FOUNDATION CERTIFICATE IN MARKETING
1.04 MARKETING INFORMATION ANALYSIS 1 - 2009/10
The objective of this course is that on completion the student will have a basic understanding of organising, presenting and analysing statistical data with special reference to marketing and thus lay the foundation for Marketing Information Analysis II.
1. Nature and Scope of Marketing Research
Definitions of marketing research; marketing research as a decision-making tool; marketing information systems.
2. Key Aspects of the Marketing Research Process
Decisions, identifying objectives, identifying information needs, identifying information sources; executive field work; analysing data/ interpreting results.
3. Statistics for Marketing Information Analysis
Descriptive Statistics
Tables, graphs, charts and diagrams, measures of central tendency - mean, mode, median.
Measures of Dispersion
Range, mean deviation, standard deviation, quartile deviation, co-efficient of variation.
Time Series
Analysis of time series; additive and multiplicative models; moving averages and least squares methods; deseasonalization; forecasting; exponential smoothing method.
Index Numbers
Construction and use of index numbers, different types - Laspeyre, Paasche, change of base, deflation of data.
Probability
Sampling space and Venn diagrams; addition and multiplication laws; joint and conditional probability; expected values; Binominal, Poisson and Normal distribution.
Sampling Theory
Confidence intervals for measurement data and percentages; calculation of sample size.
4. Sampling Techniques
Introduction to sampling; sampling vs census studies; probability vs non-probability samples; sampling error and sampling distribution; evaluation of research results.
5. Hypothesis Testing and the Examination of Association
Tests of significance for sample means and proportions. Tests of significant differences between sample means and sample proportions. Small samples -t- tests. Chi-Square. Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficients. Regression analysis and the appreciation, but not calculation, of multiple regression.
6. Results and Result Presentation
Understanding your audience, preparing written reports, preparing visual reports, oral presentations.
READING LIST
Essential Reading
Francis, Andy (2004), Business Mathematics and Statistics, 6th Edition, Thompson, London.
No one text exactly covers the full course, so lecturers may supplement any basic text with their notes on particular topics.
Recommended Reading
Burton, G., George, C.G. & Wall, S. (2002), Quantitative Methods for Business and Economics, Pearson (Financial Times, Prentice Hall), London.
Levine, D., Krehbiel, T., Prentice, C. & Berenson, M.L. (2006), Businses Statistics: First Course, 4th Edition, Pearson, London.
