College of Commerce DePaul University Marketing Research I Autumn 1998

Dr. Roger J. Baran

Course Objectives, learning objectives and outcomes: This course is intended to provide students with the skills necessary to conduct and /or manage qualitative and quantitative studies for organizations in domestic and foreign markets. Students will be provided with the techniques needed to do the following: How to recognize decision situations requiring marketing research How to smooth the marketing researcher-management interface How to determine which research design is needed to solve the particular problem at hand: exploratory, descriptive or causal research/longitudinal or cross-sectional research/observation or communication research How to recognize appropriate sources of secondary data How to design a questionnaire How to monitor focus group sessions How to plan appropriate sampling designs with appropriate sample sizes How to analyze data using and meaningfully present it to management How to modify research techniques and methods to be appropriate in a variety of international settings

My office is in room #7520 in the DePaul Center at 1 East Jackson Boulevard My office phone is 312-362-8302 and the Marketing Department fax number is 312-3625647. Please call and leave a message if you will be unable to attend class. Your grade will be based on your performance on the following course activities: Midterm Examination Final Examination Assignments & Quizzes 35% 45% 20%

Textbook: MARKETING RESEARCH: AN APPLIED APPROACH (5th ed.) 1996 Thomas Kinnear and James Taylor, McGraw-Hill Inc.
Session 1. An overview of stages in the marketing research process The difference between market research and marketing research The role of marketing research in the organizational/corporate system Organizational publics which are the focus of marketing research activities Examples of basic marketing research from the business world: Black & Decker new product idea generation Why Japanese pianos did not sell in the U.S. Biosite Diagnostics new product, Triage, and how marketing research generated investor interest Hallmark Cards Model of the Marketing System (Fig. 1-1) Steps in the decision making process (Fig. 1-2) Questions that marketing managers must answer for Nestle in each country market Types of information needed by marketing managers (Ex. 1-1) Marketing research: its strategic and tactical aspects Marketing research at General Motors Global business blunders that could have been prevented through marketing research Radio Shack in Holland Lego in Japan Vic Tanny Health Clubs in Singapore Special considerations when conducting marketing research globally Ch. 1 Key organizational issue: should marketing research be a centralized or decentralized function within the organization? Advantages & disadvantages of a centralized/decentralized marketing research function Criteria for deciding which approach to use Marriots and DuPonts solution to the problem Institutions involved in marketing research: uses/doers Careers in marketing research/Methodological developments in marketing research

Differences between consumer and industrial marketing research (Table 2-4) Issues involved in utilizing marketing research suppliers: Advantages/Disadvantages of using a supplier versus doing it yourself How to select a supplier How to manage a supplier and improve their productivity Ethics in marketing research Ch. 2 2. Marketing Research Discussion of theRigid Container Division case in the chapter Errors in marketing research: sampling errors and non-sampling errors Ch. 3 How to recognize a decision situation requiring marketing research (Fig. 4-3) Determining marketing research objectives and the need to record them Specifying information needs and developing decision criteria The marketing researcher-management interface Ch. 4 A complete overview of marketing research including: Stages in the marketing research process Difficulties in the problem formulation stage Types of Exploratory Research Experience Surveys Collecting Secondary Data Analysis of Selected Cases Qualitative Research Studies Why exploratory research should always be conducted Sources of Secondary data: advantages and disadvantages International data: Census bureaus and International Directory of Associations Ch. 6 3. Discussion of Case 1-1: National Markets-Nutritional Labeling Conclusive Research can be descriptive or causal Descriptive Research Studies Observation Studies: what they are and when to use them Types of Communication Surveys Cross-sectional vs. Longitudinal Mail/phone/in-person/hybrid/using electronic devices When to use Descriptive Research When to use Causal Research When to use Performance Monitoring Research/Ad-hoc vs. continuous Longitudinal studies and the use of panels Strengths and weaknesses of panels Ch. 5 The importance of measurement in marketing research/What is measured Definition of measurement Types of scales: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio Relationship between marketing constructs and scale types Sources of error in measurement

Measurement validity and reliability and how to estimate each Attitude scaling: Hierarchy of Effects model and types of primary data General methods of attitude measurement: Self-reports Unstructured approaches Performance of objective tasks Overt behavior Physiological reactions Self-reporting attitude measurement techniques--advantages & disadvantages of each: Ranking Graphic vs. Itemized rating scales Likert Semantic differential Staple scale Constant sum technique Paired comparison technique Thurstone Method of equal appearing intervals Ch. 8 4. Data Collection: Conclusive research Types of respondent data: Hierarchy of effects, motives, psychographics, and demographics Selecting the appropriate respondent in dyads, families and decision-making units Stages in the decision-making process and how it impacts respondent selection Collecting data and how to select the appropriate approach Why response rates are down in the U.S. How to improve response rates to mail surveys world-wide Observation techniques Ch. 11 5. Midterm Exam 6. Designing Questionnaires: components and content Deciding upon response formats: open-ended vs. dichotomous vs. multichotomous questions The six mistakes to avoid in question composition Question sequencing Ch. 12 Computations involved in the paired-comparison technique Computations involved in the Thurstone method technique 7. Discussion of Case 2-1: AGT, Incs Research Proposal for Determination of Demand for an Amusement Park in Karachi, Pakistan Techniques session: see techniques listed at end of syllabus 8. Discussion of Case 3-8: Midwest Marketing Research Associates Causal Research Designs Technique Session

Ch. 9

9. Data Collection: Qualitative Techniques Focus group: what they are, how they can help, when they are particularly important Self-contained qualitative research studies Selection of appropriate focus group participants Processes underlying focus group sessions Things to remember about focus group sessions Moderatorsbe careful of the following Participant roles in a focus group Strategies for setting and maintaining a group agenda The role of probing for clarification and for subconscious motivations Verbal probing techniques Probing aids and devices Video-tape example of a focus group session Technique Session Ch. 10 10. Final Exam TECHNIQUES Sampling Basics: non-probability samples: Convenience, judgement and quota samples Simple random sampling Computing confidence intervals for means and proportions Ch. 13 Determining sample sizes: for measurement data and for proportions Using the finite population corrector Ch. 14 Preliminary data analysis Goodness of fit test Z-tests, T-tests Hypothesis testing McNemar test Ch. 18 Chi-Square test (Ch. 19.pp. 601-606) Banner Formats (Ch. 19.pp. 612-614) Z test for differences between means and proportions (Ch.19.pp.619-621)Ch. 19