Description

MKTG 460 Marketing Research Project Guideline
The objective of the research project is to provide students with opportunity in applying the concepts and methods learned in class to a real world problem. Students may choose any problem of their own. The problem should be relevant to a business or governmental organization. The marketing research topics could be anything within marketing including product/concept testing, advertising testing, strategy, price decision, logistic decision, consumer behavior and so forth. The project is to be done in groups of four or five students.

Guidelines for the course project and project report;

  1. When selecting a project, make sure you have a clear understanding of the research problem(s) at hand, a realization of the organizational constraints for dealing with such a problem (including time and budgetary restrictions), and an understanding of how the information provided by your research will facilitate decision making.
  2. Identify the information needed to address the research problem.
  3. Choose a research design and justify its choice (e.g., survey, experiment, focus group, or combination of methods). One exploratory study/ qualitative (i.e., interview, focus group interview, observational study) and one conclusive study/ quantitative (i.e., descriptive , casual) is required.
  4. Develop the data collection method(s). This should include a sampling plan and instrument design (e.g., questionnaire).
  5. Collect data. For the purpose of this course, you are required to collect at least 50 completed responses for a quantitative study and 10 responses for a qualitative study ( focus group interview requires two different groups).
  6. Analyze your data using appropriate statistical techniques.
  7. Present your recommendations based on your findings and discuss the limitations of your research.

Explain the current situation of temporary housing in Fayetteville and history.
Temporary housing decision problem. Define temporary housing.

Your final paper must include the following contents.
Cover page (5pts)- Project Title, Submission Date, Class Title, Group Names must be included.

Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary (0.5 -1 page) (5pts): Summarize the objectives of findings of the study.
  2. Introduction (Minimum 1 page): Provide the backdrop that leads to the problem being faced by the marketing manager, which in turn, determines the statement of information needs for the research project. Next, specify the issues that need to be researched. This should clearly state (1) what exactly do you intend to investigate, and (b) why you think these are precisely the issues you need to investigate. You will interview the client for specifying the information needs. You may also like to talk to experts in the industry like consultants, managers, traders, etc to further clarify the problem definition as we discussed in class.
    a. Problem background (5pts)
    b. Decision problem (5pts)
    c. Research problems (10pts)
    d. Research objective (5pts)
  3. Literature Search (Minimum 2 pages)(30pts) : Provide understanding and insights obtained from secondary research using proper and valid references. You must use at least 5 different references to define the main terminologies, suggest demonstrated relationships among variables, and suggest other findings of past research on the given topic. You are encouraged to use FSU library source (i.e., trade journals, books, newspapers) and Internet ( ex. Google Scholar) to search for necessary information. All sources should be indicated in the reference section using APA6th citation format.
  4. Methods (Minimum 1 page): Provide details of the process of data collection and questionnaire design for your qualitative study and quantitative study. You need to specify research methods you use and justify the usage of it in line with your research objective. This section include information on the questionnaire was administered (self or interviewer), contact procedure used (mail, telephone, personal), sampling procedure used, the response rate (i.e., how many of those contacted refused/responded to the interview), how long it took to complete the interview, and other relevant information of this nature. You are required to consult with me at least once to refine the questionnaire. It is strongly encourage that you use established questions by experts.
    a. Interview and Survey questions (15 pts): You need to either construct your own questions or use established questions/ scales. It is recommend that you use established questions/ scales for the main terminologies. This would mean that you research questions and scales developed by other researchers, usually consumer behavior professors.
    b. Procedure (5pts): Discuss location and time, methods of participant recruitment, number of participants, or any other specific technique you use during research.
  5. Analysis ( Minimum 1 page)(20pts)
    Survey : Descriptive data explanation is required
    Interview or Observation: Summary of repeatedly occurring themes is required.
  6. Results ( Minimum 1 page)(10 pts)
    The analyses you have done (percentages, means, correlations, regressions, etc.), conclusions from the data analysis, and inferences drawn from each question or set of questions. Graphs, charts may be helpful here. Extensive data files may be included in the appendix. Besides doing it on a question-by-question basis, you may also want to relate different questions with each other, and also talk about the “big picture.”
  7. Managerial Implication ( Minimum 0.5 page)(10 pts)
    Discuss how your research findings contribute to marketing managers’ understanding of the problem you investigate.
  8. References (10pts)
    APA citation format (6th edition) is required(https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/06/).

Requirements, Deadlines, and Procedure
• Your research paper must be submitted electronically via Canvas by 11/30 along with presentation slides. Single document per group is required. By each date, 5 percent of the total grade will be deducted for late submission.
• Singled-space, 12 font, Arial or Times New Roman font is required (5pts).
• Correct grammar and spelling use is required (5pts)
• Adherence to the proper length for each section (5pts)
• In general, clarity, creativity, consistency, the depth and breadth of contents, organization of paragraphs, visual presentation and idea feasibility will be considered for grading this paper. Quality work and writing is strongly recommended for higher grades. Mere inclusion of the required contents does not guarantee the highest score.
• Your presentation date is 12/1. Each group will be given 30 minutes for presentation.
• Each week, you need to submit Weekly Research Progress (WRP) via Canvas. One document per group is required. WRP form can be found under “file” section on Canvas. I will provide my feedbacks about your research progress and evaluate your group member performance by reading your WRP. If you would like me to read your drafts for feedbacks, you can also submit your research paper every week along with WRP.
• Research meetings: Each group is responsible for communicating with me at least once per week (either Tuesday or Thursday) to update your progress and gain feedbacks. As for the meeting format, you can do either office meeting or email report. During research meetings or in the email report, you need to report your weekly progress with your WRP, following week plan, and questions you have during the writing. Writing must occur gradually throughout the 2nd module to ensure opportunities for getting feedbacks from instructor.

** FSU Library Database (http://libguides.uncfsu.edu/content.php?pid=569800&sid=4698573)

Business Source Complete
Business Book Summaries
Ebscohost
Eutomonitor
Hospitality& Tourism Complete
JSTOR
MIT Press Journal
ProQuest Direct
Research Starters-Business
SpringerLink
StateData Center
STATS USA
Wall Street Journal Historical

Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/) is also recommended as a source of your literature review.

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