evaluate a market situation and identify an appropriate research method to make an effective marketing and business decision
Main Objective of the assessment
The central aim of MG2119 is to test student’s ability (1) to develop marketing research problem; (2) to provide a critical literature review from secondary data and academic sources (3) to develop knowledge of the marketing research process including research design (qualitative), data collection and sampling, data analysis, and data reporting. For this task, the student is required to draw on basic enquiry and analytical skills, research and fundamental theoretical knowledge, and approach it with the view that it helps to relate the material introduced in the lectures with practice.
Description of the Assessment
This assessment will help students to evaluate a market situation and identify an appropriate research method to make an effective marketing and business decision. The student should use it as an opportunity to creatively design and plan a research project, and to carefully consider how they would collect and analyse primary data, but WITHOUT actually collecting primary data or conducting data analysis.
The student is required to hand in a 2,500 words based on a marketing research problem for either (1) health foods OR (2) automotive industry. The student need to choose a specific brand from one of the two above sectors based on a possible marketing research problem and[unique_solution]
| Approved BBS Coursework Brief Template 2019/20 | 1 of 6 |
| Brunel Business School |
support it using secondary research analysis (i.e. literature review). After a brand is chosen, the student will research and select secondary data
- academic sources to structure the research approach, the guiding theory, and research questions. The following sections of the coursework are required:
| Outline | Contents | Word Count |
| Guideline | ||
| Introduction and | Abstract: very concisely summarises each of the main sections: the research topic/problem and research questions; | 600 |
| abstract | justification from secondary data/academic literature; the research design; and potential recommendations. | |
| Introduction: Introduce the topic, present the marketing research problem (Problem definition), and state the | ||
| research questions | ||
| Literature review | Support the problem definition and research questions with a critical presentation of secondary data and academic | 600 |
| literature | ||
| Qualitative design | Address the research problem using a qualitative approach. Justify and select one suitable method that will provide | 500 |
| answers to the research questions. Include a sampling procedure, brief interview /focus group/observations | ||
| protocols, and approach to data analysis. | ||
| Quantitative design | Address the research problem using a quantitative approach. Justify how the survey method will provide answers to | 500 |
| the research questions. Include a sampling procedure, survey design, and approach to data analysis. | ||
| Summary/ | Summarise the research problem and justify the chosen research designs and analyses. Briefly state the limitations | 300 |
| Recommendations | of your designs. Finally, briefly state possible answers to arise from your design and subsequent recommendations | |
| to address the marketing research problem. | ||
| Total word count | 2500 words | |
| (± 10% are | ||
| permitted) |
Note: Justify all the above selection critically using references from lectures and other appropriate secondary sources.
Individual Report Guidelines:
Length: 2500 words excluding bibliography and appendices. All papers should be typed using Times New Roman font size 12, 1” margin all round and 1½ spacing.
Criteria for assessing the Individual Report include:
- Concise abstract summarising each of the main sections of the coursework
- Brief Introduction presenting the marketing research problem and research questions
| Approved BBS Coursework Brief Template 2019/20 | 2 of 6 |
| Brunel Business School |
- Secondary data/Literature review: This section should provide a critical review of relevant literature, models, concepts, and theories. Literature Review content needs to be relevant to the research objectives/research questions. Use Google scholar as a search engine and ABS journal ranking (provided in class) to identify high quality journal articles.
- Proposed methodology: Justify why your chosen research methods are appropriate for your marketing research problem.
- Interview/focus group/observations protocol
- Sampling procedure
- Data analysis
- Summary: briefly summarise the research problem and explain how the company/brand chosen will benefit from this research).
- Format, structure, writing quality and presentation (clarity, critical, conciseness, and organization of the writing, references, both within and at the end of the text that are accurately cited and presented)
UG grades and grade point bands [Senate Regulation 2 (2009 starters onwards)] are: A++ (17), A+ (16), A (15), A- (14), B+ (13), B (12), B- (11), C+ (10), C (9), C- (8), D+ (7), D (6), D- (5), E+ (4), E (3), E- (2), F (1)