Basic Marketing Research

This best-selling introductory text breaks the complex maze of marketing research down into seven straightforward stages. A managerial emphasis, new photo essays, profiles of marketing research professionals, and real research studies provide excellent views of modern practice in the field. Features: * A managerial emphasis makes a stronger connection between the way problems are analyzed and defined and the types of research employed to support good decision making. * Twenty-eight end-of-part cases help students develop evaluation skills as they examine each stage of the research process. * In-text examples help students learn chapter material by illustrating concepts in an interesting manner. * A data disk contains raw data for three of the cases, giving students firsthand experience in analyzing statistical problems using the computer. * "Research Windows" provide a view of what is happening in the field of marketing research. Some explore what is going on at specific companies, while others offer how-to tips or describe influential marketing research pioneers. * Chapter 2 provides an overview of the various ways of gathering marketing intelligence. The increased importance of decision support systems in providing business and competitive intelligence has been substantially updated. * A modular design enhances teaching flexibility by placing some of the more difficult material in appendices immediately after each chapter. * An appendix on ethics following Chapter 3 discussed different ethical frameworks for viewing marketing research techniques and sets the stage for the intergrated "Ethical Dilemma" boxes. * "Ethical Dilemma" boxes appear throughout the text to help students appreciate the social consequences of particular company practices. * Coverage of the use of internal data such as sales reports and prior studies is included in Chapter 7. Another appendix examines major government and private suppliers of data organized in a new structure by type of problem. * A real research study conducted by NFO research, Inc. (Chapters 19,20,21) is used to generate a number of discussion questions and problems for the chapters, giving students the opportunity to work with "live" data. New to this edition: * Most of the "Ethical Dilemma" boxes are new. * One-third of the cases are new. * Profiles of marketing research professionals have been updated with the latest information. * Examples throughout the text have been extensively revised.

Table of Contents:
Part I: Introduction to Marketing Research and Problem Definition. Role of Marketing Research. Gathering Marketing Intelligence. Process of Marketing Research. Problem Formulation Case in Marketing Research. Part II: Research Design. Types of Research Design and Exploratory Research. Descriptive and Causal Research Designs. Part III: Data Collection Methods. Secondary Data. Standardised Marketing Information Services. Collecting Primary Data. Collecting Information by Questionnaire. Collecting Information by Observation. Part IV: Data Collection Forms. Designing the Questionnaire or Observing Form. Measurement Basics. Measuring Attitudes, Perceptions, and Preferences. Part V: Sampling and Data Collection. Types of Samples and Simple Random Sampling. Stratified and Cluster Sampling. Sample Size. Collecting the Data Field Procedures and Nonsampling Errors. Part VI: Data Analysis. Data Analysis Preliminary Steps. Data Analysis Examining Differences. Data Analysis Investigating Associations. Part VII: Research Reports. The Written Research Report. The Oral Research Report.