MARK 3220: Marketing Research Fall 2015 Syllabus Instructor Teaching Assistant Song LIN Pauline CHAN Room LSK4013 Room LSK4025 Tel: 2358-7717 Tel: 2358-7705 mksonglin@ust.hk paulinechan@ust.hk Course website: http://canvas.ust.hk When and Where L3: Mon, Wed 12:00-13:20; Room 1003, LSK Bldg L4: Mon, Wed 10:30-11:50; Room 1003, LSK Bldg Overview The course is designed to teach you the basic tools and procedures in marketing research, from problem formulation to research design and from data collection to data analysis. For students who are interested in the research industry, they will learn how to design a market research to address management problems from analysts perspective. For students who are interested in general marketing management, they will learn how to evaluate and interpret research findings from clients perspective. There are three modules of the course. The first module introduces the building blocks of market research, including problem formulation, research design, and data collection methods. The second module teaches you how to use statistical analysis to answer research questions. The third module provides you with an overview of some advanced techniques such as conjoint analysis that are frequently used in marketing research. A major objective of the course is to give you some hands-on exposure to analysis techniques that are fundamental to most consulting and marketing research. To that end, you will conduct a smallscale research project together with a group of classmates. Prerequisites (strict) Marketing Management (MARK 2120) and Business Statistics (ISOM 2500). Reading material Brown, Tom J., Tracy A. Suter, and Gilbert A. Jr. Churchill, Basic Marketing Research, 8 th Edition, CENGAGE Learning. available in the campus bookstore Page 1 of 6
Software and Survey Tools Most of the data analysis can be done in Excel. However, we will also rely on SPSS for more advanced analyses. SPSS is an intuitive, menu-based program, but if you are already familiar with a different package (e.g., R, Stata, SAS, JMP, Matlab), feel free to use it. There will be two tutorials that provide you with opportunities to practice statistical analysis using SPSS. My advice is to start exploring it on your own right away. You can find SPSS on Virtual Barn: http://itsc.ust.hk/services/academic-teaching-support/facilities/virtual-barn/ For the class project, most of you will conduct survey study. There are various ways of distributing questionnaires. Online survey is one efficient way. There are many online survey tools available in the market (e.g., Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Google Forms). HKUST students now can use Qualtrics to conduct survey studies. For instructions on creating a Qualtrics account, please check ITSC s website Qualtrics How to Create an Account?. You may also like to visit Learn Qualtrics in 5 Steps, an online tutorial that lets you master Qualtrics in a short time. Enrollment The add/drop period is September 1-15. There are two sections (L3 & L4) of the same course at different time and location. You should choose one that best fits your schedule and attend the section throughout the course. No change in section will be allowed after September 15. Course Grading Quiz Best 2 out of the 3 quizzes 40% Class Participation 8% Marketing Experiment 2% Group Project Presentation 10% Final Report 40% There are three quizzes designed to assess how well you understand the course materials as the course progresses. The first two quizzes take place midway while the final takes place during the final exam period (to be scheduled). Quiz questions can cover materials addressed in the book or during the lectures. However, be advised that topics discussed during the lectures are most important. We understand that personal circumstances (e.g., illness, accidents, interviews, etc) may sometimes cause students to miss or underperform during a quiz. To help protect your grade against such unfortunate events, I will count only your best 2 (out of 3) grades. Therefore, and also out of fairness towards other students, there will not be a make-up exam. Individual Class Participation Page 2 of 6
Class participation is evaluated on the quality and the frequency of your comments, i.e., on your contribution to the learning experience of the class. Note that quality is not the same as quantity. You will be evaluated according to the following guidelines: Very Good: The student provides great additional insights, gives correct answers on questions that came up during the lectures, and asks questions. Good: The student provides additional insights, gives reasonable answers on questions that came up during the lectures, and asks questions. Satisfactorily: The student asks questions. Remember: all questions are relevant. So please, do not hesitate to ask your questions during the lecture, there are probably more students with the same question. Unsatisfactorily: The student disrupted the class (e.g., by chatting, not switching off mobile, arriving late), the student is absent or does not pay attention. You will need to bring your name tag during each lecture so that we can keep track of participation. Marketing Experiment In accordance with HKUST s research mission, students in all marketing courses are expected to complete a research requirement during the semester. The purpose of this assignment is to give you a brief acquaintance with the type of research conducted in behavioral sciences. You can fulfill this requirement in one of 2 ways. First, by signing up for two marketing experiments. Second, by writing two 2-page critiques of academic articles. See the document Marketing Experiment on the course website for detailed instructions. You are advised not to wait until the final weeks of the semester to participate in the marketing experiment. Group Project The group project provides you with an opportunity to apply your learning in class to real-world problems, helping you better understand the course materials. The project consists of 5 stages: Stage 1: Form your group and select research topic (Due 9/16) Each group should have at least three but no more than five members. If you are unable to find teammates, please e-mail the TA and we will do random matching. No change in group members is allowed after September 16. Each group should have its own name to be used throughout the class. The group name can be anything you can think of. Try to be creative. Consider it the brand name of your group. Each group submit a brief summary of the topic of the project (no more than two pages), including (a) problem background, (b) research questions, (c) plans of research design. Stage 2: Research proposal (Due 9/30) Each group submit a research proposal that should include (a) problem formulation, (b) research design, (c) data sources and collection method, (d) plan for data analysis, (e) time schedule. Please limit your proposal to three pages. Page 3 of 6
Stage 3: Exploratory research and questionnaire design (Due 10/23) After research proposal, you should conduct some exploratory research that helps you revise your research plan and design your questionnaire for more in-depth data analysis. Each group submit a report with a brief summary of the exploratory research AND a draft of questionnaire design. Stage 4: Presentation (11/23 and 11/25) Each group has 15 minutes (including Q&A) to present their project. The order of the presentation will be randomized. The presentation should summarize the essential elements of your research project. Because of time constraint, it is recommended that the presentation cover the most important points and results of the research project. Some minor findings or technical details can be summarized in the final report. Stage 5: Final report (Due 11/30) Based on the feedback from the presentation, each group should write up a final report that is no more than 15 pages (including all tables, graphs, reference, and technical appendix). Similar to the presentation, the final report should cover the key process of marketing research that you have learned in class. It is important to note that although Stages 1 to 3 are not directly graded, the grade of the final report will reflect how well you address the feedbacks in the earlier stages. Therefore, the grade is an overall assessment of how you learn throughout the whole project. For group projects which conduct focus group or other types of qualitative interviews, if they submit a video recording of the interviews, the group will receive a bonus grade. As in professional research projects, every team member should invest appropriate time and effort. However, this may not always be the case. Hence, each of your group members should submit separately an evaluation of your teammates contribution to the research project. Based on the peer evaluation, I may adapt the grades of individual students to fairly represent their input. Questions about the course Your teammates are obviously your number one source of help. You will need to work together a lot. If you need any additional help, you may always contact Pauline Chan, your teaching assistant. You can find her email on the first page of the syllabus. I must remind you, however, that Pauline assumes responsibility for many other students. Hence, please respect her time. This means checking your classmates first if you are uncertain about general class issues. If there are things for which you think only I can help you, please come see me after class rather than send me an email. I will gladly address your question/comment right away if I can. If not, I will set up a time to meet with you in my office. Page 4 of 6
Course Schedule Date Topic Readings/Assignments 9/2 Mon L1. Introduction Chapter 1 9/7 Mon L2. Marketing Research Process Chapters 2 and 3 9/9 Wed L3. Research Design I: Exploratory Research 9/14 Mon L4. Research Design II: Descriptive and Causal Research 9/16 Wed L5. Data Collection I: Methods and Measurements 9/21 Mon Project Discussion 9/23 Wed L6. Data Collection II: Questionnaire Design 9/28 Mon (holiday) Enjoy your holiday Chapter 4 Chapters 8 and 9 Chapters 11 and 12 Due 9/16: Group formed and project topic decided Chapter 13 9/30 Wed L7. Data Collection III: Sampling Chapters 14 and 15 Due 9/30: Research proposal 10/5 Mon No class (Quiz preparation) 10/7 Wed Quiz 1 (18:00-19:30) 10/12 Mon L8. Data Analysis I: Preliminary Steps Chapter 16 10/14 Wed L9. Data Analysis II: Descriptive Analysis Chapter 17 (Basic univariate statistics) 10/19 Mon L10. Data Analysis III: Hypothesis Testing Chapters 17 (Hypothesis testing) and 18 (T-test, Correlation) 10/21 Wed (holiday) Enjoy your holiday Due 10/23: Exploratory research and questionnaire design 10/26 Mon L11. Data Analysis IV: Regression Chapter 18 (Regression analysis) Analysis (Part 1) 10/28 Wed Project Discussion 11/2 Mon No class (Quiz preparation) 11/4 Wed Quiz 2 (18:00-19:30) 11/9 Mon L12. Data Analysis V: Regression Supplemental reading Analysis (Part 2) 11/11 Wed L13. Reporting Research Chapters 19 and 20 11/16 Mon L14. Special Topics Supplemental reading 11/18 Wed No class; Guest Lecture moved to Page 5 of 6
11/24 11/23 Mon Student Presentations 11/24 Tue Guest Lecture (7-8pm)* 11/25 Wed Student Presentations 11/30 Mon (last class) Final exam period L15. Review Session Due 11/30: Final Report Final Quiz (To be scheduled) * The guest lecture is scheduled at a different time (Tuesday night) from the usual lecture and tutorial time. It will be a joint lecture for all four sections of MARK 3220. Location detail will be announced in early November. Page 6 of 6