Basic Marketing Research: Application to Contemporary Issues with SPSS-Student Edition

For undergraduate courses in Marketing Research. Written from the perspective of users of marketing research, this easy to read and understand text presents concepts and principles at a basic level. It is practical, applied, and managerial, and focuses on important contemporary issuesin total quality management, international marketing, technology, ethics, and the Internet.

The response to my graduate text,Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation,has been truly gratifying, with more than 144 universities adopting the book in the United States. The book has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and Hungarian, and an International Edition, a European Edition, and an Australian and New Zealand Edition have also been published.Basic Marketing Research: Applications to Contemporary Issuesbuilds on this success and carries it to the undergraduate level. Audience The book is suitable for use in a basic marketing research course at the undergraduate level. Basic marketing research concepts and principles are presented so that they are easy to read and understand. An abundance of diagrams, tables, pictures, illustrations, and examples help to explain the concepts. Other features designed for undergraduate students include an opening vignette that is referred to throughout the chapter, acronyms at the end of each chapter summarizing the key concepts, extensive assignment material (questions, problems, and Internet and computer exercises), and activities (role playing, field work, and group discussion). Organization The book has four parts, based on a six-step framework for conducting marketing research. Part One provides an introduction to marketing research and discusses problem definition, the first and most important step. It also describes the nature and scope of research undertaken to develop an approach to the problem, the second step in the marketing research process. Part Two covers research design, the third step, and describes in detail exploratory, descriptive, and causal research designs. The types of information commonly obtained in marketing research are described, as well as the appropriate scales for obtaining such information. Guidelines for designing questionnaires are presented, and the procedures, techniques, and statistical considerations involved in sampling are explained. Part Three presents a practical and managerially oriented discussion of field work, the fourth step in the marketing research process. It also covers data preparation and analysis, the fifth step. Basic statistical techniques are discussed in detail, with emphasis on procedures, results, and managerial implications. Four statistical packages--SPSS, SAS, MINITAB, and EXCEL--are featured. While four statistical packages are featured, SPSS gets special emphasis. A student version of SPSS is enclosed along with SPSS files for all the data sets used in this book. Communicating the research by preparing and presenting a formal report constitutes the sixth step in the marketing research process, which is also discussed in Part Three. Finally, Part Four contains comprehensive cases and video cases. Key Features of the Text The book has several important or unique features in terms of its content and its pedagogy. CONTENT FEATURES A chapter is devoted to problem definition and developing an approach. These important steps in the marketing research process are discussed thoroughly and extensively (Chapter 2). A chapter covers secondary data analysis. In addition to the traditional sources, computerized databases are also covered extensively. Use of the Internet for secondary data analysis is discussed in detail (Chapter 4). A chapter is devoted to syndicate services. The types of data available from syndicate firms and the applications of such data are described in detail (Chapter 5). A whole chapter is dedicated to qualitative research. Focus groups, depth interviews, and projective techniques are discussed in detail with emphasis on the applications of these procedures. Use of the Internet for qualitative research is discussed in detail (Chapter 6). One chapter presents survey and observation methods (Chapter 7), while another discusses