Tribhuvan University
Faculty of Management
Office of the Dean
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
Course Objective
:The basic objective of this course is to make students understand the basic techniques of identifying problems of marketing research and apply the various tools in this regard.
Course Description
:This course provides a comprehensive overview of the concepts, processes, and applications of marketing research as a vital tool for strategic decision-making. It introduces the nature, role, and scope of marketing research, emphasizing its importance in understanding market dynamics and consumer behavior. Students learn to identify and define research problems, formulate hypotheses, and design effective research frameworks using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The course covers data collection techniques, including observation, surveys, and experiments, along with approaches to sampling and statistical data analysis. Emphasis is placed on the development of reliable research instruments, ethical considerations, and the preparation of professional research reports. Additionally, learners explore the practical applications of marketing research in areas such as market segmentation, product development, advertising effectiveness, and sales and distribution analysis. By the end of the course, participants will have the knowledge and skills to design, conduct, and interpret marketing research that supports evidence-based managerial decisions.
Course Contents:
Lecture hours show the approximate classroom time allocated to each unit.
Unit 1.Introduction
- Meaning and nature of marketing research
- Role of marketing research in strategic decision making
- Types of marketing research
- Scope of marketing research
- Marketing research process: Factors affecting marketing research decisions
- Limitations of marketing research
- Ethics in marketing research.
Unit 2.Defining the Research Problem
- Problem identification
- Components of a problem
- Steps of problem identification
- Problem formulation: Statement of the problem
- Writing the research objectives. Formulation of hypothesis.
Unit 3.Marketing Research Design & Sampling
- Concept of research design
- Characteristics of good research design
- Components of research design
- Types of research design: qualitative and quantitative. Sampling concept and terminologies
- advantages of sampling
- Types of sampling.
Unit 4.Data Collection and Analysis
- Secondary data, sources of secondary data
- problems used in secondary data. Primary data: Observation, survey, experiment: Merits and demerits. Questionnaire and its development process
- Methods of data analysis
- Use of statistical analysis in marketing research
- types of scales used in research
Unit 5.Reporting
- Report writing
- Types of reports
- General guidelines for report writing
- Format of a marketing research report.
Unit 6.Applications of Marketing Research
Research for market segmentation, Product research, Advertising research, Sales and Distribution research, and Attitude and psychographic research. Addendum: At least one case will be administered at the end of each chapter. The student will also complete a project and a few other assignments as specified by the faculty member.
Suggested Readings:
Beri, G. C. (2010). Marketing Research. Tata McGraw Hill Education Private Limited. Body, H. W., Westfall, R., & Stasch, S. F. (1998). Marketing Research: Text and Cases. Richard D Irwin Inc. Easwaran, S., & Singh, S. J. (2012). Marketing Research: Concepts, Practices and Cases. Oxford University Press. Luck, D. J. (2007). Marketing Research. Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd.