The   purpose   of   this   course   syllabus   outline   is   to   help   faculty   and   instructors   plan   systematically   for   the
4 ‐ year   undergraduate   curriculum   and   the   embedding   of   outcome ‐ based   education   in   both   undergraduate   and   postgraduate   education.
The   list   below   does   not   reflect   a   prescribed   order.
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Course   Code   Mark222
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Course   title   Marketing   Research
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Learning   outcomes
After   each   course   learning   outcome,   please   give   in   brackets   the   number(s)   of   the   program   learning   outcome(s)   aligned   with   it.
Please   include   both   taught   outcomes   and   those   provided   as   opportunities   for   development   but   not   taught,   such   as   teamworking   through   a   group   project   task.
General   course   level   outcomes
Marketing   research   serves   as   a   central   basis   for   marketing   strategy   and   firm   profitability   by   providing   information   relevant   to   marketing   decision   making.
It   is   critical   for   marketing   managers   to   understand   the   nature   of   marketing   research   and   to   be   able   to   specify   what   information   to   seek,   how   to   get   it,   and   how   to   utilize   it   in   making   marketing   decisions.
This   course   is   aimed   to   provide   students   with   an   overview   of   marketing   research   in   terms   of   needs,   definition,   process,   analysis   and   reporting.
Generally,   a   student   in   marketing   research   should   be   able   to:
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Develop   a   structural   thinking   ability   to   translate   management   problems   into   tangible   research   questions
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Understand   basic   concepts   and   methods   of   marketing   research
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Increase   critical   thinking   ability   to   assess   the   quality   of   marketing   information   and   sensitivity   to   the   biases   and/or   the   limitations   of   marketing   data
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Familiarize   with   frequently   used   quantitative   approaches   and   use   the   most   appropriate   methods   in   various   conditions
• Nurture   a   skill   to   effectively   utilize   research   results   for   a   better   decision   making
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Create   a   research   project   plan   that   include   (i)   problem   identification   (ii)   research   design   (iii)   data   collection   design   (iv)   sampling   design   (v)   data   analysis   and   solution   generation
Specific   course   level   outcomes
Marketing   research   is   taught   as   an   integrated   process   including   a   few   sequentially   related   steps   as   follows.
I   describe   the   specific   course   level   outcomes   for   each   step.
1.
Problem   Definition
Students   who   have   finished   this   step   should   be   able   to:
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Understand   the   role   of   marketing   information   in   marketing   decision   making
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Understand   the   sequential   nature   of   marketing   research   and   the   importance   of   problem   identification
• Identify   relevant   decision   problems   faced   by   organizations
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Develop   a   structural   thinking   ability   to   identify   the   information   requirements   (research   questions)   to   address   the   decision   issue
• Create   more   specific   information   requirement   from   broad   research   questions

2.
Research   Design
Students   who   have   finished   this   step   should   be   able   to:
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Understand   the   importance   of   research   design   as   a   blue   print   for   marketing   research   projects
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Understand   the   difference   of   three   major   research   design:   exploratory   research,   descriptive   research,   and   causal   research
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Decide   which   research   design   should   be   used   for   the   research   questions   in   hand
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Conduct   the   focus   group   study   in   order   to   extract   exploratory   information   for   the   research   issues
• Understand   the   concept   of   causality   and   the   concept   of   controlled   experiment
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Assess   the   internal   validity   of   an   experiment   in   terms   of   control   and   randomization
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Assess   the   external   validity   of   an   experiment
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Apply   the   concept   of   causality   to   the   issue   of   test   marketing   for   new   products
3.
Data   Collection   Design
Students   who   have   finished   this   step   should   be   able   to:
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Understand   the   nature   of   primary/secondary   data
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Assess   the   quality   of   various   types   of   secondary   data   including   scanner   data   and   utilize   them   effectively
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Understand   the   concept   of   measurement   and   measurement   scale
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Assess/critique   the   validity   of   measurement   (construct   validity,   reliability,   etc)
• Apply   the   measurement   tools   to   measure   attitude   by   utilizing   various   measurement   scale   (semantic   differential   scale,   Likert   scale,   etc)
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Create   questionnaire   to   collect   information
4.
Sampling   Design
Students   who   have   finished   this   step   should   be   able   to:
• Understand   the   nature   of   sampling   study   vs.
population   study
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Identify   an   appropriate   sampling   frame   for   a   research   project
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Understand   the   various   sampling   method   (probability   sampling   and   non ‐ probability   sampling)
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Determine   the   required   sample   size   and   understand   the   logic   behind   sample   size   determination
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Understand   the   concept   of   sampling   error   and   non ‐ sampling   error
• Identify   the   source   of   possible   error   and/or   bias   in   a   research   project
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Increase   sensitivity   to   bias   and   single   out   the   possible   sources   of   the   systematic   errors   in   a   research   project   or   in   a   marketing   data   set
5.
Data   Analysis
Students   who   have   finished   this   step   should   be   able   to:
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Understand   data   coding   and   generate   compute   file   for   quantitative   analysis   from   qualitative   questionnaire
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Conduct   various   types   of   univariate   analysis   such   as   simple   tabulation   and   descriptive   statistics   to   describe   a   variable
• Conduct   basic   bivariate   analysis   such   as   Chi ‐ square   independence   test   through   cross ‐ tabulation   and   mean ‐ difference   testing   using   ANOVA   to   extract   information   on   the   relationship   between   two   variables

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Understand   the   statistical   concept   regarding   regression
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Measure   economic   quanitities   such   as   price   elasticities   using   regression   model
• Create   perceptual   maps   using   Multidimensional   Scaling
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Design   and   conduct   rating ‐ based   conjoint   studies
• Utilize   compute   software   such   as   SAS   to   implement   aforementioned   analytical   models
6.
Report
Students   who   have   finished   this   step   should   be   able   to:
• Create   qualitative   decision   relevant   information   from   quantitative   data   analysis   output
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Generate   user ‐ friendly   and   executive ‐ friendly   research   report
• Make   definite   suggestions   to   the   decision   problem
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Identify   the   limitation   of   the   project   and   the   future   research   opportunities
7.
Ethics
Students   who   have   taken   this   course   should   be   able   to:
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Understand   ethical   principles   and   codes   of   conduct   that   must   be   observed   when   any   research   project   is   conducted.
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Apply   these   practices   in   the   conduct   of   their   own   market   research   project
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Course   description
Marketing research serves as a central basis for marketing strategy and firm profitability. Therefore it is critical for a manager to understand marketing research and to be able to specify what needs to be studied, how to study it, and how to interpret the results. This course presents an overview of marketing research in terms of needs, definition, process, analysis and reports. Our approach is practical and mainly quantitative.
By understanding the research discipline, the practice and application should become comfortable and available to you.
Teaching   approach
This   section   outlines   the   instructional   strategy   and   covers   how   the   learning   outcomes,   the   teaching   and   learning   activities   (e.g.
lecture,   interactive   seminar,   labs,   case   discussion,   field ‐ trip,   individual   or   group   project,   online   learning,   etc.)   and   the   assessments   are   aligned   with   each   other
‐ Develop   problem   analysis   skills,   and   ability   to   translate   a   management   problem   into   a   feasible   research   question.
‐ Provide   with   a   working   knowledge   of   basic   concepts   and   methods   of   marketing   research.
‐ Increase   sensitivity   to   the   biases   and   limitations   of   marketing   data.
Familiarize   with   some   of   the   quantitative   approaches   to   analyze   customer   characteristics,   market   segmentation,   latent   market   structures,   consumer   choices   and   consumer   response   behave
Required   Textbook:   Churchill,   Gilbert   A.
Jr.,   Basic   Marketing   Research ,   6 th
Edition,   Dryden   Press.

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Assessment   scheme
This   includes   the   assessment    type   (exams,   quizzes,   written   assignmenta,   case   assignments,   presentations,   etc),   a   brief   description   and   the   weighting.
In   Class   Assignment   (5):
Exams   (2):
Individual   Class   Participation:
Group   Project   Presentation:
Group   Project   Report:
Total:
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Student   learning   resources
50
200
100
500 points
50   points
100   points
points point
points
This   can   include   course   textbook,   course   pack/Other   Required   readings,   optional   readings   (please   ensure   any   Library   course   support   site/course   reservations,   as   well   as   any   URLs,    which   can   be   linked   in   the   LMES   course   website,   including   Library   course   pages.
‐   Course   textbook
‐   Course   pack/Other   required   readings
‐   Optional   readings   (please   ensure   any   Library   course   support   site/course   reservations,   as   well   as   any
URLs,   are   linked   in   the   LMES   course   website)
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Course   schedule
Phase   1 :   Form   Groups   (Each   group   consists   of   5 ‐ 6   students   from   the   same   session).
• Turn   in   group   member   form   by   Feb.
19.
Phase   2 :   Select   Topic.
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Discuss   the   selection   of   topics   with   instructor   on   Feb.
26 .
• Submit   on   March   4   a   one ‐ page   written   report   specifying   your   topic,   including   background,   decision   and   research   problems.
Phase   3 :   Research   Proposal   due   on   March   18 .
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Tentative   project   title;
• Decisions   involved;
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Research   problems;
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Method   and   research   design;
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Estimate   of   time   requirement.
(Cost   estimate   not   required)
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Page   limit:   2   pages   (not   including   cover   page).
Phase   4 :   Data   Collection,   Data   Coding,   and   Data   Analysis.
Phase   5 :   Final   Report.

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Teaching   staff   contact   details
Faculty/instructors   and   TA(s)   where   appropriate
Prof   Ying   Zhao,   room   4364,   email:   mkyzhao,   tel:x.7701
Edrie/Florence,   room   4371,   email:   edriecto,   flolee,   tel:x.7705
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Academic   honesty
Please   provide   a   link   to   the   HKUST   Academic   Integrity   site   at   http://www.ust.hk/vpaao/integrity/    You   may   also   wish   to   include   your   subject/course ‐ specific   arrangements   for   avoiding   plagiarism.
Any   student   who   violates   academic   integrity,   through   such   activities   as   duplication   of   another   students’   work   in   whole   or   in   part,   plagiarism,   etc.
or   other   means   of   cheating,   will   receive   an   F   for   the   course.
There   is   no   honor   in   taking   someone’s   work   as   your   own.
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Learning   environment
In   creating   this   section   you   may   wish   to   refer   to   the   HKUST   good   learning   experience   site   at   http://www.ust.hk/vpaao/conduct/good_learning_experience.pps/   You   may   also   wish   to   discuss   with   your   students   your   expectations   of   their   classroom   behavior.
‐   Arriving   on   time
‐   Arriving   quietly,   if   you   must   be   late
‐   Listening   when   I   am   talking
‐   Turning   off   your   mobile   phone
‐   Leaving   only   when   the   class   is   finished
‐   Keeping   quiet   when   classmates   are   trying   to   listen
‐   Taking   classmate’s   questions   and   answers   seriously
‐   Making   the   class   a   comfortable   experience   for   everyone
Follow ‐ up   questions   after   completing   the   Course   Syllabus   Outline
1.
Which   of   the   course   learning   outcomes   stated   above   already   being   addressed   by   the   faculty/instructor(s)   teaching   this   course?
2.
Which   of   the   course   learning   outcomes   do   you   think   are   not   being   addressed,   or   need   to   be   addressed   more   fully,   and   what   would   be   your   plan   of   action   for   addressing   any   gap(s)?
3.
What   support   (resources,   sharing,   training),   if   any,   do   you   think   you   need   to   accomplish   the   changes   in   2   above?