Business Administration
Department
BA341 Marketing
Research
Fall 2007
Dr.
Geoff Lantos
MARKETING RESEARCH TERM
PAPER PROJECT
Overview
Throughout the semester you will be working in research
teams of about four students each. Your
role is that of a marketing research (MR) supplier or research consultant who
works for a client organization requiring research information to help make
marketing decisions.
Each team will prepare a written MR report based on survey research—gathering information
from a sample of people from a target population using a questionnaire. Each research team will select an actual or
hypothetical managerial problem, plan the research design, conduct the fieldwork,
analyze the data, and write a research report.
Objectives
This project is designed to provide a major
"hands-on" experience since MR is best learned by doing. It will enable you to apply the concepts
covered in the textbook and in class and to integrate the inter-related series
of steps in the MR process.
Specifically, the purposes of this assignment are for you
to:
1. Learn how to
practically apply MR theory and practice to a specific problem situation;
2. Work through the MR
process, becoming familiar with the decisions that need to be made at each
stage of the process and accounting for their interrelated nature;
3. Learn teamwork
skills—to work cooperatively with others on a group project, gaining experience
handling interpersonal professional relationships;
4. Become more familiar
with course material by discussing it with others;
5. Gain proficiency in
applying a statistical data analysis software program you learned in previous
courses (e.g., Excel Minitab, SPSS, and SAS); and
6. Develop your written
communications skills and ability to think and write critically and creatively.
Procedure for Deliverables
Note: Italicized dates are for the evening section.
Identification
of Teams – September 11 (5)
Submit names of up to four students who wish to work as a
research team. Consider choosing not
just friends but rather people whose strengths and abilities will complement
one another’s (i.e., skills in secondary research, written communication,
analytical reasoning, statistics, computer data analysis, organization, typing,
and leadership). Also consider schedules
for class, work, and extracurricular activities (since teamwork is done outside
of class) as well as attitude and energy levels (select motivated, dedicated,
hardworking people!).
Identification of Organization and Management Problem/Opportunity – September 20 (19)
Hand in a brief description of your research project
topic. This will include selecting one
of the three research options detailed below, a brief description of the organization,
and discussion of the nature of their marketing management problem (or
opportunity) that can be potentially solved (or seized), through the use of MR
information.
Option 1 - Identify a local organization or a campus
organization or department that has a marketing management problem or
opportunity. Your team will work with
this organization’s manager(s) and/or leader(s) to determine and satisfy their
research needs. To get ideas on
organizations that might need research assistance, you might wish to contact
me, a local Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, or obtain a copy of
the Into the Streets Directory of
Community Service Agencies from Campus Ministry. Some good bets are local retailers,
service-oriented businesses, and not-for-profit organizations (which often have
no excess in their budgets for marketing research). Perhaps an organization you, your parents, or
your friends work or volunteer for could use some research help, too.
There are several major advantages for you if you choose Option
1. This "service learning" project
provides you with an opportunity to integrate theory and experiences from the
classroom with work experience, acting as a consultant in a community service
environment. It will provide you with a
"real-world" experience, can benefit an organization (it is especially
personally rewarding to assist not-for-profit groups), and should generate
goodwill for Stonehill. Another
advantage of this option is that the sponsoring organization is expected to
subsidize any costs you incur, such as questionnaire duplication, telephone,
and gasoline. (You should make anticipated costs clear to them before they
agree to work with you). Also, it can
give you something worthwhile to put on your resume and discuss in job interviews—you
served as a research consultant for a local client.
Option 2 - Identify through secondary research (this can be as simple as reading the business
news) an organization that has a marketing management problem or
opportunity. Design and implement your
project as though you were their research supplier. You should try contacting them to secure any
additional background information available to help you with your background
secondary research. .
Option 3 - Create your own hypothetical marketing management problem (opportunity) that can be
potentially solved (seized) through use of MR information. For example, consider a small business
“start-up” decision. You could, for
instance, imagine you are an entrepreneur trying to decide how to open a new
business such as a service or retail outlet or else whether or not to develop a
new product concept. (If you are actually planning to start your own business,
this would be a good option.) Many of
these new ventures could be targeted toward college students, e.g., a “Duds and
Suds” outlet near campus where students can buy and drink beer (21-plus, of
course J) and do laundry at the same time, or opening a new Speedy Prints shop
on or near campus. As another
hypothetical marketing management example, pretend you are a product manager
for a major corporation deciding in which of several possible forms a new
product should be offered. Or, imagine
you are an owner of a new retail store in town deciding which market segment
should be your target market, or you are an advertiser deciding how to
advertise your product. The
possibilities are numerous and constrained only by your creative thinking
skills. You will most enjoy this option
if you focus on an element of marketing decision making that personally
interests all group members.
Regardless of which option you choose, your topic
description should explain which option you chose and why (e.g., personal
interest and/or experience, availability of background information, desire to
learn more about the organization or industry, contacts within the organization
or industry, etc.). In selecting among
options, you should keep in mind that you must identify a problem that can be
clearly stated, is of limited scope, and is capable of being researched in a
short period of time by a non-expert team.
Your project topic identification paper should be
approximately one page long. .
Research Project Proposal – October 2 (September
26)
Submit a formal research
proposal—a plan of action for your proposed research. Include a rough draft
of Part IV sections A1, 2, 3, and 4, and B1 in the term paper organizational
scheme (found below starting on p. 6). Also,
include a budget and time schedule.
At this point, your background situational analysis
(section A1) should be complete or nearly so—if it is not, specify what
background information you still need to obtain. The situation analysis includes exploratory
research clarifying/solidifying the research problem (including mandatory
search of secondary data, plus optional experience surveys, pilot studies such
as focus groups and in-depth interviews, and/or case studies), plus
descriptions of meeting(s) with the client and background information obtained
from that client (required for Option 1).
The rest of the Introduction section (sections A2, A3, and
A4) includes a statement of the purpose of the study, i.e., marketing
management problem to be solved/management questions to be answered, research
questions, and research objectives, i.e., the kind of information needed to
solve the management problem (see the example on p. 120, Exhibit 5.8 in the
textbook). Try to narrowly define the
problem so it translates into a manageable (for one semester) research
project.
The rest of the research proposal should follow parts of
the format found in Exhibit 5.8 in the textbook. Given your limited knowledge right now, make
the best approximate decisions as you can concerning sample design (eligible
respondents, i.e., members of the target population who would be likely to have
the information you seek: who, where, how many), data gathering instrument
(include sample questions), plans for conducting the fieldwork, data processing
and analysis techniques (include tabulation plan and sample display [dummy] tables),
and a budget and time schedule (lay out a timeline for the project from start
to finish, and make an attempt to estimate the costs of the study, which is especially
important if you choose Option 1 since the client organization is expected to
subsidize these costs).
A few suggestions on decisions you’ll be making: 1. Plan to
administer the survey either through personal interviews (door-to-door, mall
intercept, or in another central location), telephone interviews, or
self-administered questionnaires (handed out to respondents to fill out on
their own and return to you, either in-person, in a drop-box, or delivered and
returned via e-mail), Internet (using free desktop software programs available
through the Internet—Google “free survey software” or try those below), or
fax.
Notes:
1. Don’t use postal mail because mail interviews take too
long to complete
2. Free e-mail survey services are available at www.surveypro.com, www.SurveyMonkey.com,
www.zoomerang.com,
and at www.kwizu.com; you must register to use
them.
3 Plan on obtaining approximately 100 completed
questionnaires (which will require distribution of more than 100 questionnaires
if your expected response rate is less than 100%).
This
research proposal should be about three to four typewritten pages, plus a
bibliography of sources consulted for the exploratory research. For faster feedback, instead of bringing printouts
of the proposal and subsequent progress reports to class, you may wish submit
these documents to me electronically, so I can comment right on them and zap
them back to you quickly, also saving you from trudging to my office.
Once you receive my feedback on your proposal, you are
encouraged to revise and resubmit it to make sure the management problem,
research questions, and research objectives are properly defined since failure
to do so will result in specifying the wrong information needs and asking the
wrong survey questions later on, resulting in a totally useless study!.
Progress Report #1 – October 23 (17)
Describe research and work you've done to date and any
problem areas you've encountered. (You
should always feel free to meet with me, either individually or as a team,
whenever you hit snags/have problems/have questions or are in any way
uncomfortable with or unsure of your progress.)
More specifically, include a rough draft of Part IV B 2
below, i.e., a description of your design of a questionnaire that will
effectively elicit the desired information from the target population, along
with a copy of your first draft of that questionnaire, plus your choice of a
medium (personal interview, phone, or self-administered) for administering this
questionnaire. Be sure to double check
for potential problems with your questions as discussed in class and the
textbook as well as sequencing and layout issues. Also, include an introduction and a
close.
This progress report should be one to two typewritten pages
plus an attachment of your proposed questionnaire. I will help you to work out problems with
your questionnaire so that it is ready to be pretested.
Interim Peer Evaluations – November 1 (October
24)
Each student is to fill out a copy or facsimile of
the peer evaluation form appearing at the end of this assignment (available on
my course website [http://faculty.stonehill.edu/glantos/Lantos1/ba341.htm] by
downloading this document. Although
these ratings and comments will not affect your final grade in any way, they
will provide constructive feedback to team members on how other group members
perceive their contributions to the project so far, so that any needed
adjustments can be made. Each student’s
peer evaluation sheet—to be filled out anonymously for this interim
report—will be photocopied by me and returned to other team members. Those doing a less-than-average job will then
be forewarned to improve their efforts so that their final grade does not
suffer as much as it might otherwise.
Progress Report #2 – November 13 (7)
Describe research and work you've done since the first
progress report plus any additional problem areas you've encountered.
More specifically, include a rough draft of Part IV B 2
(revised) and 3 below. This report
should also detail three areas:
1. Results of pretesting
your questionnaire by administering to a small non-random sample of about ten
respondents. Although I don’t need to
see any tabulations of your preliminary findings, any resulting modifications
in the questionnaire should be noted and explained. You should attach a copy of your revised
questionnaire and point out revisions made based on (a) my comments on your
first progress report and (b) results of the pretest.
2. Decisions on sampling
procedures to administer the questionnaire to a reasonably representative
portion of your target population.
3. Tentative plans for
statistical analysis of the data.
This progress report should be several typewritten pages
plus exhibits, such as your revised questionnaire and dummy tables for
statistical analyses. (These exhibits
may also appear in the final report.)
Progress Report #3 – December 4 (November 28)
Describe research and work you've done since the second
progress report plus any additional problem areas you've encountered.
More specifically, include a rough draft of Part IV B 4 and
5 below. Your report should briefly detail
two areas:
1. The fieldwork you
conducted (administration of your questionnaire/data collection).
2. Preparation of the data
for analysis, including editing and coding from the correctly completed
(approximately 100) questionnaires. Note:
the occasional omission of an answer on a given questionnaire (item
nonresponse) does not automatically negate the value of the other answers. However, if there is an omission in the
identification portion, you have no way of knowing if that particular
respondent is in your target population.
Such a questionnaire should not be used.
This progress report should be several typewritten pages
plus any exhibits you wish to attach.
(These exhibits may also appear in the final report).
Peer Evaluation Forms – December 11(5)
Each individual will turn in his or her own Peer Evaluation
Form (same form as for your interim reports, attached at end of this assignment
and also available on my course website). To ensure absolute candor in completing these,
you are not to collaborate or discuss your ratings of your team members with
each other. Peer evaluations will be used
to adjust individual team members’ grades up- or downward from the team term
paper grade, if necessary. I will
provide feedback on these adjustments to individuals upon request.
Final Term Project Report – December 14, 10:30 a.m.
(both sections)
In addition to revisions of the work you did above, your
final report will include Part IV C, D, E, and F below on organization of the
paper, plus all other heretofore incomplete sections of the written report
detailed in the organization section below.
The most significant addition will be your data analysis—descriptive
statistical tabulations and any statistical inference procedures you feel are
necessary to conduct.
For teams doing Option 1, a copy of your final report must also be
submitted to the client, and please attach to the report you submit to
me a copy of your final thank-you letter to your client (letter of transmittal)
so that I can rest assured that the client received your report. All replies to the survey must be kept
absolutely confidential. Under no
circumstances should the sponsoring firm be given names of individuals who
replied to your survey, together with how these individuals responded to
specific questions. (Some sleazy
operators will try to use MR surveys for prospecting new clients. This is a serious violation of research
ethics.) I also suggest that you follow
up with the client a month or two after you submit the report to see if the
organization has used any of the findings or implemented any of your
recommendations. If so, a copy of your
research paper might be of value to you to discuss in your job interview
process during your senior year.
Sample term projects from past semesters are at the Reserve
Desk of the Library for your inspection under BA 341 with Lantos.
General Requirements for
Your Paper
1. Your typewritten report should be double-spaced, use
10-to-12-point font size, have standard margins, and be on 8½" x 11"
white paper.
2. Papers received after the due date will be penalized 5 points
(out of 100 points) for each weekday that they are late, unless prior arrangements have been made with me or unless unusual
unforeseen circumstances arise. In such
situations, the term paper grade might be adjusted downward, depending on the
circumstances.
3. If you have a writing problem or if English is not your native
language, please come see me so we can work on such problems. I am available during office hours or by
appointment to discuss and review outlines or drafts of your written work. You may also seek assistance from the
professional tutor in the
4. See your Holt Handbook for
help with formats.
Organization of Paper
Your
final written report should be organized according to the steps that are
usually sequentially taken when a survey research project is planned and
executed. These steps are outlined in
Part IV below.
I. Title page:
This should include the full title of your project, your names, the
course number and name, your section letter, the professor's name, and the due
date.
II. Table of Contents:
This should include a list of divisions and subdivisions of the report
with page references. If the report
contains many figures or tables, a list of these should also be included
immediately following the table of contents.
III. Executive Summary:
This one-to-two page managerial summary should outline the study
background and objectives, research design and major findings, conclusions
based on the findings, and recommendations for action.
IV.
Report Body:
A. Introduction:
An explanation of the felt need for marketing research.
1. Background factors necessitating the project. Include a situational analysis and/or
literature review that orients readers to the general management
problem/opportunity. This should contain
a secondary data search plus one or more other forms of exploratory research
(experience surveys, case studies, pilot studies, focus groups, depth
interviews, conversations,
semi-structured interviews, observational research, and/or collages).
2. Definition of the marketing management problem/questions/decision
situation.
3. General research questions and specific research questions or
hypotheses stating expected findings/relationships between variables. The logic connecting the general research
questions with the specific research questions or with the hypotheses should be
specified.
4. Research objectives.
These are derived from the research questions or hypotheses, and they
explain the purpose of the research in measurable terms and define standards of
what the research should accomplish. It
should be clear how the research is going to aid management decision making.
B. Research Design and Methodology - The research strategy
and plan.
1. Type(s) of research design(s) used (exploratory, descriptive, and/or
causal). Explain why this methodology
was chosen.
2. Data collection method and forms. Discuss the logic of your choice of data
collection medium (phone, in-person, or self-administered, plus the specific
technique, e.g., in-person: mall intercept or self-administered: Internet ),
the questions in your questionnaire, sequencing of questions, questionnaire
layout, and the kinds of scales used. A
copy of the survey questionnaire should appear in an appendix.
3.
Sampling design and plan.
Describe the target population, sampling frame (if relevant), sample
units used and methods for selecting them, sample size, and response rate.
4.
Fieldwork. Explain how and where
the fieldwork was conducted. Be sure to
describe both the pretesting phase and how this helped improve the
questionnaire (if at all) as well as the main study phase. Discuss any field management procedures you used and any
problems encountered.
5. Data analysis procedure.
Outline and describe the data preparation and processing process, with
an emphasis on problems that required editing, general statistical methods used
in the data analysis, and the reasoning underlying your choice of statistical
procedures, along with any assumptions and/or limitations.
C. Results – This includes analysis, interpretation, and
discussion of the findings in light of the research
questions/hypotheses/objectives. Summary
tables, graphs, and charts should be used in the report body to aid the
discussion, but comprehensive or detailed charts should appear in the appendix.
D. Limitations and Assumptions - You should briefly discuss
the issues of validity and reliability of your research procedures and results
as well as any caveats you might like to mention for management (e.g., the
artificial limit of your small sample size, possible sources of systematic
error such as a nonrepresentative sample, nonresponse error, response bias, assumptions
made during the editing process, etc.).
Problems encountered and efforts to overcome them can be included, along
with any lessons you’ve learned for higher-quality research in the future.
E. Conclusions and Recommendations
1. Conclusions: Opinions, implications, and insights for
managerial decisions based on results and limitations.
2. Recommendations: Suggestions for managerial action, supported
by both research findings and your judgment, and suggestions for future
follow-up research (if necessary or desirable).
F. Appendices - All
technical and/or detailed material should appear here. These can include data collection forms,
detailed calculations, discussions of highly technical issues, detailed tables
of results, endnotes, a bibliography, and any other support material.
Format of Papers
This
report is to be a professional effort in all respects. It should adhere to the organizational scheme
above, using headings and subheadings.
It should also follow the standards of a research report suggested in
Chapter 25 in the textbook. The organizational
scheme above, for the most part, parallels that found in Chapter 25. Regardless of which of the three options you
chose, you are to treat the written report as if you were presenting it to top
management. Your research report may incorporate materials submitted in your
identification of the management problem, research proposal, and three progress
reports.
The
report body should include approximately 15 to 25 pages of typewritten,
double-spaced text, plus title page, table of contents, and appendices. Any standard reference format may be used. I recommend that you list and number the
references alphabetically at the end of the paper. Then, use in-text references employing
reference numbers instead of author names, e.g., (8, p. 507).
Evaluation of Papers
Each
student will receive an individual grade that will be determined by:
1) The team term paper grade;
2) An evaluation of the individual's
contribution to the paper (degree of participation and cooperation) by other
team members:
1. Team
Term Paper Grade - Your team term paper write-up will be evaluated on the
following criteria:
a. Content 70%
• Conciseness, accuracy, and thoroughness of research (highly
informative and sufficiently detailed).
Conciseness means no excess detail that might bore a busy management
reader. Accuracy includes competence in
selecting, designing, and using research instruments, plus interview
effectiveness as demonstrated by the quantity and quality of data
gathered. Thoroughness means
documentation and analysis of a variety of relevant outside data sources and
secondary research and fulfillment of the research objectives by following
fully all steps in the marketing research process. This includes resourcefulness in finding and
using secondary and primary sources, and both exploratory and conclusive
research.
• Logic of analysis. All
decisions/analyses should be logically justified and be based on your research
and good judgment. (Useful conclusions are drawn from factual data, and sound
recommendations are supported by sound analysis.)
• Creativity, decisiveness, and usefulness of recommendations.
• Correct application of theory learned in this and other
marketing/business courses.
• Quality and timeliness of problem/opportunity identification
paper, research proposal, interim peer evaluations, and progress reports.
b. Organization,
Presentation, and Appearance 15%
This includes
both text and accompanying exhibits.
Organization
comprises:
1. Coherence -
the paper is sequentially logical, paragraphs and sentences are in the right
order, topics are developed within paragraphs, each paragraph represents a
single topic, transitions between sections and paragraphs flow smoothly and
logically.
2. Unity -
introduction and conclusion (summarizes and provides closure), the theme is
clear, everything in the paper defends or explains the theme.
3. Development
- everything is fully explained.
Presentation and appearance involves:
neatness and proper formal paper format (including title page, table of
contents, bibliography, endnotes, headings and subheadings, margins, page
numbers, proper use of exhibits and illustrative charts, etc.).
c. Clarity of
Communication 15%
1. Writing style - the paper is clearly and concisely written
(not to impress, but to express, i.e., make the reader understand); active
voice; verb tense consistent; professional tone (absence of contractions,
appropriate vocabulary, no colloquialisms, etc.); interesting.
2. Mechanics - grammar, syntax, spelling, punctuation, and word
divisions.
100%
2. Peer Evaluation - If a team member does not complete the
assigned duties or does not do a fair share, that person will suffer the
consequences, not the other team members!!
The procedure is as follows:
a. I will grade your research team project. Grades will be numerical, based on my ratings
on the above criteria and weights.
b. Each team project must be accompanied by a confidential rating
from each team member (handed in by the
last day of class) indicating the contribution of each individual member. Do not rate yourself.
c. Contribution must be indicated by percentage and must
average out to 100 percent for the team.
d. The percentage given to any participating individual member can
be between 80 percent and 120 percent.
e. A percentage of 0 must be given to team members who do not
participate, for any reason whatsoever, in production of a particular team
project. This is the only reason that
can be used to assign a 0 percentage for individual contribution: You
"fire” that member. Please see me
at least 45 days in advance of the term paper due date if it appears that you
will need to do this.
f.
If a 0 percentage is assigned to a team member, the average of 100
percent for the team will be determined by excluding the absent member. (100 percent will be averaged only for active
participants.)
g.
The team grades will be returned with the grades assigned to
individuals, the latter being determined by multiplying the team grade times
the contribution percentage assigned to the individual by averaging individual
ratings.
You may wish to use the following
criteria in your peer evaluations:
1. Number of meetings attended and prompt
attendance at meetings
2. Amount of work contributed
3. Quality of ideas and work contributed
4. Cooperation/contribution to the team effort
5. Time contributed
6. Timeliness and consistency of work
contributed
7. Inspiration and leadership provided to the
team
8. Enthusiastic and positive attitude about team
activities and cooperation with fellow team members
Example:
Team project grade = 90
Individual Team Individual**
Member
Distribution Contribution %* Grade Grade
Steve Jobs 100% 90 90
Queen Latifah 95% 90 85
Jack White 120% 90 108
Barry Bonds 80% 90 72
Ben Bernanke 110% 90 99
6/600 6/539
Average 100% Average 90
* As determined by the team ahead of time.
** To be filled out by the
instructor.
Columns 1 and 2 will be
filled out by each team member separately, excluding yourself. I will grade the project and return the form,
filling in Columns 3 and 4.
Summary of Project Timeline
and Deliverables (Italicized Dates
are for Evening Section)
1. Identification of teams – – 9/11 (9/5)
2. Identification of
organization and management problem/opportunity – – – 9/20 (9/19)
3. Research Proposal - 10/2 (9/26)
4. Progress Report #1 – 10/23 (10/17))
5. Interim Peer Evaluations – 11/1 (10/24)
5. Progress Report #2 – 11/13 (11/7)
6. Progress Report #3 – 12/4 (11/28)
7. Peer Evaluation Forms- 12/11 (12/5))
8. Final Report –– 12/14 (12/14)
(both sections)
MARKETING RESEARCH
PEER EVALUATION FORM
**Team Project Grade = Name
____________________________________
4 COLUMN 1 COLUMN
2 COLUMN 3
COLUMN 4
Member Distribution Individual Team**
Individual**
Names: Contribution X
Grade
= Grade
1. ____________________ ____________ ___________
___________
2. ____________________ ____________ ____________
___________
3. ____________________ ____________ ___________
___________
4. ____________________ ____________ ___________
___________
5. ____________________ ____________ ___________
___________
Average = 100% Average =
**To be filled out by the instructor
Instructions: Each individual should fill out columns 1 and
2. Hand these in on the last day of
class. I will fill in columns 3 and 4
and return to your team a form averaging your individual grades. Also, for each student who you assigned any
contribution other than 100 above, you must provide a written justification in
the form on the next page. Failing to do so will invalidate your evaluation
Justification
of Individual Contributions
Names Written Justification for
other than 100% (You may use the seven criteria above plus any others you
wish.)