MKX4080 Quantitative research methods in marketing. Unit Guide. Semester 1, 2014

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1 MKX4080 Quantitative research methods in marketing Unit Guide Semester 1, 2014 Copyright Monash University All rights reserved. Except as provided in the Copyright Act 1968, this work may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the host Faculty and School/Department. The information contained in this unit guide is correct at time of publication. The University has the right to change any of the elements contained in this document at any time. Last updated: 21 Feb 2014

2 Table of Contents MKX4080 Quantitative research methods in marketing - Semester 1, Mode of Delivery...1 Workload requirements...1 Additional workload requirements...1 Chief Examiner(s)...1 Campus Lecturer(s)...1 Caulfield...1 Your feedback to Us...1 Previous Student Evaluations of this Unit...2 Academic Overview...3 Learning Outcomes...3 Unit Schedule...4 Teaching Approach...4 Assessment Summary...4 Hurdle Requirements...5 Second marking...5 Return of final marks...5 Assessment criteria...5 Assessment Requirements...6 Assessment Tasks...6 Assessment task Assessment task Assessment task Examination(s)...9 Examination Learning resources...9 Feedback to you...9 Assignment submission...9 Online submission...9 Required Resources...10 Prescribed text(s) and readings...10 Recommended Resources...10 Recommended text(s) and readings...10 Other Information...12 Policies...12 Graduate Attributes Policy...12 Student Charter...12 Student services...12 Monash University Library...12 Moodle Disability Liaison Unit...13

3 MKX4080 Quantitative research methods in marketing - Semester 1, 2014 This unit introduces both multivariate statistical techniques for the analysis of survey data and models to analyse the discrete choice behaviour of individuals. These techniques enable the researcher to effectively analyse survey data and aid in the understanding of markets and of consumer behaviour. In this unit, we place emphasis on understanding the underlying assumptions required to conduct such analyses, appropriate interpretation and reporting of results and the use of these techniques in informing decision makers and academics. Mode of Delivery Caulfield (On-campus split block of classes) Workload requirements 3 hours per week Additional workload requirements This unit is taught over 6 (block) days throughout first semester that is equivalent to 3 hours per week. The total time commitment required for this unit is 156 hours. In addition to the 39 hours of class contact students are expected to devote an additional 117 hours during the semester to studying for this unit. This includes time spent in the preparing for and completing assessment tasks, together with time spent in general study and revision. Chief Examiner(s) Associate Professor Yelena Tsarenko Campus Lecturer(s) Caulfield Associate Professor Yelena Tsarenko Campus: Caulfield Phone: Yelena.Tsarenko@monash.edu Contact hours: Via appointment Your feedback to Us Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The University s student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied 1

4 MKX4080 Quantitative research methods in marketing - Semester 1, 2014 and areas for improvement. For more information on Monash s educational strategy, see: and on student evaluations, see: Previous Student Evaluations of this Unit The unit allows to gain a basic understanding of analysing quantitative methods. A practical subject that relates well to the thesis component. Feedback has resulted in a revision of the unit towards a more applied approach requiring less prior knowledge of statistics and research design If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to 2

5 Academic Overview Learning Outcomes The aim of this unit is to provide students with knowledge regarding multivariate data procedures in conduct of academic research in marketing. This unit is designed to fill the gaps in data analysis using sophisticated approaches and data collection methods. The aim is to provide knowledge of available data analysis techniques to address specific research questions, their strengths and weaknesses (limitations). The relevance to research design and sampling issues.upon successful completion of this unit students will: 1. have an understanding of a range of data analysis procedures that may be appropriate when examining marketing issues. 2. be able to identify, specify and run the various software programs. 3. be able to interpret the output of these data analysis procedures. 4. demonstrate an understanding of designing quantitative research and implications for sampling and sampling units. 5. design research instruments to achieve validity and reliability and generalisability. 3

6 Unit Schedule Week Activities Assessment 0 No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week Day 1 (Thur 13/3 11:00-17:00): Unit introduction; Introduction to SPSS; Hypotheses testing 3 Day 2 (Fri 21/3 11:00-17:00): t-test, correlation, factor analysis 4 Day 3 (Fri 04/4 11:00-17:00): Multiple Regression Analysis, Mediation, Moderation 5 Day 4 (Fri 02/5 11:00-17:00): Experimental Design, Analysis of variance Assignment 1 (due Day 3): research paper discussion 6 Day 5 (Fri 09/5 11:00-17:00): MANOVA Assignment 2 (due Day 6): conduct an experiment, analyse with Anova and Multiple regression 7 Day 6 (Fri 16/5 11:00-17:00): Data Analysis; Student Presentations SWOT VAC Examination period Students Presentations No formal assessment is undertaken SWOT VAC LINK to Assessment Policy: academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html Teaching Approach This unit is a combination of lecture and practice. The lectures will provide the theory and brief practice opportunities. You will practice the theory and SPSS skills in your study time in your readings and assignments. Materials are delivered during the 6 block days and will provide the basis for your work. Assessment Summary Within semester assessment: 100% Assessment Task Value Due Date Class participation and paper presentation (assignment 1) 25% Day 3 Experimental design and analysis 30% Day 6 4

7 Unit Schedule Home work and Class participation (assignment 3) 15% Presentations and home work on days 2-6 Examination 1 30% To be advised Hurdle Requirements There is a hurdle requirement for this unit. Students must achieve at least fifty per cent in total to pass a unit. Second marking Where an assessment task is given a fail grade by an examiner, that piece of work will be marked again by a second examiner who will independently evaluate the work, and consult with the first marker. No student will be awarded a fail grade for an assessment task or unit without a second examiner confirming the result. Note: Exceptions to this are individual pieces of assessment contributing 10% or less of the final mark, unless the total of such pieces exceeds 30% of the final mark. Return of final marks Faculty policy states that 'the final mark that a student receives for a unit will be determined by the Board of Examiners on the recommendation of the Chief Examiner taking into account all aspects of assessment'. The final mark for this unit will be released by the Board of Examiners on the date nominated in the Faculty Calendar. Student results will be accessible through the my.monash portal. Assessment criteria Assessment Criteria Grading Descriptors available at: 5

8 Assessment Requirements Assessment Tasks Assessment task 1 Title: Class participation and paper presentation (assignment 1) Due date: Day 3 Details of task: This is an individual task. Students have to bring a research paper that is relevant for their project. Students need to present, comment and discuss the paper based on their insights gained from the literature, practice analyses and class discussions. Class participation: active, constructive participation is encouraged. Participation during sessions will be monitored and assessed as part of this assignment mark. The papers should contain a scale of construct(s) that is of interest to the students in their thesis. The written report includes: introduction to the task, rationale for the selected paper, summary of research instrument, summary of data collection procedure, and analysis of the survey results and discussion (main conclusion). The report should be no more than five pages text. Release dates: One day after Day 1 Weighting/Value: 25% Presentation requirements: A powerpoint presentation of up to 15 mins including discussion. Estimated return date: Assignments will be returned via as soon as they are marked. Criteria for marking: The broad unit criteria apply as listed at the end of this document. These criteria can be summarized into the following set of indicators. Completeness/Comprehensiveness Conciseness/ Succinctness Correct application of methods/interpretation of source material Critical assessment Creativity/Originality Clarity of organization and expression (readability, presentation) Coherence of argument Learning objectives assessed: All Submission details: Submissions must be made electronically through MOODLE website. Penalties for late lodgement: A penalty of 10% of the mark allocated to this assessment task will be deducted for each day that the assessment is late. Assessment coversheet: 6

9 Assessment Requirements Work submitted for assessment must be accompanied by a completed copy of the Faculty Cover Sheet which has been signed by the student. NO assignment will be accepted or marked if it is not accompanied by a signed Assignment Cover Sheet In the case of a group assignment, each member of the group must complete, sign and attach to the assignment a separate copy of the Faculty Cover Sheet. Assignments which are lodged electronically must be sent from your Name@student.monash.edu.au address and must include an electronic copy of the coversheet. Electronic lodgement from any other addresses will not be accepted. Assessment task 2 Title: Experimental design and analysis Due date: Day 6 Details of task: Students need to design a small scenario experiment with at least two factors and administer this to a small sample of their peers (who can be asked to adopt a particular hypothetical role). They analyse the data using Anova [and later also with multiple regression]. The dependent variables must include continuous variable. All submissions must include the original research instrument and data set in SPSS format (including variable and value labels) along with the results of the chosen tests, and a detailed interpretation of the meaning of the results. Surveys can be either administered by pencil and paper or be administered via the online survey system Qualtrics, see Detailed instructions will follow in class. The written report including background, rationale and hypothesis for the experiment, description of the design and procedure, and analysis of the experimental data and discussion of the findings including their validity. The report should be no more than five pages text excluding title page, references and appendix. The most relevant parts of the spss output need to be provided in an appendix, of maximally five pages (or less). A copy of the experimental task and an spss syntax or log file should be provided too. When completing other students' experimental tasks each respondent may be asked to complete the task twice, for specific roles or personas as instructed in class, for each of two different experimental conditions (details to be explained in class). The methodology and the analyses must then be fully explained and interpreted with all results (whether significant or not) duly noted, explained, and interpreted for the reader. Weighting/Value: 30% Presentation requirements: Student present their results in class on Day 6 (short informal presentations) accompanied by ppt slides. No more than 15 slides! Estimated return date: Notification will be posted on MOODLE site within two weeks after submission Criteria for marking: See assignment 1 Learning objectives assessed: All 7

10 Assessment Requirements Submission details: Submissions must be made electronically through BLACKBOARD Assessment coversheet: Work submitted for assessment must be accompanied by a completed copy of the Faculty Cover Sheet which has been signed by the student. NO assignment will be accepted or marked if it is not accompanied by a signed Assignment Cover Sheet In the case of a group assignment, each member of the group must complete, sign and attach to the assignment a separate copy of the Faculty Cover Sheet. Assignments which are lodged electronically must be sent from your Name@student.monash.edu.au address and must include an electronic copy of the coversheet. Electronic lodgement from any other addresses will not be accepted. Assessment task 3 Title: Home work and Class participation (assignment 3) Due date: Presentations and home work on days 2-6 Details of task: You will be provided with the home work exercises. Your "solution" has to be submitted one day prior the next class. Your constructive contribution to class data analysis, discussion and presentation is a requirement, not merely something to do when you feel like it. You are expected to be enthusiastic, inspiring and well prepared. What is acceptable and expected: Perceptive and insightful comments or questions causing us to rethink our basic understanding of fundamental issues or concepts and allowing us to look at topic area from a new perspective; Comments or questions that critique issues, relationships or methods, or identify other related variables of interest. What is not acceptable: Silence; Banal; inane and superficial comments or questions that provide nothing useful to discussion and only take up time; "Me, me, me!" approach without respect to others. Word limit: A two page (max) written report or a copy of the powerpoint slides needs to be submitted on the day prior next class. Weighting/Value: 15% Estimated return date: Learning objectives assessed: All 8

11 Assessment Requirements Examination(s) Examination 1 Weighting: 30% Length: Type (open/closed book): Electronic devices allowed in the exam: None Remarks: Take Home Exam: Analyse one research paper and one data set, write a reflective report based on these analyses and answer specific questions provided. In this take home exam, or final assessment, students will be given a published research paper and an spss data set. They must review the paper in terms of its methodology and conduct a (further) analysis of the data on selected variables and report their results to answer the questions provided. Five pages maximum (single spaced, exclusive of title page, references and appendices). As above appendices should include the most relevant parts of the spss output (no more than 10 pages in total) and a separate appendix should include the syntax file. Learning resources Monash Library Unit Reading List (if applicable to the unit) Feedback to you Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are: Informal feedback on progress in labs/tutes Graded assignments with comments Graded assignments without comments Assignment submission Online submission If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the MOODLE site for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal. 9

12 Assessment Requirements Required Resources There are no prescribed textbooks but purchasing your own copy of the Field and/or Hair and/or Pallant books is recommended. Prescribed text(s) and readings There are no prescribed textbooks but purchasing your own copy of the Field and/or Hair and/or Pallant books is recommended. Recommended Resources Readings: see further below Recommended text(s) and readings TEXTBOOKS Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using SPSS, 4th ed. Sage. [This book introduces basic statistical theory with an applied focus and has many hands-on examples. It is very comprehensive and makes a good separation between content for beginners and for more advanced levels of prior knowledge. As the title suggests, it uses spss throughout and provides practical instructions as to how to use spss but also more widely, how to conduct research and analyse data. It has a particular style and humour that may not appeal to everyone but the author tries hard to make statistics and research look funny and interesting.] Pallant, Julie (2011 or latest version), Spss Survival Manual : A Step by Step Guide to Data Analysis Using Spss, Sydney: Allen & Unwin. We will use some chapters from A. Hayes textbook "Statistical Methods for Communication Science" as an additional reference and his website Malhotra, N.K (2010 or earlier) Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation (Sixth edition 2010 or earlier edition), Upper Saddle River (New Jersey): Pearson/Prentice Hall. / Malhotra, N.K., Hall J., Shaw M., Oppenheim P. (2006) Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation (Australian version, 3rd edition), Upper Saddle River (New Jersey): Pearson/Prentice Hall. [This is a standard introductory marketing research textbook that students may have used in their prior degree so can act as a reference point. Students can use either the generic or Australian edition. The later chapters provide a good starting point and overview of multivariate methods and are useful refreshers and cover most of the unit topics well although at a limited level. We will also cover some topics and issues that are not covered in this, or similar, introductory textbooks. The textbook versions titled Essentials of marketing research provide a very basis overview and are no more than an outline for the topics we cover but still can be a useful starting point. Other research textbooks such as Zikmund and Babin, or Aaker et al can also be used]. Oppewal, Harmen (2011), "Experimental Research," chapter 10 in Research Methods for Leisure, Recreation and Tourism, Eds. E. Sirakaya-Turk, M. Uysal, W. Hammitt, J. Vaske, CAB International, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK, pp [available via library, manuscript will be available from MUSO] 10

13 Assessment Requirements [This chapter introduces key concepts in experimental research, aiming to provide an introduction to the experimental way of thinking and a basic level of understanding of the rationale and basic building blocks of experimental studies]. ADDITIONAL READINGS A list of additional readings will be available via MUSO and/or will be provided via the unit library website. These readings provide additional background to the methods discussed in this unit. Other readings provide specific examples of how these methods have been applied in recent research studies. Several of them will be used in lectures or in assignments. They concern articles that use various types of research design (existing data, surveys, experiment) and that use the various analysis methods this unit focuses on: descriptive methods, multiple regression, scale development, factor analysis, analysis of variance, logistic regression, cluster analysis, and structural equation models SELECTED JOURNAL ARTICLES (additional readings tba / available via library reading list) Baron, R.M. & Kenny, D.A. (1986), The Moderator-mediator distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51 (6), Bergkvist, Lars and John R. Rossiter (2007), The predictive validity of multiple-item versus single-item measures of the same constructs, Journal of Marketing Research, 44 (May), Hayes, A F (2009), Beyond Baron and Kenny, Communication Monographs, 76 (4), Rossiter, John R. (2002), The C-OAR-SE procedure for scale development in marketing, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 19 (4), Zhao, Xinshu, John G. Lynch Jr., Qimei Chen (2010), Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths about Mediation Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, 37,

14 Other Information Policies Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash s Education Policies at: Key educational policies include: Student Academic Integrity Policy and Student Academic Integrity: Managing Plagiarism and Collusion Procedures ; Assessment in Coursework Programs; Special Consideration; Grading Scale; Discipline: Student Policy; Academic Calendar and Semesters; Orientation and Transition; and Academic and Administrative Complaints and Grievances Policy. Graduate Attributes Policy education/management/monash-graduate-attributes-policy.html Student Charter Student services The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at Monash University Library The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. Moodle 2 All unit and lecture materials, plus other information of importance to students, are available through the virtual learning environment Moodle site. You can access Moodle via the my.monash portal. Where to go for help If you're stuck, confused or simply not sure how to approach Moodle, there are a number of Moodle resources that you can tap into. 12

15 Other Information Disability Liaison Unit Students who have a disability or medical condition are welcome to contact the Disability Liaison Unit to discuss academic support services. Disability Liaison Officers (DLOs) visit all Victorian campuses on a regular basis. Website: Telephone: to book an appointment with a DLO; dlu@monash.edu Drop In: Equity and Diversity Centre, Level 1, Building 55, Clayton Campus. 13