FOUNDATION CERTIFICATE IN MARKETING
2.01 MARKETING INFORMATION ANALYSIS 2 - 2009/10
The objective of this course is that on completion the student should have an understanding of the function and value of marketing information analysis/marketing research, together with an appreciation of the theory which underlies the main methods used, an awareness of IT-based sources of information and methods of analysis, and a capacity to evaluate the use of these methods in marketing research projects.
SECTION A
1. The Role of Marketing Research
Definitions; the value of information; how marketing research contributes to the solving of marketing problems and the realising of marketing opportunities; types of marketing research projects.
2. Research Design
Problem identification and definition; the purpose of research design; types of research design; components of research design; sources of error in research design; research proposals; research reports.
3. Secondary Data
Types and sources of secondary data; evaluating secondary data; main sources of external secondary data in Ireland; syndicated information sources in Ireland. Irish and international websites providing information on marketing research methods.
4. Primary Data
Nature of measurement; types of rating and other measurement scales; questionnaire design; principal data collection methods; fieldwork.
5. Qualitative Research
The rationale of and need for qualitative research; focus groups; in-depth interviews; projective methods.
SECTION B
6. Sampling
The need for sampling; why sampling is possible; probability/random and non random sampling; main sampling methods.
7. Data Preparation and Preliminary Analysis
Preparing survey data for analysis; coding and cleaning data; tabular, graphical and statistical presentation of data; review of basic descriptive statistical measures; measuring association; statistical inference: chisquare, t and z tests.
8. Experimentation
Causal research and experiments;basic experimental designs andsources of error in experiments; complex experiments/statistical designs.
9. Statistical Analysis
Regression and analysis of variance and covariance; analysis of experimental data; basic analysis of crosstabulations; analysis of ordinal data/ranks; acquaintance with major data analysis software packages, particularly SPSS.
10. Multivariate Analysis
Classification of multivariate methods; discriminant analysis and multiple regression; conjoint analysis; cluster analysis; factor analysis; multidimensional scaling.
READING LIST
Essential Reading
Malhotra, N.K. and Birks, David F. (2006), Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation, Pearson Education, Updated, 2nd European Edition.
Recommended Reading
Chisnall, P.M. (2004), Marketing Research, 7th Edition, McGraw Hill, London.
Diamantopoulos, A. and Schlegelmilch B. (2000), Taking the Fear out of Data Analysis, Thompson, London.
Domegan, Christine & Fleming, Declan, (2003), Marketing Research in Ireland: Theory and Practice, 2nd Edition, Gill & Macmillian.
