MARKETING C55.0009 - MARKETING RESEARCH Dr. Morwitz Fall 2005 Office Hours: KMC 9-71 Tuesdays 12:30-1:30 pm (tel) (212) 998-0518 and by appointment (fax) (212) 995-4006 [email protected] Course Description and Objectives: This course is designed to provide an overview of marketing research and its use in making more effective marketing decisions. The primary emphasis is on designing research studies so that the results are both valid and pertinent. Towards this end, we will examine exploratory research (including projective techniques and focus groups), descriptive research (including cross-sectional and longitudinal survey research), and causal research (including experimentation and test marketing). The course will cover common areas of application. These include market structure analysis (including positioning and competitive assessment), advertising research (including measurement of advertising effectiveness and advertising substantiation issues), and new product models (including concept testing, new product design, test marketing, and new product demand forecasting). Finally, the course will include some exposure to analytical techniques currently popular in marketing research, including conjoint analysis, cluster analysis, and multidimensional scaling. The emphasis here will be on the interpretation and proper use of these techniques. We will apply these techniques to actual marketing problems such as product positioning and product design. This course has three major themes: (1) Taking general marketing problems and structuring them in terms of specific questions amenable to research. (2) Understanding primary and secondary sources of marketing research information, including issues in data collection. (3) Becoming familiar with specific techniques for analyzing marketing research data once it has been collected, and using those analyses to make better marketing management decisions. These skills are important not only to those directly involved in marketing research activities, but also to "consumers" of marketing research, particularly managers who commission and evaluate marketing research consulting studies. The course will enable you to effectively evaluate marketing research proposals, interpret, review and criticize the subsequent reports, and appraise their usefulness to management. The course will also provide a basis from which you maypursue additional study in order to become a research specialist. Reading Materials: (1) Textbook: Aaker, David A., V. Kumar and George S. Day (2004), Marketing Research, Eights Edition, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This textbook is also on reserve at Bobst library. (2) Cases, Available at the Bookstore: We will discuss two cases during the course, the purpose of which is to understand the use of marketing research in actual business situations. Brief descriptions of the cases and preparation questions are included in Appendix A. (3) I will post lecture notes for the course on our class website. Occasionally, I may pass out additional reading materials in class. Class Requirements: Examination 1 40% Examination 2 40% Homework Assignments 20% Please Note: (i) Unless otherwise specified, all written materials must be typed, double-spaced, have one-inch margins, and use a reasonable font (i.e., 10-12 point). (ii) The final grade is calculated on the weighted value of all components. (iii) All assignments must be turned in at the beginning of the class session on the specified due date. Except in the event of a serious, documented medical difficulty, late assignments will not be accepted. EXAMINATIONS There will be two in class examinations. They will cover all material discussed in class and all reading assignments (textbook, class notes, cases and other supplementary reading material). The exams are closed book and closed notes, but you may bring one sheet of paper, 8 ½ x 11 inches, on which you may write anything you like. You may also bring a calculator. The second exam is not cumulative and will only cover material in the second half of the course. We will discuss the exam format in class. The test may include short answer questions, applied statistical questions, and multiple-choice questions. These exam dates will not change and it will be extremely unlikely that you will be given permission to take a makeup. Therefore, if you know you have a conflict with either of the exam dates you must let me know by the fourth class session, and we will discuss your options.Otherwise, you must request a makeup examination in writing and you must provide written medical proof that you cannot take the examination on the scheduled date. This proof must be on the letterhead stationary of the medical office, must provide the date and time of the medical emergency, and must provide both a telephone number and contact name to verify the situation. HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS You are required to complete several homework assignments. Details concerning these assignments will be announced in class. If you miss a class it is your responsibility to find out if an assignment was announced. Late assignments will not be accepted. I will announce in class whether you must work on the assignment individually, or whether you have the option of working in small groups. For all assignments where I allow you to work in small groups, you will be responsible for forming you own group and all members of the group will receive the same grade. Group work will always be optional. You will never be required to work with a group and will always have the option of completing the assignment on your own. OTHER CLASS-RELATED ISSUES Class participation Although you will not receive a formal grade for class participation, learning is an active process and your knowledge of the class material will only increase with your active class participation. I therefore encourage active class participation. Class participation is facilitated when I know each of the students. In order to facilitate this, I ask you to provide a photograph of yourself and to respond to a brief survey providing me with information about yourself. I will also ask you to sit in the same seat in each class session. During the 2nd class session, I will pass out a seating chart. Grading Your homework assignments and examinations will be graded either by me or by one of my teaching assistants. In a few rare cases, there may be