Marketing Research

Course Director: Jonas Colliander

The objective with RM0204 is to make students learn how to solve real business problems using marketing and management research techniques and quantitative, statistical analyses.

The course covers the major methods for analyzing business and customer behavior. Some of the methods employed in the course include analysis of variance, regression analysis, factor analysis, and cluster analysis. However, RM0204 is not a course in statistical theory. Rather it is a practical business development course in which students learn to make use of statistical methods and techniques to arrive at marketing insights.

The aim of the course is to apply business theory – learned in previous marketing and management courses – onto real business problems that companies face. Each week, you will get a new assignment: A problem that should be solved by a team of students, using a database from e.g. a customer survey from one or more companies. The task for your team is to identify the key to the marketing problem, and to develop a practical, doable solution that is based on relevant theory and the information in the data set. In addition, you are expected to strongly argue your ideas orally and in a report. The course also contains a larger project assignment in which your team develops a business plan for a product based on customer information that your team collects on your own. This project is run jointly with RM0205.

The course is very demanding of students and intense, but also considered very rewarding by students who decide to make a strong effort.

Structure
Lectures mark the beginning of each area that we cover during the course. Please bring your own laptop with SPSS installed (or share one with a friend)! Between each lecture and the corresponding seminar there will be a tutoring session where the teacher will be available for questions. Attendance on lectures is not mandatory, but strongly recommended. During the seminar, the groups’ solution will be presented. Attendance at the seminar is mandatory in order to receive the points for that week’s assignment.

Course administrators: Karl.Strelis@hhs.se, alexandra.svahn.alberts@hhs.se

The general learning outcome for RM0204 is that, upon completion, participants should be able to master the market research process and provide solutions for business development and improvement. More specifically, having participated in this course participants should be able to

1. recognize and provide a useful description of methods and analyses used in marketing research
2. apply appropriate marketing and/or management theory and methods of analysis for solving marketing problems
3. employ methods of analysis correctly
4. identify strengths and weaknesses of methods of analysis and account for these when drawing conclusions
5. provide solutions to marketing problems such that solutions are practically relevant and could be realized

General entry requirements.

The course literature is “Marketing Research – An Applied Orientation”, 6th Global Edition, by Naresh K. Malhotra, published by Pearson. The ISBN no is 9780136094234. If you have an older edition of the same book, that should work too. There is also a European edition by Malhotra and Birks – which will also work fine.

Readings for module 1:
Malhotra pages 481-489 (frequency distribution)

Readings for module 2:
Malhotra pages 284-288 (scales of measurement), 489-493 (hypothesis testing), 493-502 (cross tabulation), 503-515 (parametric and nonparametric tests), 528-540 (one-way ANOVA), and 562-566 (correlation).

Readings for module 3:
Malhotra chapter 17 (correlation and regression) and pages 620-624 (logistic regression).

Readings for module 4:
Malhotra chapter 19 (factor analysis).

Readings for module 5:
Malhotra chapter 20 (cluster analysis).

Suggested literature for the project assignment (apart from the above analysis chapters):
Malhotra chapters 2, 3, 6 (7), 8-12, and 23.

If you have any questions about the literature, please contact the course director.

The examination of the course consists of five weekly assignments (6% each), a project assignment (10%), and the (individual) exam (60%). For a passing grade you must score at least 50% (30p) on the exam and collect 50% of the total course points (50p).

Individual assignments
After each lecture a group of students complete an assignment that is presented at a seminar. Attendance at the seminar is mandatory for each student who wish to receive points for the assignment. In total there will be 5 assignments that can be awarded a maximum of 6 points each.

Exam
You will write on either your own computer or on one provided for you. You are allowed to bring any aids (notes, books, browse the web etc) to the exam. The only thing not allowed during the exam is communication with anyone except the teacher. The maximum points awarded for the exam is 60p.

If you are entitled to pro-longed examinations, please let the course director know.

Course project
The project is a joint project with RM0205 that is presented in a special session. The maximum points awarded for the project is 10p.

Find the course schedule in TimeEdit

Have you been granted educational support because of a documented disability? If so, please contact the course director as soon as possible so that adequate accommodations can be made.

Contact specialneeds@hhs.se if you have questions about being granted educational support or need a copy of your educational support certificate.

For more information, visit the Specific Educational Needs page on the Student Hub (login required).