Students

MKTG8005 – Applied Marketing Research

2024 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor/Lecturer
Jun Yao
jun.yao@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
Room 207, 4 Eastern Road,
Tuesday 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
MKTG8015 or BUSA8000
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The business environment is changing at a rapid pace. Managers use marketing research to keep abreast of market changes, identify market opportunities, and to access accurate information to reduce uncertainty in marketing decision-making. In this unit, students will develop knowledge of marketing research principles and practices, and critical analysis and creative thinking skills to manage marketing research projects. Students will learn different research approaches and design, and implement marketing research. More specifically, students will learn to collaborate with their peers to identify a marketing problem, develop research instruments, identify samples, and collect data. Students will develop skills to apply statistical analysis software using real data and analyse the data and provide information to solve marketing problems and support marketing decisions. Students will advance extra employability skills by exercising professional judgment throughout all stages of research to identify opportunities and solve complex marketing problems.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Critically analyse, share and explain the principles and practices of marketing research
  • ULO2: Design and implement marketing research projects in collaboration with peers
  • ULO3: Analyse data and report findings that support marketing decisions
  • ULO4: Exercise professional judgment throughout all stages of research to identify opportunities and solve complex marketing problems

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty (written assessments) 

 Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to apply for Special Consideration.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Practice-based activities 20% No Week 2 to Week 12
Marketing research project 40% No Week 5 and Week 8
Data analysis and reporting 40% No Week 13

Practice-based activities

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 2 to Week 12
Weighting: 20%

 

Practice-based activities gives you the opportunity to work in a group and individually and share your theoretical knowledge on marketing research methods and experiences with the group in conducting marketing research. Further, the activities will enable you discuss you research project, identify any pitfalls early-on, and address them as quickly as possible.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse, share and explain the principles and practices of marketing research
  • Design and implement marketing research projects in collaboration with peers
  • Analyse data and report findings that support marketing decisions
  • Exercise professional judgment throughout all stages of research to identify opportunities and solve complex marketing problems

Marketing research project

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35.5 hours
Due: Week 5 and Week 8
Weighting: 40%

 

Marketing research project design helps you to apply marketing research principles and practices, use your professional judgement and design and implement a marketing research project. You work in a group of two or three and take the view as if you are preparing a marketing research project for a potential client. At the conclusion of this assignment, you will be able to identify marketing opportunities, marketing problem, develop a marketing research question, and design and implement a marketing research proposal that address marketing problem. 10 minute recorded video presentation as group work (15%) and 1500 word individual written report (25%), submitted on iLearn

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse, share and explain the principles and practices of marketing research
  • Design and implement marketing research projects in collaboration with peers
  • Exercise professional judgment throughout all stages of research to identify opportunities and solve complex marketing problems

Data analysis and reporting

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 24.5 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 40%

 

Data analysis and reporting aims to elevate your ability use your professional judgement, make sense of data and solve marketing problems to further support marketing decision making. This assignment allows you to identify and apply appropriate analytical strategies to address a set of research questions. At the conclusion of this assignment you will be able to prepare a comprehensive report on data analysis, interpret the result, and suggest some solutions on the basis of your scientific findings that highlights marketing opportunites and resolves marketing problems. A 2000 word individual written report submitted on iLearn.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse, share and explain the principles and practices of marketing research
  • Analyse data and report findings that support marketing decisions
  • Exercise professional judgment throughout all stages of research to identify opportunities and solve complex marketing problems

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Modes of Delivery

This unit has 3 hours of teaching per week, consisting of 1 x 1-hour seminar and 1 x 2-hour workshop as per unit schedule during the semester. Workshops commence in Week 1.

One-hour Seminar: PowerPoint Slides and pre-recording videos will be available on iLearn; students do not need to attend any seminars.

Two-hour Workshop: Workshops are presented in F2F mode. Students should enrol only in one workshop based on their preference. The workshop starts from week one. Students need to engage in weekly activities before attending workshops. The timetable for workshops can be found on the University web site at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au.

Prescribed text

Zikmund, W. G., Lowe, B., Winzar, H., D’Alessandro, S., & Babin, B. J. (2020). Marketing research (Fifth edition.). South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning.

Technology Used and Required

• Please ensure that you have access to a personal computer so you are able to access the internet, use word processing software and PowerPoint program that are required for the preparation of assignments and presentations.

• Students will learn and exercise data analysis techniques with SPSS statistical software using AppStream platform provided by the university during some workshops. It is necessary that you have your personal computer/laptop in the workshop to access to the platform. Course materials are available on the learning management system (iLearn) at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au.

• Students will find teaching resources to assist their study on iLearn, such as lecture notes, practice questions, and other resources. Students are required to check iLearn regularly for announcements.

Unit Web Page

• The web page for this unit can be found at: iLearn http://ilearn.mq.edu.au

• All announcements and resources will be available on the web site. Resource materials include lecture slides, tutorual exercises and assessment materials. There is also a forum for student interaction and contact with faculty. You should consult the course Website several times per week for messages and updates.

What is expected from students?

This unit is a seminar/lab-based. This unit is a 1x1 hour seminar and a 1x2 hour workshop in active learning space/computer lab/online ZOOM per week over 13 weeks. The total time commitment required for this unit is a minimum of 150 hours. Specifically, in addition to the 3 hours of seminar/workshop contact per week, students are expected to devote an additional 10 hours to self-directed study. This includes time spent in preparing for classes, preparing for and completing assessment tasks, together with time spent in general study, and revision. It is expected that all students come to the seminar/workshop on time and fully prepared for discussion. Group work is a focus of analysing, developing, and implementing different issues related to marketing research in practice and therefore also in this unit. Students should make sure to allocate the necessary time and attention needed to work with their group during the semester.

Satisfactory Completion of Unit

It is normally expected that students attempt all assessment tasks for this unit. Students are required to accumulate at least 50% of the total marks possible in order to satisfactorily pass this unit.

Unit Schedule

Please refer to iLearn for details. 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2024.04 of the Handbook