GISDepartment of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies

This course will provide an introduction to market research as a business decision-making tool. The primary goal of this course is to equip students with an understanding of how market research can help them make business decisions and how they can transform research findings into actionable business insights. The course also aims to help students gain the ability to evaluate and interpret research designed and conducted by outside providers. During the course, we will discuss a wide range of research methods, including in-depth interviews, focus groups, surveys and modeling, and their application to the services and non-profit sectors. We will also discuss data sources and data collection methods. Students will have the opportunity to define a business problem, develop a research plan, collect and analyze data and present findings and their implications as a class project.

This course aims to help students:

(1) Discuss what market research is and how, why, and when it's useful.
(2) Identify a range of market research tools (e.g., focus groups, interviews, surveys), consider their strengths and weaknesses, and discuss when it would (and wouldn’t) make sense to use each.
(3) Use these tools to solve business problems and craft business strategies.

At the completion of this course, students are expected to be able to:

(1) Understand the importance of marketing research
(2) Formulate a research problem
(3) Design a questionnaire
(4) Collect respondent data
(5) Enter respondent data into a computerized spreadsheet
(6) Analyze respondent data with statistical software
(7) Write a research report
(8) Make a in-class presentation about the findings

Will be able to gain “DP 1”, “DP 2”, “DP 3”, and “DP 4”.

英語 / English

The course will be lecture, case, and discussion based. The assignments are designed to help students build skills that cover scientific, information, and communication literacy. Effort will be made to make the class both challenging and exciting.

We will use a combination of text and cases to explore and apply the topics. It is vitally important that you come to class prepared and ready to discuss the topics. If you read and prepare the materials you will learn more during the discussions and will be successful at the assignments.

Regarding the presentation and case studies, it will be explained in the first class with all guidelines, expectations and standards. The strengths and weaknesses of each presentation and reports will be discussed individually.

あり / Yes

なし / No

授業形態/methods of teaching：対面/face to face

※各回の授業形態は予定です。教員の指示に従ってください。

1[オンライン/online]：Introduction

This session introduces the role of marketing research and the outline of this course.

2[対面/face to face]：Overview of Marketing Research Process

This session gives an overview of the process of marketing research and an introduction on research design.

3[対面/face to face]：Secondary Data and Research Question

This session explains the role of secondary data and how to clarify research question from secondary data.

4[対面/face to face]：Measurement

This session discusses measurement and measurement scales.

5[対面/face to face]：Data Gathering Instrument

This session introduces two important groups of data gathering instrument:
(1) Survey and interview
(2) Questionnaire.

6[対面/face to face]：Sample

This session discusses sample method and sample size.

7[対面/face to face]：Midterm Exam
Basic Statistics

Midterm exam
This session offers a crash course in basic statistics useful in marketing research.

8[対面/face to face]：Statistical Software

This session offers a crash course in how to use SPSS effectively.

9[対面/face to face]：Analyzing and Interpreting Data

This session introduces methods in analyzing and interpreting data:
(1) Preparation and description
(2) Exploring and displaying.

10[対面/face to face]：Analyzing and Interpreting Data

This is a follow up session of week 9 and introduces methods in analyzing and interpreting data:
(1) Hypothesis testing
(2) Measures of association.

11[対面/face to face]：Presenting Findings

This session discusses how to present findings by oral presentation and written report.

12[対面/face to face]：Review and Case Study

This session reviews the course contents by studying a complete case.

13[対面/face to face]：Student Presentation

Reserved for students to present their work.

14[対面/face to face]：Course Review
Final Written Exam & Wrap-up

Course Review
Final written exam

Attendance is required at all scheduled class sessions, presentation and examinations. Students are expected to conduct their own project, write a report, and make a presentation. The project should begin after lecture 3. Preparatory study and review time for this class are 2 hours each.

- Naresh K. Malhotra (2015) Essentials of Marketing Research: A Hands-On Orientation, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

- Alvin C. Burns, Ann Veeck, Ronald F. Bush (2016) Marketing Research (8th Edition), Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
Students will be advised in the first week on whether they need to purchase the textbook(s).

Burns A. C. & Bush, R. F. (2014): Marketing Research (7th Edition) Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Quiz: 20%
Presentation: 20%
Midterm Exam: 20%
Final Exam: 40%

Not applicable

This course is self-contained. Basic knowledge in statistics is desirable but not necessary.

None