Instructor: Kapil Bawa
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 646-312-3287
Office: 12-251 VC
Hours: M, W 5-5:30 pm and by appointment
Introduction
Have you ever wanted to learn about the ways in which pollsters, scientists and researchers can manipulate the design of a survey or a research study to get the findings that they want? Or wondered how why surveys conducted by different organizations on the same issue and the same population often have contradictory results? Or how some polls seem to be “stacked” to show overwhelming support or opposition to a particular issue?
This course uncovers all of those tactics, and helps you learn how to critically evaluate the quality of the information you are exposed to on a daily basis. While we will focus on the use of research techniques to support marketing decision making, the implications go well beyond marketing and apply to how information is gathered and used in any decision-making context. Whether you are looking at how to assess clinical trials, how to measure employee satisfaction, how to conduct A/B testing for digital marketing, or simply how to analyze data to make better managerial decisions, you will find this course invaluable.
We will take an applied, hands-on approach to the subject, while ensuring that you are exposed to the theoretical concepts that are relevant at each stage. We will also discuss ethical issues in market research such as the rights of human subjects and the use of deception in academic research.
This course will be taught as a hybrid (blended) course. For more on this, see below.
Learning Goals
In this course, students will learn how to:
- Identify and deal with ethical issues facing market researchers
- Identify sources of secondary data relevant to marketing decisions
- Determine whether qualitative or quantitative research is appropriate in a given situation
- Critically evaluate survey methodology
- Design a questionnaire to meet research objectives
- Use Qualtrics to conduct an online survey
- Design a sampling plan to gather data
- Use SPSS to analyze data
What is a hybrid course?
- A hybrid course combines F2F (Face to Face) sessions with online instruction and learning activities. For this course, F2F sessions will typically be held once a week in our assigned classroom for 75 minutes (however, this may not be on the same day of the week, so read the schedule carefully). On days when we do not meet F2F, you should plan on completing online assignments or scheduling meetings with your group. You will need to spend significant time, anywhere from 5 to 10 hours a week, outside the F2F sessions working on your own or in groups.
- The main website for the class will be this one (on Blogs@Baruch) but some pages will link to the Blackboard site for the course, and will require a separate login.
- Lectures will be in the form of short videos, grouped around topics, posted on the website. I will expect you to come to the F2F sessions having done all the required work for the class, including viewing the lectures and tutorials and completing the assigned readings and quizzes. We will use the F2F sessions to review the lectures, answer your questions and discuss cases and assignments.
- Online posts are important to your class participation grade. These posts include:
– comments about the lecture material or readings, and responses to other students’ comments, and
– posting to the Research in Action forum about a specialized research technique, case study or application.
Course Policies
Attendance
You are expected to attend all F2F meetings; two absences are excused but additional absences will result in a reduced grade for class participation. This includes absences due to work or travel. Absences for medical reasons are excused if a doctor’s note is provided. If you miss a class, be prepared to make up for your in-class participation and keep up with your assignments (including any group assignments).
Deadlines
This is going to be a fast-paced course, and there will be a lot to do, so keep your eye on the ball and respect the deadlines, which will be adhered to strictly. All deadlines on F2F class days expire 5:30 pm New York time (EST or EDT) on that date; on non-F2F days deadlines expire at 11:59 pm (EST or EDT). Late submissions will be penalized 15% for each 24-hour period they are late.
Online Posts
Use the website to post the following:
- Assignments, posted as a “new post”, and categorized with the assignment type (e.g., “Project Proposal”, “Data Analysis”) and your group number (e.g., “Group 1”).
- Comments on course content (or related topics), posted as a “new post” under the category Miscellaneous.
- Questions (and responses to other students’ questions), posted on the Course Q&A page.
- Knowledge contributions to the class relating to specialized research topics and applications, post as a “new post”, and associated with the category Research in Action.
I will monitor the posts and respond to questions within 48 hours if they have not already been answered. Feel free to answer a classmate’s question before I respond; thoughtful responses to questions about lecture topics will count towards your class participation.
Instructor Availability
Besides checking the discussion forums, I will be available by email for urgent questions and for questions that pertain to your group or individual performance. I will try to respond within 24 hours. You may also make an appointment with me for a F2F meeting or chat via Skype (my Skype ID: profkapilbawa), should the need arise. Please try to give me at least 2 days’ notice if possible.
Course Materials
Textbook: Aaker, Kumar, Leone and Day, Marketing Research, 12th ed. (2016), Wiley. This is an excellent textbook and is recommended for better understanding of the material, but it is not required.
Lectures and assignments: links to these can be found on the course navigation menu at the top of this page. Additional readings and handouts will be distributed in class as needed.
Resources
(The following resources are accessible via the course navigation menu as well as the links below).
Learning Self-assessment: (Required) This is a short self-assessment of how well the learning goals of the course have been met, in your opinion. You will be asked to fill it out at the end of the semester; the link will not be available until then. https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/marketingresearch/learning-self-assessment/
Business Research Tutorial: (Required) This introduces the basic sources of secondary data. Please view the Business Research Tutorial in the first week of class, if you have not done so already. It will take about 10 minutes. You must complete this by 2/6. http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/tutorials/zicklin/research.
Statistics Tutorials: (Optional) This course requires a basic knowledge of confidence intervals and statistical hypothesis testing. A set of 5 statistics tutorials, developed specifically for this class, are available online. I strongly recommend that you view them before we discuss statistical hypothesis testing in class. http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/tutorials/zicklin/statistics.
Statistics quizzes: (Required) Accompanying the Statistics tutorials is a set of 4 quizzes on the same material. These quizzes can be accessed from Blackboard. The quizzes are for your self-assessment and carry no weight in the grade, but you must complete all the quizzes and obtain a score of at least 70% on each in order to work on and get credit for the Data Analysis assignments. The class schedule lists recommended dates for completing each quiz; the hard deadline for completing all quizzes is 11/8. https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/marketingresearch/resources/statistics-tutorials-quizzes.
SPSS Tutorials: (Required) We will use SPSS, an industry-standard statistical analysis package, for data analysis. It is available in the Baruch computer lab and the full version can be downloaded for a free 14-day trial from spss.com. You can also access SPSS remotely using a CUNY installation; for information, go to http://www2.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/cis/virtual-desktop/. In addition, you can access SPSS in the cloud for a free 30-day trial period by going to https://www.apponfly.com/en/ibm-spss-statistics-standard. Finally, if you want a free personal copy, you can get PSPP (http://www.gnu.org/software/pspp), which is open-source software designed to be identical to (and with almost the same functionality as) SPSS. Online tutorials on using SPSS for this course are available under Resources.
Qualtrics: (Required) Baruch has a license with Qualtrics for creating online surveys, and you will need to use it to create and field your survey. Sign up for a free account at http://baruch.qualtrics.com.
Academic Integrity
I fully support Baruch College’s policy on Academic Honesty, which states, in part:
“Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college’s educational mission and the students’ personal and intellectual growth. Baruch students are expected to bear individual responsibility for their work, to learn the rules and definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to uphold its ideals. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Any student who attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned.”
Academic sanctions in this class will range from an F on the assignment to a D in this course. A report of suspected academic dishonesty will be sent to the Office of the Dean of Students. Additional information and definitions can be found at http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html.
Next, view the course requirements.