Applied Market Research – MRKT 600

CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 09/05/2023

Course Description

This course will provide learners with the latest theory and practices in marketing research. Building on the knowledge and skills attained in BUSI 614 Marketing Research, students will identify and apply the right techniques appropriate for the context to develop viable action plans for marketing management and (future) clients.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

In today’s business environment, it is essential for marketers to understand how to provide a client or business with the market research needed to make actionable decisions. To do this, MS Marketing students must have not only a thorough understanding, but also possess the practical skills necessary to plan, perform, and analyze marketing research. This course is intended to be a hands-on application course, helping students to gain experience and develop the necessary skills to provide (future) clients with informed and applicable marketing information.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations/notes

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (5)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to provide a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. Each thread must be at least 300 words, include at least 2-peer reviewed references, and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 200 words and include at least 1 peer-reviewed source.

Research Topic Selection Assignment

The student will select a research topic in marketing to be approved by the instructor for use in the Literature Review, Qualitative Research Prospectus or Quantitative Research Prospectus assignments. In the Research Topic Selection assignment, the student will submit at least 500 words providing an overview of the chosen marketing research topic, the reason for selecting the topic, and at least 5 peer-reviewed journal article references in current APA format that pertain to the topic. Topics involving special populations or physically or psychologically invasive, intrusive, or stressful procedures will not be approved by the instructor.

CITI Certification Assignment

Collaborative Institution Training Initiative (CITI) Program’s Human Subject Research (HSR) course modules cover the historical development of human subject protections as well as current information on regulatory and ethical issues. The content covered in this learning activity provides the student with necessary information for research studies involving human subjects. The student will register with CITI and complete the HSR course for “Students conducting no more than minimal risk research.” Upon completion, the student will upload his/her CITI Certification to Canvas.

Literature Review Assignment

The student will write a Literature Review on the marketing research topic approved by the instructor. The paper will be a comprehensive thematic review of scholarly literature related to the selected topic. The paper must be written in strict conformance to current APA standards, contain at least 10 pages of content (excluding the title page, abstract, and references), and utilize at least 20 scholarly, peer-reviewed references.

Interview Transcripts Assignment

As part of the Qualitative Research modules, the student will be required to conduct 2 recorded interviews lasting a minimum of 5 minutes each. After the interviews, the student will transcribe the interview content verbatim, code the content to identify emergent themes, and submit the transcripts via Turnitin in Canvas.

Survey Instrument Assignment

As a part of the Quantitative Research modules, the student will prepare a survey instrument to be administered to a convenience sample. The survey instrument may be an existing, validated instrument or constructed by the student, and should be used to collect data appropriate to answer a quantitative research question. After the survey is administered, students will perform statistical analysis, interpret results, and submit the assignment via Turnitin in Canvas.

Qualitative Research Prospectus OR Quantitative Research Prospectus Assignment

The student will have the option to choose between completing either a Qualitative Research Prospectus or a Quantitative Research Prospectus that includes an introduction to the research topic, literature review, procedures/methods, anticipated ethical issues, preliminary pilot findings, expected outcomes of larger study, recommendations for future research/marketing management, and appendices. The paper must be written in strict conformance to current APA standards, be a minimum of 20 pages of text (excluding title page, abstract, references, and appendices), and contain the required headings/sections provided in the assignment instructions.