conduct (i.e., committed academic misconduct), the sanctions for the misconduct could include a failing grade in this course and suspension or dismissal from the University.
In this course, it is also expected that each student will behave in a manner that is consistent with the Fisher Honor Statement, which reads as follows:
“As a member of the Fisher College of Business Community, I am personally committed to the highest standards of behavior. Honesty and integrity are the foundations from which I will measure my actions. I will hold myself accountable to adhere to these standards. As a future leader in the community and business environment, I pledge to live by these principles and celebrate those who share these ideals.”
If you have any questions about the above policy or what constitutes academic misconduct in this course, please contact me.
S TUDENTS WITH D ISABILITIES
Any student who feels she/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss specific needs. Please contact the Office for Disability
Services at 614-292-3307 in room 150 Pomerene Hall to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. It is your responsibility to discuss this with me well in advance of an assignment due date or an exam.
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I
NSTRUCTIONS TO GET
SPSS
ON A HOME COMPUTER OR LAPTOP AT NO COST
To obtain the SPSS license codes, you need to fill out the following form: http://oit.osu.edu/site_license/Licenses/spsslicensestud.pdf
.
Once completed, you can manually walk it over or scan/fax the signed document to the IT
Services Desk (Fax: 614-292-3299 or Email: 8help@osu.edu
). The IT service desk is located in
025 Central Classrooms .
Once the codes are received, you can download the software on the OCIO Site Licensed
Software Downloads website (under Windows software), at http://osusls.osu.edu/ .
Additional information regarding this process and system requirements may be found here: http://oit.osu.edu/site_license/slwin.html#spss
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