CQUniversity Unit Profile
MRKT19038 Marketing Research
Marketing Research
All details in this unit profile for MRKT19038 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

This unit covers the fundamentals of market research including information gathering skills, survey design, analysis of results and research statistics. Experience in dealing with planning and implementation of research and assessment of market research problems. Practical activities include computer applications.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate
Unit Level: Level 3
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 10
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite: MRKT 11029 or MRKT 11028

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 1 - 2017

Brisbane
Distance
Melbourne
Sydney

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Online Quiz(zes)
Weighting: 20%
2. Written Assessment
Weighting: 50%
3. Written Assessment
Weighting: 30%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from Moodle

Feedback

Assessment 2 required more guidance.

Recommendation

More information and guidance will be provided to students regarding Assessment 2.

Action

Online tutorials were offered to discuss the specifics of all assessments. These were recorded and made available in Moodle. Pdf briefing sheets and clearer information were also made available through Moodle.

Feedback from Moodle

Feedback

Great course materials and resources and marketing research professional knowledge and engaging classes.

Recommendation

Continue with the current course contents.

Action

Updated unit content to reflect changes such as big data and the importance of qualitative analysis. Otherwise retained structure of the unit.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. demonstrate a working knowledge of marketing research in theory and practice
  2. distinguish between management decision problems and marketing research problems
  3. discuss the main sampling techniques and methods as a basis for research designs
  4. compare and contrast research data collection methods
  5. design, develop, and critique marketing research instruments or procedures
  6. discuss the best ways of analysing secondary and primary data
  7. explain what it means to be competent in primary data collection
  8. communicate research planning and results effectively
  9. describe and accept the MRSA code of professional practice for marketing research
  10. demonstrate effective problem solving skills
  11. assess the practical application of SPSS software.

After completing this unit you should have achieved the following learning outcomes:

-obtain, analyse and interpret relevant marketing data.

- demonstrate understanding and application of marketing theories, concepts and processes

- effectively and professionally communicate and collaborate in both internal and external environments appropriate to the marketing context.

- awareness of and sensitivity to ethical standards relevant to the marketing research profession.

These are in accordance with the 'Academic Standards for Marketing in the Australian Higher Education Context' (Australian Business Deans Council),

Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 20%
2 - Written Assessment - 50%
3 - Written Assessment - 30%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
5 - Team Work
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
9 - Social Innovation
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes

Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 20%
2 - Written Assessment - 50%
3 - Written Assessment - 30%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

Prescribed

Marketing Research

International Edition (2014)
Authors: Burns A C and Bush R F
Pearson Education
Essex Essex , UK
Binding: Paperback
Supplementary

Using SPSS for Windows and Macintosh

Edition: 7th (2014)
Authors: Green S B and Salkind N J
Pearson Education
Upper Saddle River Upper Saddle River , NJ , USA
Binding: Paperback

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
  • Latest SPSS version or earlier versions
  • Microsoft office suite
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Bruce Prideaux Unit Coordinator
b.prideaux@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 06 Mar 2017

Module/Topic

Introduction to marketing research

The marketing research process and defining the problem and research objectives.

Chapter

1 & 3

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 2 Begin Date: 13 Mar 2017

Module/Topic

Research design

Chapter

4

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 3 Begin Date: 20 Mar 2017

Module/Topic

Secondary data and packaged information

Evaluating survey data collection methods

Chapter

5 & 7

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 4 Begin Date: 27 Mar 2017

Module/Topic

Qualitative research techniques

Chapter

6

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment 1: Online quiz opens in Moodle 9am Saturday

Week 5 Begin Date: 03 Apr 2017

Module/Topic

Understanding measurement

Developing questions and designing questionnaires

Chapter

8

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment 1: Online quiz must be completed by 3pm Friday


Online quiz Due: Week 5 Friday (7 Apr 2017) 3:00 pm AEST
Vacation Week Begin Date: 10 Apr 2017

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6 Begin Date: 17 Apr 2017

Module/Topic

Selecting the sample

Determining the size of a sample

Chapter

9 & 10

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 7 Begin Date: 24 Apr 2017

Module/Topic

Research reports

Using descriptive analysis

Performing population estimates

Testing hypotheses

Chapter

16 & 12

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 8 Begin Date: 01 May 2017

Module/Topic

Implementing basic differences tests

Chapter

13

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 9 Begin Date: 08 May 2017

Module/Topic

Making use of associative tests

Chapter

14

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment 2: Marketing research report due 3pm Tuesday


Marketing Research Report (2000-2500 words) Due: Week 9 Tuesday (9 May 2017) 3:00 pm AEST
Week 10 Begin Date: 15 May 2017

Module/Topic

Lab session activities

Chapter

Lessons 1-4, 5, 6 and 10 from Green and Salkind textbook

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 11 Begin Date: 22 May 2017

Module/Topic

Lab session activities

Chapter

Lessons 13, 16A, 19, 20 and 21 from Green and Salkind textbook

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 12 Begin Date: 29 May 2017

Module/Topic

Lab session activities

Review

Chapter

Lessons 22, 23, 24, 31 and 40 from Green and Salkind textbook

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment 3: Data analysis due 3pm Tuesday


Data Analysis (1000-1500 words) Due: Week 12 Tuesday (30 May 2017) 3:00 pm AEST
Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 05 Jun 2017

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Exam Week Begin Date: 12 Jun 2017

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Online Quiz(zes)

Assessment Title
Online quiz

Task Description

Assessment item 1 – Online Quiz

Due date: The online quiz opens at 9.00 am AEST, Saturday, Week 4 and closes at 3.00 pm AEST, Friday in Week 5 in Moodle.

Weighting: 20%

Time: 45 minutes

No. of MCQs: 40

Chapters to be covered: 1, 3, 4 and 6

Important Advice


· You can practice some self-study quizzes on the Burns and Bush website located at http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_burns_research_7/, Select chapter, self-study quizzes before attempting the online quiz tests.

· When you open the test, you have 45 minutes in which to complete it. DO NOT OPEN THE TEST UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO UNDERTAKE IT. You do not have the option of multiple attempts in this piece of assessment.

· Responsibility for access, ISP, browsers, connection and the computer you use (irrespective of who owns it) remains with the student. Failure of equipment is not grounds for special consideration, extensions of tests or special arrangements. Use of computers/computer labs on university campuses does not absolve students of their responsibility for having reliable and continued access to the worldwide web.

· Do not wait until the last day to attempt the test. The course co-ordinator will not open the quiz again for problems related to last minute attempts on the last day of the quiz. Those who attempt the quiz on the last day of the quiz will do so at their own risk.

· Students’ requests for an extension of the deadline for this assignment need to be submitted through the Assignment Extension System. Requests for reasons not mentioned in the CQUniversity Assessment of Coursework Procedures policy and not supported by appropriate evidence will not be considered. For example, if a student has been sick for 2 days before the assignment is due, the student needs to submit his/her request in the AES by the due date for the assignment and upload a medical certificate dated the day(s) of the sickness.

· If you have a problem within MOODLE itself, refer this and all other issues to the Course Co-ordinator and NOT to admin or teaching staff on the campus you are enrolled at.

· Refer system access problems (e.g. MOODLE login or password issues) to the Client Service Centre at tasac@cqu.edu.au as early as possible.

· “My computer has frozen up during an online test – what do I do?” The first thing to do is “don’t panic”! EMAIL THE COURSE CO-ORDINATOR IMMEDIATELY FOR ASSISTANCE IDENTIFYING THE COURSE, YOUR FULL NAME, STUDENT NUMBER AND CAMPUS. Any omissions of this required information may delay a response.

· If a student requests a reset of the online quiz and the Course Coordinator agrees to that request, but subsequently the student does not complete the test by the deadline date given by the Course Co-ordinator, it will be deemed that the test has not been completed and a grade of Absent Fail will be recorded if the overall minimum assessment requirements are not met. Note that the determination of whether the online test result was affected by technical difficulties will be solely the prerogative of the Course Coordinator. Simply doing poorly in a test and then asking for a reset will not be considered.


Number of Quizzes

1


Frequency of Quizzes

Other


Assessment Due Date

Week 5 Friday (7 Apr 2017) 3:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Students will be able to see their quiz grades in Moodle once they submit their quiz online.


Weighting
20%

Assessment Criteria

The online marketing research quiz ensures that students engage the conceptual material in the relevant chapters of the text. You will be given 45 minutes ONLY for the quiz. Each question is worth 0.5 marks (0.5*40=20 marks total for the quiz).


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • demonstrate a working knowledge of marketing research in theory and practice
  • distinguish between management decision problems and marketing research problems
  • compare and contrast research data collection methods
  • describe and accept the MRSA code of professional practice for marketing research


Graduate Attributes
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Team Work
  • Ethical practice

2 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Marketing Research Report (2000-2500 words)

Task Description

Assessment Item No 2- Complete a marketing research report


Due date: Tuesday of Week 9 by 3.00 p.m. AEST

Weighting: 50%

Length: 2000-2500 words


Assignment submission

All assignments should be submitted online through the MRKT 19038 Moodle site. All reports will be checked by Turnitin to compare the report to other sources and will provide students and lecturers with a similarity score for the report. Reports with a similarity score index of more than 20% will be checked for plagiarism by the marker (although it may not necessarily mean that the student has plagiarised).

Assessment task

Assume you are a Marketing Officer working for Royal Carribean International (http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/?wuc=AUS) and you have to design and administer an online survey to guests who visited New Zealand in April 2016 on the ship ‘Explorer of the Seas’. The survey has to be sent to guests within a month of their cruise experience. The survey should include questions related to the research objectives about guests' satisfaction about the destinations, shore excursions, the ship, onboard activities such as entertainment, pool, kids’ activities, seminars, spa, bars, dance lounges and so on, dining options and food, cost, staterooms and staff with the aim to improve customer satisfaction scores for future cruises and become the best cruiseline in the South Pacific region. Other research objectives could include finding out how likely guests would recommend the cruise line to others and how likely they would cruise again with Royal Carribean International.

You have been asked to write a marketing research report that will address the following tasks:

  1. Give a short introductory background to Royal Carribean International (300 words max).
  2. Write down the research objectives behind this survey. You can come up with your own research objectives.
  3. Conduct a literature review of about 600 words about guest satisfaction and behavioural intentions in cruising.
  4. Propose a sampling plan to survey guests.
  5. Explain the guidelines you have learnt for developing questionnaires and design a questionnaire which will address your research objectives. Use your creativity by using different styles of questions and measurement scales. Your questionnaire should address reliability and validity issues. Your questionnaire should have a maximum of 25 questions and try to use free questionnaire design websites to design your survey. Marks will be allocated for presentation.
  6. Explain the administration plan for the survey.
  7. Recommend ethical considerations for the research you will conduct.

This is a challenging assessment and you should start working on the assessment as from Week 3, even though it is due for submission in Week 9.

Important:

- Selection of literary support from Google, Wikipedia, www.NetMBA.com, www.marketingteacher.com, www.tutor2u.com, etc. will be treated very negatively. These are not appropriate sources for your academic assignment and their use is not acceptable.

- Students’ requests for an extension of the deadline for this assignment need to be submitted through the Assignment Extension System. Requests for reasons not mentioned in the CQUniversity Assessment of Coursework Procedures policy and not supported by appropriate evidence will not be considered. For example, if a student has been sick for 2 days before the assignment is due, the student needs to submit his/her request in the AES by the due date for the assignment and upload a medical certificate dated the day(s) of the sickness.


Assessment Due Date

Week 9 Tuesday (9 May 2017) 3:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Week 12 Tuesday (30 May 2017)


Weighting
50%

Assessment Criteria

  • Marking Criteria Max. marks
    Report structure and presentation 3
    Q 1. Introduction 3
    Q2. Research objectives 3
    Q3. Literature review 8
    Q4. Sampling plan
    · Population definition, sampling unit, etc
    · Sample frame
    · Sample size calculation
    · Sampling method
    · Sample validation
    6
    Q5. Questionnaire design
    · The addressing of the research objective (s) 2
    · General guidelines followed to design the questionnaire 6
    · Creativity with measurement scales 3
    · Overall quality of draft instrument 6
    · Addressing of reliability and validity issues 2
    Q6. Administration plan for survey 2
    Q7. Ethical considerations 4
    Referencing 2
    Total 50


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
Online submission in MRKT 19038 Moodle site

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • demonstrate a working knowledge of marketing research in theory and practice
  • distinguish between management decision problems and marketing research problems
  • discuss the main sampling techniques and methods as a basis for research designs
  • compare and contrast research data collection methods
  • design, develop, and critique marketing research instruments or procedures
  • explain what it means to be competent in primary data collection
  • communicate research planning and results effectively
  • describe and accept the MRSA code of professional practice for marketing research
  • demonstrate effective problem solving skills


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Team Work
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Ethical practice

3 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Data Analysis (1000-1500 words)

Task Description

Assessment Item No 3- Complete a data analysis project

Due Date: Tuesday of Week 12 by 3.00 p.m AEST

Weighting: 30%

Length: 1000 - 1500 words (excludes tables, figures and references)


Assignment submission

All assignments should be submitted online through the MRKT 19038 Moodle site. Reports will be checked by Turnitin to compare the report to other sources and will provide students and lecturers with a similarity score for the report. For this assignment though, the Turnitin score may not be indicative of plagiarism because all students may submit similar SPSS tables.

Details – Case scenario

You are required to read Case 12.2 p. 349 Global Motors Descriptive and Inference Analysis from the Burns and Bush 2014, Marketing Research 7/e, Pearson, Essex, UK textbook.

After reading the case study, you are required to use the SPSS datafile GlobalMotors.sav, provided in Moodle under the link “Assessment 3” to answer all the questions of the case study listed on p. 351 of the prescribed textbook. Check the case study hints on the Burns and Bush website.

A report format is not required for this assignment. However the structure and presentation of the assignment will count. A title page, executive summary, table of contents, body (answering of all the questions, displaying and commenting on tables and figures) are required for this assessment. Please use Times New Roman, Font 12 and single line spacing throughout your report. No more than 25 pages should be submitted and no appendices should be included.

Important:

- Students’ requests for an extension of the deadline for this assignment need to be submitted through the Assignment Extension System. Requests for reasons not mentioned in the CQUniversity Assessment of Coursework Procedures policy and not supported by appropriate evidence will not be considered. For example, if a student has been sick for 2 days before the assignment is due, the student needs to submit his/her request in the AES by the due date for the assignment and upload a medical certificate dated the day(s) of the sickness.


Assessment Due Date

Week 12 Tuesday (30 May 2017) 3:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Certification Date


Weighting
30%

Assessment Criteria

Marking Criteria - Maximum marks

Structure and presentation - 2 marks

Statistical analyses and interpretation of findings:

Q. 1 - 6 marks

Q. 2 (a)- 2 marks

Q. 2 (b)- 2 marks

Q. 3 (a)- 2 marks

Q.3 (b)- 2 marks

Q. 4- 4 marks

Q. 5- 5 marks

Q. 6- 5 marks

Total – 30 marks


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
Online submission in MRKT 19038 Moodle site

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • demonstrate a working knowledge of marketing research in theory and practice
  • discuss the best ways of analysing secondary and primary data
  • demonstrate effective problem solving skills
  • assess the practical application of SPSS software.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Information Technology Competence

Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?