Course 2017-2018 a.y.

Classes: 31 (II sem.)

Instructors:
Class 31: THOMAS EICHENTOPF

Market researchers are the intelligence of business, and they deliver pivotal insights that influence on strategic decision-making and operational campaigns in most companies. Market research is a also vital tool for cultural institutions and creative enterprises. Small or large, local or international, public or private - our increasingly research-driven society requires us to consume and conduct market research.
That richness of the field provides a diverse background from which we can draw when we approach the concepts and implement them ourselves. As such, this course wants to enable students to understand and use quantitative tools in their professional life. To that end, the course aims to be a laboratory that allows for first-hand experiences of marketing research projects: students analyze typical problems, select and apply statistical techniques to investigate empirical data, and identify relevant managerial conclusions.

• Identifying and analyzing marketing research problems.
• Designing research projects.
• Collecting and analyzing qualitative data.
• Managing data collection with surveys.
• Using internal and external secondary marketing data.
• Analyzing marketing data with appropriate (multivariate) statistical techniques.
• Explaining and transferring results to managerial practice.
• Understanding benefits and conditions of various research strategies.
• Ethical aspects of marketing research.

For attending students
During the course, students work on a field project that guides them through the typical process of a marketing research project. Furthermore, one written exam concludes the course. The exam determines 50% of the final grade while the field project accounts for the remaining 50%. Students can earn bonus points through assignments and active participation to the class.

• Field project (50%): at the beginning of the course, students form teams. The field project guides students through the process of an empirical marketing research project that includes problem formulation, research design, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation. The principal idea is that students collect and analyze their own data within the empirical context of the course.
• Final exam (50%): the exam covers materials from the textbook, classroom discussions, and other materials provided to the students throughout the course. The exam format uses standardized questions and the focus is on the application of marketing research in an empirical context.

For non attending students

• Final exam (100%): the exam consists of an individual written test that requires methodological mastery as well as expertise in application. In comparison to the exam for attending student, it covers a wider range of topics and some additional materials and it assumes larger technical competence. The exam format uses standardized and open questions.

The exact readings are defined at the beginning of the course.

This is not a course on statistics, but students should feel advised to have some understanding of key statistical concepts, i.e. multivariate statistics and linear regression models, which we use throughout the course.