COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: MARKETING RESEARCH

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
BUS 353	B	5	3	0	0	3	5

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	NA
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Dr. Sonila Çela scela@epoka.edu.al , By appointment (scela@epoka.edu.al)
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Bachelor in International Marketing and Logistics Management (3 years)
Classroom and Meeting Time:	E 311 -8.45
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:	Yes
Course Description:	This course concerns the use of marketing research as an aid to making marketing decisions. Specifically, this course addresses how the information used to make marketing decisions is gathered and analyzed.
Course Objectives:	This course aims to introduce students to marketing research in the business world. Both introductory research methodology and marketing research concepts will be covered to teach students how to analyze, design, and conduct practical research projects during their careers after graduation. Course objectives are: To facilitate students' comprehension of the marketing research methodology concepts. They will gain knowledge and skills to conduct practical research projects for business marketing needs.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	Marketing Research
2	Research Methodologies
3	Qualitative Research
4	Quantitative Research
5	Data Collection

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Course Introduction. Syllabus Review. Introduction to Marketing Research, Why organizations need marketing research
2	Introduction to Marketing Research, The MR Process, The Marketing Research Industry and Career - Chapter 1-Define marketing research and distinguish between problem-identification research and problem-solving research. Describe a framework for conducting marketing research as well as the six steps of the marketing research process. Understand the nature and scope of marketing research and its role in designing and implementing successful marketing programs. Explain how the decision to conduct marketing research is made. Discuss the marketing research industry and the types of research suppliers, including internal, external, full-service, and limited-service suppliers.Describe careers available in marketing research and the backgrounds and skills needed to succeed in them
3	Defining the Marketing Research Problem and Developing an Approach-Chapter 2-Understand the importance of and process used for defining the marketing research problem. Describe the tasks involved in problem definition including discussion with decision maker(s), interview with industry experts, secondary data analysis, and qualitative research. Discuss the environmental factors affecting the definition of the research problem: past information and forecasts; resources and constraints; objective of the decision maker; buyer behavior; legal environment; economic environment; and marketing and technological skills of the firm. Clarify the distinction between the management decision problem and the marketing research problem. Explain the structure of a well-defined marketing research problem including the broad statement and the specific components.
4	Research Design Formulation, Research Design, Exploratory Research Design: Secondary and Syndicated Data- Chapter 3-4-Define research design, classify various research designs, and explain the differences between exploratory and conclusive designs. Compare and contrast the basic research designs: exploratory, descriptive, and causal. Describe the major sources of errors in a research design, including random sampling error and the various sources of non-sampling error. Discuss managerial aspects of coordinating research projects, particularly budgeting and scheduling. Describe the elements of a marketing research proposal and show how they address the steps of the marketing research process. Explain research design formulation in international marketing research. Discuss how the analysis of social media content can facilitate the research design process. Deliberate the implementation of various research designs in mobile marketing research. Understand the ethical issues and conflicts that arise in formulating a research design.
5	Exploratory Research Design: Qualitative Research - Chapter 5-Explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative research in terms of the objectives, sampling, data collection and analysis, and outcomes. Understand the various forms of qualitative research including direct procedures such as focus groups and depth interviews, and indirect methods such as projective techniques. Describe focus groups in detail with emphasis on planning and conducting focus groups, and their advantages, disadvantages, and applications.Describe depth interview techniques in detail citing their advantages, disadvantages, and applications. Explain projective techniques in detail and discusses their advantages, disadvantages and applications. Discuss the considerations involved in conducting qualitative research in an international setting. Discuss the use of social media  in obtaining and analyzing qualitative data.
6	Descriptive Research Design: Survey and Observation- Chapter 6-Discuss and classify survey methods available to marketing researchers, and describe the various telephone, personal, mail, and electronic interviewing methods. Compare the different methods, and evaluate which is best suited for a particular research project. Explain how survey response rates can be improved. Explain and classify the different observation methods used by marketing researchers and describe personal observation and mechanical observation. Describe the relative advantages and disadvantages of observational methods and compare them to survey methods.
7	Causal Research Design: Experimentation - Chapter 7- Explain the concept of causality as defined in marketing research and distinguish between the ordinary meaning and the scientific meaning of causality. Discuss the conditions for causality, and whether a causal relationship can be demonstrated conclusively. Define and differentiate the two types of validity: internal validity and external validity. Describe and evaluate experimental designs and the differences among pre-experimental, true experimental, causality experiential and statistical designs. Compare and contrast the use of laboratory versus field experimentation and experimental versus non-experimental designs in marketing research.
8	Midterm Exam
9	Measurement and Scaling: Fundamentals and Comparative Scaling - Chapter 8- Introduce the concepts of measurement and scaling and show how scaling may be considered an extension of measurement. Explain the characteristics of description, order, distance, and origin and how theydefine the level of measurement of a scale. Discuss the primary scales of measurement and differentiate nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales. Classify scaling techniques as comparative and noncomparative, and describe the comparative techniques of paired comparison, rank order, and constant sum and Q-sort scaling
10	Measurement and Scaling: Noncomparative Scaling Techniques- Chapter 9 - Describe the noncomparative scaling techniques, distinguish between continuous and itemized rating scales, and explain Likert, semantic differential, and Stapel scales. Discuss the decisions involved in constructing itemized rating scales with respect to the number of scale categories, balanced versus unbalanced scales, odd or even number of categories, forced versus nonforced choice, degree of verbal description, and the physical form of the scale. Discuss the criteria used for scale evaluation and explain how to assess reliability, validity, and generalizability
11	Questionnaire and Form Design -Chapter 10- Explain the purpose of a questionnaire and its objectives of asking questions that the respondents can and will answer, encouraging respondents, and minimizing response error.. Describe the process of designing a questionnaire, the steps involved, and guidelines that must be followed at each step. Discuss the observational form of data collection and specify the who, what, when, where, why, and way of behavior to be observed. Discuss the considerations involved in designing questionnaires for international marketing research.
12	Sampling: Design and Procedures-Chapter 11- Differentiate a sample from a census and identify the conditions which favor the use of a sample versus a census. Discuss the sampling design process: definition of the target population, determination of the sampling frame, selection of sampling technique(s), determination of sample size, and execution of the sampling process. Classify sampling techniques as nonprobability and probability sampling techniques. Describe the nonprobability sampling techniques of convenience, judgmental, quota, and snowball sampling. Describe the probability sampling techniques of simple random, systematic, stratified, and cluster sampling.
13	Data Collection, Preparation, Fieldwork - Data Preparation- Chapter 13-14 -Describe the field work or data collection process and explain the selection, training, and supervision of field workers, the validation of field work, and the evaluation of field workers. Discuss the training of field workers in making the initial contact, asking the questions, probing, recording the answers, and terminating the interview. Discuss the supervision of field workers in terms of quality control and editing, sampling control, control of cheating, and central office control. Describe the evaluation of field workers in areas of cost and time, response rates, quality of interviewing, and the quality of data. Discuss the nature and scope of data preparation, and the data preparation process. Explain questionnaire checking and editing. Personalization. The respondent’s name and personal responses are automatically inserted into key questions. Complex skip patterns. The software can check many conditions and responses to determine which question should be asked next. Randomized response choices. The order of presentation of response options in multiple-choice questions can be randomized for each respondent to control for order bias. Consistency checks. Consistency checks can be programmed to identify inconsistent responses while the interview is still in progress so that corrective action may be taken if necessary Addition of new response categories. If many respondents give a particular response to the “Other, please specify” category, that response will be automatically converted into a check-off category and added to the set of prespecified response options.
14	Report Preparation and Presentation-Chapter 23- Understand the process that should be followed in preparing and presenting the final report. Explain the guidelines available for writing a report that includes graphs and tables. Describe how an oral presentation should be made and some of the principles involved. Discuss the importance of followup with the client, and the assistance that should be given to the client in implementing and evaluating the research project. Explain how the report preparation and presentation process differs in international marketing research. Describe how social media  facilitate and enhance report preparation and presentation. Discuss the ethical issues related to the interpretation and reporting of the research process and findings.

Prerequisite(s):	N/A
Textbook(s):	Naresh K. Malhotra Marketing Research An Applied Orientation, SEVENTH EDITION , 2020 Pearson, Global Edition ISBN 978-1-292-26591-9
Additional Literature:	Joseph F. Hair, Jr. David J. Ortinau, Dana E. Harrison’, Essentials of Marketing Research, Fifth Edition, 2021 by McGraw-Hill ISBN 978-1-260-26046-5
Laboratory Work:	N/A
Computer Usage:	N/A
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	Understanding the principles of Marketing Research
2	Develop critical thinking on need of Marketing Research for Businesses
3	Define the basic scientific and marketing research methodology concepts
4	Understanding different research methods
5	Design a practical research project for a marketing problem
6	Understanding qualitative and quantitative data, and reporting it

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Bachelor in International Marketing and Logistics Management (3 years) Program
1	Identify activities, tasks, and skills in management, marketing, accounting, finance, and economics.	5
2	Apply key theories to practical problems within the global business context.	5
3	Demonstrate ethical, social, and legal responsibilities in organizations.	5
4	Develop an open minded-attitude through continuous learning and team-work.	5
5	Use technology to enable business growth and sustainability.	5
6	Synthesize creativity needed for marketing notion with scientific method and numerical skills, for achieving business sustainability.	5
7	Apply the concepts and structures of modern marketing in global context at private and public sectors.	5
8	Integrate the management of logistics, supply chain and in total operations with corporate goals and strategies.	5

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Homework	0
Midterm Exam(s)	1	35
Project	1	20
Case Study	0	0
Final Exam	1	45
Attendance		0
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	3	48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	3	48
Mid-terms	1	10	10
Assignments			0
Final examination	1	19	19
Other			0
Total Work Load:			125
Total Work Load/25(h):			5
ECTS Credit of the Course:			5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

Marketing Research is an professional course where students can learn every day marketing research its need and applications as well as benefits to the business and marketing professionals. Hope you enjoy!