Main topics of study:

Introducing Marketing Research

• Who Needs Marketing Research?
• Who Should Read This Book?
• What Does the Book Cover? 

Getting Started

• What Does the Organisation Need Research For?
• Corporate Planning
• Market Planning
• Product Planning
• Promotional Planning
• Distribution Planning
• Price Planning
• What Types of Research Data are there?
• Continuous Research
• Ad hoc Research
• Desk Research
• Field Research
• How Can the Organisation Obtain the Research it Needs?
• Getting Started
• Resources 

Marketing Research Begins at Home

• What Can be Done at Home?
• Data Produced in the Normal Course of Running the Organisation
• Data Acquired Through Personal Contacts
• Accumulated Research Information
• Decision Support Systems
• What Goes into an Internal Information System?
• Operating Data
• Market Intelligence
• Information Library
• Customer Relationship Management Systems
• Data Warehouses & Data Mining

‘Off-the-Peg’ Research

• Secondary Desk Research
• Introduction
• Sources
• Finding the Pegs
• Using Secondary Data
• Syndicated Research Services
• Index to Syndicated Research Surveys
• Guide to Syndicated Research Services
• Omnibus Research Surveys
• Omnibus Research Services & Suppliers
• General Population Omnibus Surveys
• Specialist Omnibus Surveys
• Specialist Research Services
• Types of research Offered via the Market Research Society
• Consumer Classification Systems

‘Made-to-Measure’ Research

• Buying a ‘Made-to-Measure’ Research Survey is Just Like Buying a ‘Made-to Measure’ Suit
• The ‘Made-to-Measure’ Research Process
• Defining the Research Required
• ‘What is the Problem?’
• ‘What Data is Needed to Find a Solution?’

How is the Data Collected?

• Interview Methods
• Interviewing Individuals
• Attitude Measurement
• Projective Techniques
• Interviewing Groups
• Postal or Self-Completion Research
• Internet & E-Mail Research
• Diary Panels
• Telephone Research
• Observation Research
• Observation Panels
• Retail Audits

Who Provides the Information?

• What is a Sample?
• Why Use a Sample?
• How is the Sample Selected?
• Random Sampling
• Quota Sampling
• Judgement Sampling
• How Big Does the Sample Need to Be?
• Variability in the Population
• Required Level of Confidence
• Required Limits of Accuracy
• Allowance for Non-Response
• Subgroup Analysis Requirements
• Practical Factors

How Do You Ask the Questions?:

• Why Use a Questionnaire
• To Collect Relevant Data
• To Make Data Comparable
• To Minimise Bias
• To Motivate the Respondent
• Getting the Questionnaire Content Right
• What Types of Data can be Collected Using a Questionnaire?
• Fact
• Opinion
• Motive
• What Does a Questionnaire Contain?
• Identification Data
• Classification Data
• Subject Data
• What Types of Question Can Be Used?
• Dichotomous Questions
• Multiple-Choice Questions
• Open-Ended Questions
• Rating Scales
• How Should Questions be Worded?
• Meaning
• Ambiguity
• Leading
• Generalisation
• Unidimensionality
• Cushion Statements
• Will the Respondent Answer the Questions?
• Allowing for Method of Analysis
• Why Does Presentation Matter?
• Will the Questionnaire Work?
• Special Types of Questionnaire
• Postal or Self-Completion Questionnaires
• Telephone Questionnaires
• Online Questionnaires
• Vetting Questionnaires

Who Asks the Questions?

• Interviewers: ‘Horses for Courses’
• Fully Structured Interviews
• Using Rating Scales
• Semi-Structured Interviews
• Unstructured Interviews
• What do Interviewers Do?
• Selecting Respondents
• Obtaining Interviews
• Asking Questions
• Probing & Prompting
• Motivating Respondents
• Interpreting & Recording Responses
• Interviewer Bias
• Who Are the Interviewers?
• Gender
• Age
• Social Background
• Education
• Job Background
• Personality
• Training
• How are Interviewers Controlled?
• The Interviewer Quality Control Scheme
• Field Supervision
• Postal Checking
• Telephone Checks
• Personal Recall Checks
• Editing Checks
• Computer Checks
• Monitoring Fieldwork
• Choosing a Good Fieldwork Agency
• Finding the Agency
• Asking Pertinent Questions
• Looking at the Evidence
• Membership of the Interviewer Quality Control Scheme
• Relevant Experience
• Cost
• Using an Agency for Fieldwork
• Briefing the Agency
• Agreeing the Procedures
• Briefing the Interviewers
• Asking the Questions Yourself

What Happens to the Answers?

• Analysis & Interpretation of Qualitative Data
• Analysis of Quantitative Data
• Data Preparation
• Data Processing
• Statistical Analysis
• Interpretation of Quantitative Data
• Reporting
• The Research Report

How Do You Buy Good Research?

• Getting the Research Requirement Right
• Is Research Really Necessary?
• What Type of Research is Needed?
• What Will the Research be Used For?
• When is the Research Needed By?
• How Much is the Research Information Worth?
• Preparing the Brief
• Choosing the Right Agency
• Drawing up the Shortlist
• Briefing the Agencies
• The Research Proposal
• Selecting the Research Agency
• Checking that the Agency Does a Good Job
• Monitoring While in Progress
• Evaluating the Final Results
• Learning from Experience
• Were the Objectives Right?
• Was the Research Programme Right?
• Was Too Much or Too Little Information Produced?
• Did It Help to Provide a Solution?
• Using Feedback
• What Action Resulted from the Research?
• Buying Syndicated Services
• Defining the Requirement
• Does the Service Meet the Requirement?
• Does the Service Provide Adequate Flexibility?
• Is the Money Worth Spending?
• Evaluating Other Research Reports
• A Scheme for Judging Research Quality

Using Research in Experiments

• Types of Research Experiment
• Experimental Launching
• Pilot Launching
• Specific Market Test
• Exploratory Market Test
• Types of Experimental Design
• Informal Experimental Designs
• Formal Experimental Designs
• Setting Up Research Experiments
• Selecting the Experimental Design
• The Scale of the Experiment
• Choosing the Test Area
• Timing
• Test Conditions
• Test Variables
• Cost
• Syndicated Test Procedures

Using Research in Business-to-Business & Industrial Markets

• Marketing Research Begins at Home
• ‘Off-the-Peg’ Research
• ‘Made-to-Measure’ Research
• How is the Data Collected?
• Who Provides the Information?
• How Are the Questions Asked?
• Who Asks the Questions?
• What Happens to the Answers?
• How Do You Buy Good Research?
• Using Research in Industrial Markets

Using Research in Online Markets

• Marketing Research Begins at Home
• ‘Off-the-Peg’ Research
• ‘Made-to-Measure’ Research
• How are the Data Collected?
• Who Provides the Information?
• How are the Questions Asked?
• Who Asks the Questions?
• What Happens to the Answers?
• How Do You Buy Good Research?
• Using Research in Online Markets

Using Research in International Markets

• Who Monitors the Quality of International Research?
• Who Are the Users?
• Who Undertakes the Research?
• International Market Research Begins at Home
• ‘Off-the-Peg’ Research
• Secondary Desk Research
• Sources
• Government Published Data
• ‘Made-to-Measure’ Research
• Sampling
• Data Collection Methods
• How Do You Ask the Questions?
• How Do You Buy Good Research?
• Preparing the Brief
• Selecting the Agency
• Government Assistance for Overseas Research
• Commissioning the Research
• Implementing the Research

Using Research in Marketing Decision Making

• Using Research for Market Analysis
• Using Research to Develop New Products & Services
• Using Research to Select Brand Names & Pack Designs
• Using Research for Pricing Decisions
• Using Research for Decisions About Advertising

Reading List

Main Text:

Marketing Research for Managers - S. Crouch & M. Housden (Butterworth Heinemann)