Learning Outcomes
The objectives of the Marketing Research course are the following: a) To understand the concept of marketing research and apprehend its contribution to the management decision- making process, b) to introduce students to the alternative research methods and enable them to assess their relative strengths and limitations, c) to identify the various data collection methods and subsequently understand the process of data analysis and d) to determine which marketing research methods will be appropriate to address particular types of marketing problems.
Course Content (Syllabus)
This course is organized into four sections. The first section exposes students to the concept of Marketing Research and presents the definition of the research problem that leads to the development of problem solving strategies. In addition, the various types of research are presented and students are exposed to the conceptual distinction between primary and secondary data and Qualitative and Quantitative Research. The second section analytically presents the research tools of Qualitative Research including Focus Groups, In-depth interviews, Projective Techniques and Observational Techniques. The third section entails the analytic description of the research tools associated with Quantitative Research such as Questionnaire Design, Sampling, Coding and data quality control using reliability and validity tests. This section is finalized with the presentation of basic methods of statistical analysis including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, t-tests, analysis of variance, factor analysis and regression analysis. Finally, the fourth and last section deals with the presentation of the research results and introduces useful guidelines for the preparation of a well-designed and insightful report. Lectures include the analysis of the theoretical background and the practical implementation of the research methods to the Business environment. Moreover, students are invited to apply the knowledge and skills obtained throughout the course to written assignments that relate to the aims of the course.
Keywords
Research Problem, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Primary and Secondary Data
Additional bibliography for study
Dawson, C. (2009). Introduction to Research Methods: A Practical Guide for Anyone Undertaking a Research Project. 4th Revised edition: How To Books Ltd: United Kingdom.
Flick, U. (2009). An Introduction to Qualitative Research. 4th Edition: Sage Publications Ltd: London.
McDaniel, C.D. (2015). Marketing Research. 8th edition (International student edition).Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
Ghauri, P. & Gronhaug, K. (2010). Research Methods in Business Studies. 4 edition: Financial Times/ Prentice Hall: England.
Saunders, M., Thornhill, A. & Lewis, P. (2009). Research Methods for Business Students. 5th edition: Financial Times/ Prentice Hall: England.