DANIELS COLLEGE OF BUSINESS MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Daniels College of Business is to foster Enlightened Practice, Professional Achievement
and a Commitment to Community among those engaged in management and the business professions.
As an institution that emphasizes the scholarship of teaching, our mission is achieved through programs that
recognize the diversity of a global economy and embrace:
Knowledge and technical ability
Interpersonal skills and intercultural understanding
Ethically based leadership and social responsibility
Our mission is represented through the icon:
THE DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING
A nationally recognized marketing program - providing a distinctive learning experience through a
personalized, relevant curriculum and real-world internships.
Fall 2010
MKTG 4530 Marketing Research
Meeting Time and Place:
Section 1 (CRN 4313): T/Th 4-5:50 Room DCB TBA
Professor: Dr. Don Bacon Office: Daniels 495
Office Hours: T-Th 1-4:00, or by appointment Email: dbacon@du.edu
Phone: 303-871-2707
Required Course Materials:
Zikmund & Babin (2010). Exploring Marketing Research (10th Ed). South-Western, Cengage
Learning.
Course packet available in book store
Collect readings from Penrose website
Optional Text/Readings:
Marketing research is a topic taught at many schools by many instructors. Please search the web,
including Wikipedia, for insights beyond the text.
The student is responsible for understanding the policies and schedule described in this
syllabus. The instructor reserves the right to make changes or additions to the policies and
schedule as the quarter progresses. The student will be responsible for any such changes
announced in class.
Course syllabus and Class schedule F ‘08 1
Course Description:
MKTG 4530 Marketing Research introduces students to a broad array of marketing research tools,
including focus groups, ethnographic studies, survey research, and experiments. Students will learn how
and when to apply these tools, as well as how to interpret the results to make sound marketing decisions.
Beyond Grey Pinstripes: Various approaches to understanding consumers will be discussed, including
ethical issues involved in marketing research. Examples will be discussed involving sustainability
marketing. Cultural differences related to marketing research studies will also be discussed.
Daniels College of Business Code of Academic Integrity –
http://www.daniels.du.edu/pdf/code_of_academic_integrity.pdf
University of Denver Honor Code - http://www.du.edu/ccs/honorcode.html
Official Communications
The standard method of communicating official information from the Daniels College of Business to its
students is the University’s electronic mail (e-mail) system. Private e-mail accounts will not be accepted
as appropriate e-mail addresses. Students may set up their University e-mail account so that messages
are forwarded to another account automatically. Instructions about forwarding messages are available on
the University website at http://www.du.edu/uts/policies/index.html.
Students with Disabilities
If you have a disability protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act and need to request accommodations, please speak with me privately and schedule an
appointment with the Disability Services Program (DSP). DSP is located in The Center below the
bookstore in Driscoll South – phone 303-871-2455.
Performance Assessment
The Daniels College of Business may use assessment tools in this course and other courses for evaluation.
Educational Assessment is defined as the systematic collection, interpretation, and use of information
about student characteristics, educational environments, learning outcomes and client satisfaction to
improve program effectiveness, student performance and professional success.
Grading:
Professionalism 20%
Exam 1 10%
Exam 2 20%
Vendor presentations/slide deck 10%
Research presentations/slide deck 15%
Exam 3 (Final exam) 25%
Total 100%
*Projects may be substituted for all but 10% of any item.
Professionalism defined: Professional behavior is expected of all students. This includes preparation for classes, on-
time and complete attendance at classes, and appropriate participation in the form of attentiveness and contributions
to the course. Respect for the academic process is the major guiding principle for professional behavior and extends
to all communications, including e-mail. In this class, homework assignments are rolled into the professionalism
grade. Completing all assigned work and simply attending all classes will not achieve an A; the student must do
exceptional work and/or make strong contributions to class discussion to achieve an A.
Projects: See description in other course materials for guidance on the projects.
Course syllabus and Class schedule F ‘08 2
Exams: All exams are cumulative. The final exam is given during the scheduled university exam period. You MUST
be present to obtain any points. The exam will be given at the time assigned by the university.
Homework:
The following rubric will be used to grade most homework assignments:
0 Assignment not turned in.
0-3 Assignment submitted, but below standard. May be incomplete, fail to apply required tools,
difficult to read or interpret, turned in via email, multiple pages not stapled, or late (one second
late is late; listen for “last call for on-time homeworks…”).
4 Assignment meets expectations. Content addresses assignment, is easy to read, and turned in
on time in hard copy.
5-6 Work exceeds expectations. All expectations met. Work also shows exceptional creativity,
clarity, or organization. Work may include improvements or additions to the original assignment.
Participation in the course: Students who participate positively learn more and do better in the course.
Participation is divided into two components: class participation—regular attendance and active engagement in
discussions are expected—and group participation in both the in-class group meetings and meetings outside of class.
1. Class participation is based on the quality and quantity of your in-class contribution to learning. This grade
will be assessed based on the following components:
a. Preparation – reading and preparing for all class assignments before class.
b. Relevant participation – including creativity, insights, an understanding of material, and linkages to
theory discussed. If you are reluctant to speak in class, please speak to the professor. (See “hints”
below.)
c. Verbal and non-verbal support – including respect and courtesy, attentiveness, and on-time arrival.
d. Class participation “hints”
Input should maintain the continuity of the class discussion; this rules out off-the-wall
comments.
Input should be understood and responded to by others in the class. Everyone appreciates
a controversial, yet intelligent question or comment that reflects an understanding of the
issue.
Input should demonstrate an in-depth analysis of the issue. This should be well supported
by data or a relevant conceptual framework.
Input should make connections between theoretical material in different parts of the course
and your marketing plan.
Input may provide an example from your own observation or experience.
Use of your computer at inappropriate times is unacceptable.
2. Participation on your work team should be a positive engagement with your team members and should
contribute positively and fairly toward the work product while encouraging and respecting the thinking and
perspectives of teammates.
GRADING SCALE
The grading scale is as follows:
93-100%-------A 90-93----A-
87-90----B+ 83-87--------B 80-83----B-
77-80----C+ 73-77--------C 70-73----C-
67-70----D+ 63-67--------D 60-63----D-
0-60--------F
Course syllabus and Class schedule F ‘08 3
Anticipated Class Schedule
Class Day/Date Topic Covered in Class Prep Assignment due on
No. this date – at
beginning of class
1 Tuesday Administration, overview Ch. 1 – 4
Sep 14 (see learning outcomes)
2 Thursday MBHE/Mile High Market Ch. 5, 6, 10. Be prepared
Sep 16 to discuss Belk et al.
Problem formulation 1988. See discussion
questions. Instructor will
Exploratory Research I cold-call on students.
3 Tuesday Exploratory Research II Ch. 6, 7, 10
Sep 21 Be prepared to discuss
Armstrong 2001
4 Thursday Measurement Ch. 13, 14 Levels of Measurement
Sep 23 Home Work
5 Tuesday Questionnaire design Ch 15 Observation studies,
Sep 28 Be prepared to discuss Canterbury Travels due
observation studies
6 Thursday EXAM 1
Sep 30
7 Tuesday Survey research Ch 8, 9 Survey Methods Home
Oct 5 Be prepared to discuss Work
Peruzzi 2010
8 Thursday Guest Speaker: iModerate
Oct 7
9 Tuesday Sampling Ch 16, 17 Sampling HW
Oct 12
10 Thursday Descriptive and inferential statistics Ch 19, 20, 21 Guest Speaker paper
Oct 14
11 Tuesday Satisfaction Research Be prepared to discuss
Oct 19 Parasuraman et al.
(1988).
12 Thursday EXAM 2
Oct 21
13 Tuesday B2B Market Research
Oct 26
14 Thursday Experimental Design I Submit a memo
Oct 28 describing what you’re
doing for the vendor
project.
15 Tuesday Experimental Design II Sandra Brown Home
Nov 2 Work
Course syllabus and Class schedule F ‘08 4
Class Day/Date Topic Covered in Class Prep Assignment due on
No. this date – at
beginning of class
16 Thursday Advanced measurement
Nov 4
17 Tuesday Project workshop
Nov 9
18 Thursday Vendor research presentations Slide deck due
Nov 11
19 Tuesday Review
Nov 16
20 Thursday Presentations Slide deck due
Nov 18
21 Saturday FINAL EXAM
Nov 20
6-7:50
Grades will be available on Blackboard or from the Registrar after the end of the quarter.
Course syllabus and Class schedule F ‘08 5
Learning Objectives in Marketing Research
Objectives/learning outcomes may be added or deleted as the quarter progresses. Any changes will be
announced in class.
The learning outcomes for this course cover all levels of Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive learning outcomes. Bloom
recognized that learning includes not only the memorization of facts and definitions, but also the ability to analyze
real-world situations and form well-conceived plans. Bloom’s taxonomy includes six levels. In increasing order of
complexity, these are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
The overall goal of this course is to introduce the student to the application of concepts and methods
commonly used in marketing research, and to build the student’s proficiency with using these tools to develop,
perform, and evaluate market research. The development of these skills in this class will include knowing how to
apply tools to a given situation or case (analysis or application learning outcomes) as well as knowing which tool to
use, or how to combine tools (synthesis or evaluation learning outcomes). Of course, all these types of learning
outcomes will require familiarity with some new concepts and ideas (knowledge or comprehension learning outcomes).
The key concepts and tools to be learned in this class are listed below:
Module 1: Overview, Exploratory Research, Measurement Through Survey Research
(Ch. 1) Define marketing research, scientific method, contrast basic and applied research, product-oriented,
production-oriented, and market orientation. Geo-demographics, integrated marketing communication, marketing
metrics.
(Ch. 2) Data v. information, data quality, customer relationship management (CRM), predictive analytics.
(Ch. 3) Exploratory, descriptive, and causal research. Diagnostic analysis. (Three critical pieces of causal
evidence, experiments). Stages in the research process. Research objectives, deliverables, literature review, pilot
study, pretest, focus group. Empirical testing, relationship between decision statements, research objectives, and
hypotheses.
(Ch. 4) Outside agency, in-house research, syndicated, standardized, custom research, research analyst,
research generalist. Informed consent, confidentiality v. anonymity, do-not-call legislation and market research,
human subjects review committee, Institutional Review Board (IRB), rights and obligations of the researcher.
(Ch. 5) Unit of analysis, continuous variable, categorical/classificatory variable, dependent variable,
independent variable, research questions, research proposal, dummy tables.
(Ch. 7) Primary v. secondary research (specific sources of secondary information and syndicated studies will
not be on the test).
Focus groups (including approximate costs, by factor), focus groups viewed online w/ streaming video, video
conferencing, electronic focus groups (Perception Analyzer), one-on-one interviews (pros & cons of group v. individual
interviews), focus group transcripts, interview techniques, experience surveys, expert advisor techniques, usability
studies, observational methods, personal checklist/scorecard, contrived observation, mystery shoppers, naturalistic
inquiry (autodriving, member checks), content analysis, at-home scanning, eye tracking, response latency, pantry
audits. Primary v. secondary (internal and external) research.
Definition of measurement, levels of measurement (nominal through ratio), index measures, summated
scales, reversed coding, scales options (categorical, comparative, monadic, Likert, semantic differential, numerical,
constant sum, graphic rating, behavioral intention, paired comparison, sorting, odd/even, unbalanced/balanced,
forced/unforced, single measure/index). Rating v. ranking. Thurstone scaling, Max diff scaling.
Steps in questionnaire design, dummy tables and figures, response formats (open-ended/fixed-alternative),
common problems with questions (e.g., loaded, double-barreled, etc.), aided v. unaided recall, order bias, funnel
questions, filter questions, pivot questions, variable piping software, precoding, back translation. Pretesting, contents
of the cover letter.
Module 2: Data Entry, Survey Research, Analysis, and Sampling
Data collection and entry: records, cases and fields, fixed v. free formatting (e.g., space delimited or comma
separated values), text (string) v. numeric data, handling missing data, interpreting frequency tables.
Course syllabus and Class schedule F ‘08 6
Random sampling error and systematic error. Self-selection error, acquiescence bias, social desirability bias.
Cross-sectional v. longitudinal studies. Pros and cons of major survey interviewing methods (including online
methods), the approximate costs and factors affecting the costs of data collection, incidence rate. Random digit
dialing (RDD), predictive dialing, CATI, SASE, self-administered v. non self-administered surveys, working phones
rate, email surveys, Do-It-Yourself Active Server Page (DIY ASP), Zoomerang, Survey Monkey, effect of no-call lists,
methods of improving response in mail surveys. Pretesting.
Know definitions of sample v. census, target population, sampling frame, types of sampling error (e.g.,
sampling, sample frame), sampling unit, population element, probability sample. Know procedures for drawing
samples (e.g., probability/nonprobability, convenience, snowball, judgment, quota, simple random, stratified samples,
etc.), net incidence, factors that affect sample size, determination of sample size (know how to use equations for
simple random sample with nominal and interval level measurement).
Interpreting descriptive statistics: know the measures of spread and central tendency and what level of
measurement is assumed for each, be able to interpret frequency tables and cross-tabulations. Inferential statistics:
be able to compute confidence intervals (including correct sample size), be able to interpret chi-square results
(especially p-values). Understand the central limit theorem.
Students should know how to compute a confidence interval (margin of error) for a proportion (percentage, or
nominal variable) and for a continuous variable (mean, or interval variable). Students should also know how to
interpret a confidence interval and a p-value given an alpha level, be able to identify the appropriate null hypothesis
for a chi-squared test of independence, be able to compute the degrees of freedom for a chi-squared test of
independence, be able to compute the joint probability of two independent events, and be able to interpret specific
numbers in a cross tabulation (contingency table). Students will be expected to have memorized these equations.
Module 3: B2B Research, Experimental Design, Advanced Measurement
B2B v. B2C marketing research: deductive v. inductive approaches, four questions for identifying critical
issues, testing hypotheses with small non-random samples, chicken test.
Three scientific criteria for causation (Chapter 3), self-serving attribution bias, and be able to interpret
correlations. Be able to sketch various experimental designs with appropriate symbols, identify independent variable,
manipulations, dependent variable, presence of randomization, and threats to internal and external validity (including
student surrogates). Longitudinal v. cross sectional designs. Factorial designs, factors, levels, cells, main effects,
interaction effects, covariates, fractional factorial designs (Latin squares), the importance of independence among
independent variables (lack of multicollinearity).
True score theory, reliability and validity (random and systematic error), measures of reliability (test-retest,
internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha, equivalent forms), halo effect (diagnosing halo, factors that lead to halo),
consumer inference, interpreting correlations, content, concurrent, and predictive validity.
Course syllabus and Class schedule F ‘08 7