Marketing Research (884N1)

15 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Autumn teaching

Marketing research and customer information provide critical input to the planning and development of a company’s marketing strategy.

The marketing concept can be implemented more effectively when adequate information about the market and potential buying behaviour is available. The module provides an overview of the decisions and stages of the marketing research process. It aims to provide you with a clear appreciation of the importance of marketing research, the research process and the approaches/techniques used.

Research is looked at within the context of customer information now being available from a wide range of sources including databases, loyalty cards and the internet. Particular emphasis is placed on questionnaire design, sampling and data analysis. You will work in groups on elements of a marketing research project. This will involve hands-on experience in proposal writing, and questionnaire/discussion guide design.

This module builds on the understanding of the customer in the consumer behaviour environment by demonstrating how this understanding can be developed. It is also critical to the decision-making taken in any classes involved in marketing communications, strategic marketing and branding.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 117 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.