Semester 1 

The module aims to provide students with both a theoretical and practical understanding of how marketing research is designed, conducted and evaluated.  More specifically, the module equips students with a framework for understanding all aspects of research methods used in marketing, consumer behaviour, advertising, branding and related marketing research areas. 

This course is intended to provide an introduction to the general principles of Market and Marketing Research and to Research Techniques.  The role of Research in Marketing is to aid decision making in Marketing by providing relevant information, facilitating analysis and thereby reducing uncertainty.  The techniques are equally applicable to all kinds of businesses.  The module aims to provide students with the evaluation skills to identify, understand and evaluate research relevant to making marketing decisions. 

On successful completion of this module the students will be able to: 
·            Recognise the problem-solving applications of market research in business situations. 
·            Understand the potential contribution of research in marketing to the improvement of decision making. 
·            Develop research proposals. 
·            Understand the distinction between quantitative and qualitative techniques for date collection and analysis. 
·            Identify the contribution which different data collection techniques can make to the solution of problems and the identification of opportunities. 
·            Provide a summary of the findings relevant to solving marketing problems, and making innovative decisions about business development. 

·            The Nature, Scope And Roles Of Marketing Research 
·            Using And Evaluating Basic Research Designs 
·            The Use Of Secondary Data And Databases 
·            Qualitative Research: Uses And Main Methods
·            Quantitative Research: Surveys 
·            Sampling Frames And Sampling Methods 
·            Lifestyle Classification And Measurement 
·            Questionnaire Design, Measurement And Scaling 
·            Experimentation And Test Marketing, Product And Promotional Testing 
·            Internet Research And Use Of Online Methods For Research Purposes

The teaching and learning strategy is designed to encourage an understanding of the purposes of the discipline; develop a knowledge of the principal areas within the discipline; place the subject in a commercial context and show how it may be evaluated. 
The teaching and learning methods include lectures and tutorials. Guest lecturers will be sought to discuss real-life applications of research techniques. The tutorials will generally address case studies to be dealt with by student presentations.  Teaching and learning will be supported by ULearn. 
Assessment strategy: 
The assessment strategy is designed to ensure students have developed the ability to choose and  evaulate a research technique for variety of business decision areas and understand how the research process should be managed. 

Essential Reading 
Chisnall P. (2006) Marketing Research.  6^th edn.  : McGraw-Hill. 
Recommended Reading 
Malhotra, J. and Birks, D. (2006) Marketing Research, An Applied Approach.  2^nd European edn.  : Pearson Education. 
Background Reading 
Aaker, D., Kumar, V. and Day, G.S. (2001) Marketing Research.  8^th edn.  New York : Wiley. 
 Burns, A.C. and Bush, R.F. (2003) Marketing Research.  International edn. Online Research Applications.  4^th edn. New Jersey : Prentice Hall. 
Field, A. (2005) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS.  2^nd edn.  London : Sage Publications. 
Kumar, V. (2000) International Marketing Research.  New Jersey : Prentice Hall. 
McDaniel, C., and Gates, R. (2003) Marketing Research Essentials.  4^th edn.  South-Western: Thompson Publishing. 
Proctor, T. (2004) Essentials of Marketing Research.  4th edn.  Harlow : Pearson Education /Prentice-Hall.