Marketing Research for Managerial Decision Making
Marketing 6648
Spring 2010: Module 3
Section 1366:TTh 7:25-9:20; Section 0354: TTh 9:35-11:30 (HGS 150)
Dr. Elanor F. Williams
Email: elanor.williams@warrington.ufl.edu
Phone: 352-273-3275
Office: 201B Bryan Hall
Office hours: Monday 9:30 – 11:00; other times by appointment
Class website: http://bear.warrington.ufl.edu/williams/MAR_6648/MAR_6648_Home.html
Texts:
 Burns and Bush (2010), Marketing Research, 6th Edition, John Wiley & Sons.
 Other readings will be made available through the course website and in class.
Course description and goals:
Marketing managers need information to make good decisions; marketing research is an organized
way to develop and provide the information that marketing managers need most. Research design,
data collection, and data analysis are necessary components of marketing management; this course
will aim to cultivate in you an understanding and appreciation of the potential value and limitations
of marketing research. The main focus of this course will be on how to think about, implement, and
interpret various marketing research methodologies in real-life marketing decisions.
We will take care to focus on all the major steps of the marketing research process, from defining the
research problem, to designing the research and collecting the data, to analyzing the data and making
recommendations. As we do so, we’ll discuss how these methods can help address substantive
marketing problems, including market segmentation, forecasting demand, developing advertising
strategies, and positioning new products.
Course format and expectations:
This course will be lecture-based, with frequent stops for group discussion and activities. Everyone’s
thoughtful participation is required to make the discussions and activities productive, but I hope that
even the lecture will be interactive. I expect each of you to attend each class and to be prepared. Prior
to class, you should complete the assigned reading, noting anything that is unclear or worthy of
further discussion—I will always welcome questions and comments about class material!
“Noteshells,” or outlines, will be available for each lecture. You may print them from the course
website before class—extra copies will not be available in class. These noteshells will help you keep
track of the main points and key terms, and the lectures will assume you have the noteshells in front
of you. I hope you will find these noteshells to be useful, but please realize they are only shells—they
often do not contain all of the material presented in class, and may omit critical examples and
explanations. Please do not rely on only the noteshells to help you remember all of the details covered
in class; they are in no way a substitute for attendance and careful, detailed note-taking.
Evaluation:
Your grade will be determined by the following criteria, described in more detail below:
2 cases (20 points each)
2 quizzes (20 points each)
4 mini assignments (5 points each)
1 group project (written report and presentation)
Class participation
Total possible points
40 points
40 points
20 points
75 points
25 points
200 points
Letter grades will be assigned as follows:
If you earn at least:
You will earn:
184 points
A
180 points
A176 points
B+
164 points
B
160 points
B156 points
C+
144 points
C
140 points
C136 points
D+
124 points
D
120 points
D(Scores below 156 points will result in an E.)
Grades are translated into grade points by the University Registrar according to guidelines posted
below:
http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/regulationgrades.html
Quizzes:
Two quizzes will be given in class (see p. 5 for dates). The second quiz is not cumulative, but will of
course presuppose an understanding of topics covered on the first quiz. All quizzes are closed book,
and they will draw from lectures, discussions, and readings. The quizzes will feature a range of
question types, such as multiple choice, one-word answer, short answer, and longer answer. They are
designed to be rigorous; they will require you to integrate and synthesize the covered content in order
to solve new and challenging problems. More specific information will be given prior to each quiz to
help you prepare. Quizzes may be curved if necessary.
Assignments and projects:
You will complete two cases and one group project. More specific instructions and grading criteria
will be given for each assignment as the semester progresses. You are responsible for remembering
when the assignments are due.
Preliminary words about the group project: Groups will design and implement a marketing
research project, and they will communicate their findings in a written report and a brief oral
presentation. By the end of the module, you will have chosen a specific research question and
designed a research approach, implemented it, and analyzed and synthesized the results. I will
divide the class into groups, but I will give you some input into those divisions. It is your
responsibility to develop a mutually convenient plan to work together. Your group grade will
reflect the quality of the report and the presentation; your grade may be adjusted by other
members’ assessments of your efforts.
Class participation:
You can earn up to 25 points for class participation throughout the module. Attending class and
being prepared is necessary to get the full set of points, but it is not sufficient. I am looking for you to
give thoughtful contributions and examples. Points will be assigned based on the quality, not the
quantity, of your contributions.
Extra credit:
There may be extra credit opportunities in conjunction with quizzes and other assignments. There
will not be any opportunities to receive additional extra credit by completing extra papers or projects
at the end of the module, and all extra credit opportunities will be made available to the entire class.
With this in mind, it would be wise to take advantage of extra credit whenever it is offered.
Important course policies
Attendance:
Attendance at lectures is vital to get a thorough understanding of the material, but I will not “check
up” on you by circulating an attendance roster. Good attendance will be rewarded, however, in that a
significant portion of your grade will be based on participation, and it’s difficult to participate when
you aren’t in class.
On-time completion of work:
Written assignments (cases & group projects): Please turn in written assignments on time, by
emailing them to me before the start of the class when they are due. Assignments will lose
points for each day they are late.
Incompletes: Final grades of incomplete will only be given in the event of exceptional
extenuating circumstances, and only when the incomplete is arranged before classes end.
Incompletes will not be awarded to allow “re-takes” of the course for an improved grade.
Academic honesty:
All work submitted in this class must be your own. Cheating, plagiarizing, gaining unfair advantages
over others, or otherwise violating the University of Florida Academic Honesty Guidelines will NOT
be tolerated. Any and all such violations will result, at minimum, in a failing grade for the assignment
or exam, and will be handled according to University policy. If you have any questions about this
policy or about what constitutes proper conduct, please see me as soon as the questions arise.
Lateness, cell phones, text messaging, and laptops:
Being late to class and letting your phone ring during class are disruptions that are a nuisance to
everyone—and they are easily avoided. Please be on time, and when you arrive, turn off anything
that may beep, ring, play music, sing, yodel, quack, or chirp! Furthermore, please refrain from text
messaging in class. Not only do your fellow students notice this disruptive practice, but I do as well.
Finally, I reserve the right to ban laptops if their use becomes distracting to the class.
A final note:
Most of this syllabus is necessarily formal, but the class sessions themselves should not be. The class
should be engaging and interesting for everyone; marketing research is an important topic for anyone
interested in a marketing career. I encourage everyone to bring up relevant examples and to ask
questions at any point!
Course Schedule
(As we progress through the semester, we may find that we want to spend more time on some topics
and less time on others, so if it would benefit most of the class, the schedule below may change
somewhat.)
Date
Tues.
1/4
Thurs.
1/6
Tues.
1/11
Thurs.
1/13
Tues.
1/18
Thurs.
1/20
Tues.
1/25
Thurs.
1/27
Tues.
2/1
Thurs.
2/3
Tues.
2/8
Thurs.
2/10
Tues
2/15
Thurs.
2/17
Tues.
2/22
Thurs.
2/24
Topic
Part 1: Introduction
1. Introduction to Marketing Research
2. “Problems” in Marketing Research and basics of
the research process
3. Types and categories of research; sampling and
populations; validity and reliability
Part 2: Exploratory Research
3. Observational and archival techniques
4. Focus groups and projective techniques
Part 3: Quantitative Research
5. Survey and questionnaire design
6. Case: Starbucks
7. NO CLASS
Today might be a good day to work on your project
8. Statistical techniques: Regression, cluster,
factor, and conjoint analyses
Quiz #1
10. Experimental design: the basics
Readings
B&B Chapter 1
“Backward Marketing
Research”; B&B Chapters 2, 4
B&B Chapter 5, 12
B&B Chapters 6, 7, 14,
“Empathic Design” (opt.)
B&B Chapter 8
B&B Chapter 9, 10, 11; “SelfReports “(opt.)
“Starbucks: Delivering
Customer Service”
Skim B&B Chapters 15-18
B&B Chapter 19
AKDL Chapter 13
11. Experimental design some more
12. Case: IKEA
Part 4: Moving Forward…
13. Guest speaker: Bruce Ivers, AT&T
Quiz #2
14. Bigger picture smorgasbord: ethics,
international marketing research, and reporting
your findings
15. Project preparation day
NO CLASS—Exam week
16. Group presentations and course wrap-up
“IKEA Invades America”
B&B Chapter 3
B&B Chapter 20, “Rx for
Marketing Research”