Description of the Course:  

Marketing research is a pervasive function of modern organizations. If, in fact, the "marketing concept" is to be implemented, marketers must have a way of determining what it is that customers desire. As the complexity of the problems facing the marketing manager has increased in recent years, so has his or her need for information -- about the market environment, about the competition and particularly about the customers. It is now a virtual certainty that every marketing manager (and many managers in other functional areas and in general management) will come in close contact with marketing research frequently through his or her career in business.

In brief, this course is designed to make the contacts between management and marketing research as productive as possible by making each student an intelligent user and consumer of marketing research. Four learning vehicles will be used in the course: a) readings, b) lectures, c) discussion and assignments of problems and readings and d) execution of a Research Project and d) tests.

Group Mini-Project:

The objective of the research project is to provide you with some experience in applying the concepts and methods of marketing research to a real marketing problem. The project will be implemented and a report (made up of PowerPoint slides) will be written by self-selected three- or four-person teams. You will analyze an existing data set. There will be no extensions on the final report deadline.  The report will be a PowerPoint presentation.
Sample Presentation -- Midas (This example is much, much longer than your project will be.)

These sections will appear in your final report:

• Key findings: similar to an executive summary, it contains a brief background of the project, and major findings.
• A fuller background of the project and a description of the research design, questionnaire and sample.
• Graphs with text below them describing (briefly and directly) your analyses and findings. The graphs should be easy to understand quickly and make straightforward, easy-to-understand points.
• Limitations of the research (be careful -- write these honestly, but in a way that develops some confidence in the findings).
• Conclusions and recommendations: Interpret results and outline how these may be used by decision maker(s).
• Appendix: Survey instrument and any technical details and output of interest not included in the body of the report in which a specialist may be interested.  These do not have to be part of the PowerPoint slides, but may be attached to them as part of the hard copy you turn in.