Syllabus for MKR-700

MARKETING RESEARCH


COURSE DESCRIPTION

Marketing Research examines the essential analysis skills required for making quality marketing decisions. Developing a market research design demands necessary quantitative and qualitative abilities to identify and define market opportunities and issues; generate, improve, and assess marketing performance; monitor marketing performance; and advance understanding of marketing as a process. Students are required to select a contemporary marketing problem or opportunity, frame the issue into a research question, review the relevant literature, develop measures and collect pertinent data, statistically analyze data results, and provide an industry-standard final report of findings and limitations. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you will be able to:

 

     CO1    Define and describe the relationship between ethical marketing research and decision making.

     CO2    Explain the processes used in formulating and conducting marketing research projects.

     CO3    Incorporate marketing research language (vocabulary) as it is used by practitioners and business

                professionals.

     CO4    Identify a contemporary marketing research need and develop a corresponding marketing

                research strategy.

     CO5    Perform common qualitative and quantitative marketing research techniques; that is, survey

                construction and data collection as well as fundamental quantitative and qualitative analysis.

     CO6    Present marketing research findings by preparing an industry-standard APA-format report as well

                as articulating one’s research orally via presentation.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the University’s textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbooks

ISBN: 978-1305263475

Required Articles

Throughout the course and for the final project, contemporary articles are required to assist in transitioning the theory and concepts. These resources can be accessed through the New Jersey State Library, which you can find through the myEdison portal under the Educational tab in the My Resources block.

You will need a library card to access the NJ State Library, which is free for TESU students. Be sure to apply early in the semester, as it may take several weeks to receive your card. 

https://www.njstatelib.org/research_library/get_a_library_card/state_employee_and_tesu_students/ 

Technology Requirements

COURSE STRUCTURE

Marketing Research is a three-credit, online course consisting of four modules. Modules include an overview, topics, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in four graded discussion forums and in two synchronous events as well as to complete four written assignments. You are also required to complete a final project.

Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Discussion Forums

You are required to participate in four graded discussion forums. Discussion forums are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules. Please read through the instructions that accompany each discussion as these may be slightly different from others you have participated in.

There is also an ungraded but required introduction forum in Module 1.

Consult the Evaluation Rubrics folder for a grading rubric for discussion forums.

Written Assignments

You are required to complete four written assignments. The written assignments require that you apply the concepts and theories to answer questions or analyze scenarios that are related to the topics covered in each module. Written assignments are emulations of professional documents. The goal of these compositions is to prepare students to write efficient and effective professional prose.

Citations

Professionals always give credit where credit is due, and this concept extends to ideas as well as precise wording. Within all managerial communications, citations serve this purpose. Thomas Edison State University requires that students format citations in either MLA or APA style. In business, APA is the more common format and the format you should use for assignments in this course. Examine the following examples of proper APA citation.

 

 

 

Kelly, E. P., Ellis, A. D., & Rosenthal, S. P. (2011). Crisis of conscience: Pharmacist refusal to provide health care services on moral grounds. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 23(1), 37–54.

 

Students can locate information about proper APA citation formatting online by conducting a Google search. Microsoft Word’s References Manager toolbar takes the labor out of creating a bibliography and in-text citations. Students who are unfamiliar with using Word’s Reference Manager should select one of the many online training tools that can be located on the Internet.

 

Requirements and Directions

Specific requirements and directions for each written assignment are found within the appropriate module. Students are encouraged to perform a cursory review of all modules at the start of the term.

 

Submission

Students are to submit their written assignments by the due date specified in the Course Calendar. Assignments should never be e-mailed to the mentor; they should be submitted only through the course site.

Synchronous Events 

You are required to participate in two synchronous events; one in Module 2 and one in Module 4 of the semester. Synchronous events will be held in Edison Live!, our virtual meeting space. To access the event, click on the Edison Live! link in ­­­­the top section of the course site a few minutes before the designated time. Use the following link for directions and helpful videos about how to use the Edison Live! tool in Moodle. Your mentor will work with the class to propose a time that works best and accommodates the majority.  

See the Module 2 and Module 4 areas of the course website for further details.

Final Project

The final project allows you to examine a current issue or concept of professional interest by applying the concepts learned during the course. The comprehensive research study will take into consideration all phases of research design, implementation, analysis, and presentation to examine a topic of each student’s interest. By completing this applied project, you will gain competencies associated with identifying an appropriate marketing research problem, conducting the background research necessary to understand what is known about the problem, developing and applying a primary research instrument, gathering data, analyzing and interpreting findings, and presenting the results of your research.

In addition to the written report, the students are required to present their project to the class during Synchronous Event 2 in Module 4.

See the Final Project area of the course site for complete details regarding this assignment. The presentation and the final project will both be graded based on rubrics.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

A

=

93–100

B

=

83–87

A–

=

90–92

C

=

73–82

B+

=

88–89

F

=

Below 73

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., assignments, discussion postings, projects). Graduate students must maintain a B average overall to remain in good academic standing.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.

Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:

Plagiarism

Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.

If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > Citing Sources.)

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.

For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance and originality report checking, click the links provided below.

Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism

When to Quote and When to Paraphrase

Writing Assistance at Smarthinking

Originality Report Checking at Turnitin

Disciplinary Process for Plagiarism

Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.

If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.

If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.

Possible sanctions include:

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