Fundamentals of Marketing Research

This course explores the fundamentals of marketing research – what it is, how it is used, why it is used, and its role in and importance to the marketing function. Secondary, qualitative, and quantitative research methods and tools will be explored. Particular emphasis will be placed on identifying and locating online sources of secondary data; evaluating and selecting appropriate methods for conducting primary research;

The proper design of qualitative and quantitative data gathering tools; conducting effective survey fieldwork; understanding the nature and use of basic quantitative data analyses; and the proper reporting of research findings. Students will be taken through the steps of a major multi-method marketing research project.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Outline the basic steps of the marketing research process.
• Identify, locate and analyze sources of online secondary data.
• Develop tools for and conduct qualitative research.
• Analyze qualitative data and write an effective qualitative research report.
• Describe the basic methods of collecting primary quantitative data.
• Describe the nature and use of a variety of probability and non-probability sampling methods.
• Estimate an appropriate sample size for a given survey situation.
• Describe the elements of an effective survey questionnaire.
• Design, plan, and execute surveys.
• Explain basic quantitative data analyses and their proper use.
• Communicate research findings in a written report.