Reference no: EM132689188 , Length: word count:3000

MTKG2002 Marketing Research - Macquarie University

From Research Proposal to Final Report you need to opt one of the following two options:

Option 1: First, you need to have a group meeting and discuss the research proposals of all group members. Second, you can pick the best one based on your discussion. You are not required to ask your tutor for the suggestion/recommendation of the best proposal. It's entirely up to the consensus of all group members. Third, you can refine that proposal and redesign the questionnaire according to the variables included in the chosen proposal. You can use the same questionnaire if no variable is changed in the existing proposal.

Option 2: First, you need to have a group meeting and discuss the research proposals of all group members. Second, you can combine pick up the best parts of each proposal and redesign the new one. In this way, you should redevelop a theoretical framework and then set up everything accordingly. Third, you need to redesign the questionnaire according to the variables included in the newly developed theoretical framework.

Instructions:

These notes help you to prepare for Final Report. A research report communicates the result of a study to clients. It is the final and critical step in the whole marketing research process.

The sections of a research report and their contribution to the overall mark are described in detail below. Note that sections 1-6 must not exceed 3,000 words in total.

1. Executive Summary
This is a stand-alone summary of the key points contained in the body of the report. It should contain the main elements of the research objectives, findings of data analysis, limitations, and managerial recommendations. It is a summary of everything that is crucial in the report: it is not another name for an Introduction. The below checklist should help you write a concise summary that covers the key points but do not use them as headings. Keep you Executive Summary to no more than 200 words.
• Research problem and research objectives/questions
• Research methodology and data analysis techniques
• Key findings written in a clear and simple language
• Key managerial recommendations

2. Introduction (to draft this section, follow the guidelines which are provided in the Research Proposal Notes)
Note: You should NOT copy this part directly from Research Proposal, for which you have received feedback from your tutor. There must a scope for you to refine and improve for this section.

3. Literature review (to draft this section, follow the guidelines which are provided in the Research Proposal Notes)

Note: You should NOT copy this part directly from Research Proposal, for which you have received feedback from your tutor. There must a scope for you to refine and improve for this section.

4. Method
Similar to Research Proposal, in this section, you should describe key constructs and variables are used to collect information for testing hypotheses and answering research questions. The measurement and scaling procedures of constructs and variables should be specified (for example, willingness to try a new product is measured on a 7-point interval scale: 1 - very unlikely; 7 - very likely) and must be consistent with the questions in the questionnaire. This section should also explain the type of research you have conducted, how it was conducted and your sampling strategy including sample size and sampling technique. You should define the target population. If you are researching specific segments of the population, then define them and briefly explain why they are important to the study.
Your questionnaire should be included in the appendix. Do not just provide a link to an online questionnaire. The link will be dead in two months and your questionnaire will be lost forever. Do not use a screen-dump to copy your questionnaire. Instead, you need to draft your questionnaire on word document and add this to your report. This section should address the following points;
• Key constructs and variables (with their operational definitions)
• Type of research
• Population of interest and sampling frame
• Sampling method and sample size (sample size would be at least 25 respondents per group member, higher is better)
• Sampling procedure
• Questionnaire (in an appendix)
Data analysis (Also see the last part in this document "Tables for data analysis section")
You should use the statistical analysis techniques that are appropriate for your research question, hypothesis, and your data. Most analysis in social research can be done quite well with straightforward univariate and bivariate techniques. Appropriate use of a variety of techniques (4 to 5 techniques) or the use of more advanced techniques such as multiple

regressions is a necessity for high marks for this part. Do not attempt to run a huge variety of exotic statistical tests just because you feel that you "should".
Describe how you plan to test the hypotheses you developed. For each hypothesis, indicate what variables from the dataset and statistical techniques are used to perform the test (for example, "an independent-samples t-test of the difference in willingness to try a new product (DV) between high and low dogmatics (IV) "). If a multiple regression is used to test several hypotheses simultaneously, name the dependent and independent variables that will be included in the regression and report in one table.

List of the main statistical techniques
1. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, descriptive and crosstabs)
2. T-tests (one sample/paired samples/independent samples) can be used to test for differences between means of subgroups.
3. Chi-square test can be used to test the association between two non-metric variables. It can also be called a test of independence.
4. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) can be used to see whether there are any differences across the categories of the non-metric variables with respect to any of the metric variables.
5. Correlation analysis measures the degree to which there is a linear association between two metric variables.
6. Multiple regression can be used to explain the variance in dependent variables (outcome or effect variables) using other metric variables as independent variables (causes).

You have to put all tables or graphs in the data analysis section and do not put them in the appendix section. But put all SPSS statistical outputs you may have in an appendix. Tables, Statistical output, Graphs, etc. should be edited for good presentation, removing all unnecessary or redundant content to maximise communication. To prepare tables, you must follow the format given at the end of this document. Following headings should be used in this section;
• Exploratory data analysis (i.e., data cleaning and screening)
• Demographic information of respondents
• Some relevant graphs

• Reliability analysis (Cronbach Alpha)
• Item level descriptive analysis
• Construct/variable level descriptive analysis
• Hypothesis testing using Chi square test, t-test, and ANOVA
• Correlation analysis
• Hypothesis testing using regression analysis
Always provide interpretation of tables/graphs first and then present relevant tables/graphs.

5. Conclusions
Summarize your analysis, what can you conclude about the link between your findings and research questions? Briefly discuss the managerial implication of your findings, to what extent that the business problem can be solved? What recommendations can you give based on your findings? What additional questions have been raised or information is needed for future research?
Describe limitations with sampling, research design, instrumentation, etc., as well as underlying assumptions of the method, psychological or economic theories, etc. Clearly evaluate the extent that these limitations and assumptions have affected the results and conclusions. You should also specify suggestions for overcoming identified limitations with different or better method.
Finally, address further questions raised by your research and specify new questions for future research directions. Specifically, your discussion in this section should include the following points;
• Summary of key findings and managerial recommendations
• Assumptions and limitations of the study and how they may be resolved in future research
• Recommendations for further research

6. References
List of references needs to be provided here. You need to use APA styles to prepare your reference list. References should be arranged alphabetically.

Attachment:- Marketing Research.rar