STUDENTS BRIEF- MASTERS PROGRAMME
RESEARCH METHOD FOR MARKETERS
PLEASE SEE ATTACHED DOCUMENT FOR FULL INSTRUCTIONS
Scenario
Pro Skin* is a local business providing a range of skincare products and toiletries.
Under the present leadership of JOHN IMAGINARY SMITH, the company is aiming to become truly innovative. Whats more, the company has recognised a growing trend towards natural/organic products.
Recently, JOHN IMAGINARY SMITH has noticed a shift in consumer thinking he had noticed that consumers are becoming more conscious on the ingredients within products and are seeking natural alternatives. Furthermore, he had also noticed that competitors are introducing new natural products as part of their offering that are designed to meet the changing needs and wants of consumers.
Pro Skin is constantly looking for ways to meet consumer needs by growing the business and expanding its product portfolio. However, JOHN IMAGINARY SMITH has little insight into the natural/organic beauty and personal care (skincare) market.
JOHN IMAGINARY SMITH knows that he cannot disregard the recent shift in consumer thinking, he needs better information if he is to plan for the future properly. The organisation wants to know if they should invest their innovative efforts in introducing a new range of natural/organic skin care products and whether it should be a core part of their positioning.
In light of the above, JOHN IMAGINARY SMITH would like you to conduct marketing research, which will help the development of a strategic plan and move the business forward.
*Pro Skin is a fictitious/imaginary name
YOUR TASK:
CUSTOM REPORT PAPER
In order to help JOHN IMAGINARY SMITH take a decision, you must carry out 2-3 semi structured interviews with consumers, as your chosen method of research. All students should design a research proposal, carry out their primary research, and analyse and present their findings.
Section A:
In this section, you will need to write a brief proposal for your qualitative data collection.
In your proposal, you must:
a) Define and describe the research idea/problem and research aim.
b) Write three objectives. Each objective must be clearly explained and justified.
c) Indicate where and when the data collection will take place.
d) Explain and justify your sampling approach.
e) Develop a suitable qualitative research instrument in order to gather data on the business problem noted above this must be explained within the report; however all students are required to submit a FULL research instrument within the appendices. You must- Explain how the qualitative instrument was develop.
f) Indicate and justify your data analysis techniques.
Section B:
Individually, you MUST analyse and interpret the key findings from the data. What key themes emerged you must provide suitable evidence i.e., excerpts from the transcript to support your discussion. Finally, all students must outline specific recommendations for the Pro Skin based on their findings.
Key Guidelines for the Report
Your assignment should be 1,500 words maximum in length (+/- 20%). (This excludes the list of references and appendices). Students that ignore the word limit may be penalised.
Section A:
Proposal Plan for primary research (Approx. 600 words).
The proposal needs to include: research problem and aim, research objectives; sampling, explanation of the proposed data collection, analysis methods and execution. You will also need to briefly explain the objectives of the interviews and outline and explain the dimensions of your research instrument. Finally, all students must clearly state how their data will be analysed.
Section B:
Findings and Recommendations (Approx. 900 words)
The findings and analysis must be coherent in line with the research objectives, with logical commentary and supported with relevant excerpts from transcripts.
Format of Report: The report should include:
a) Title Page,
b) Contents Page,
c) Introduction (short 50 words max),
d) 2 Main Sections as above:
Section A:
Proposal Plan,
Section B: Key Findings and Discussion.
e) Summary (short 50-100 words max),
f) References,
g) Appendices. PLEASE USE 100 WORD COUNT TO POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, SO I CAN CONTINUE EDITING THE COMPLETED PAPER IN THE APPENDICES SECTION.
THE MAIN BODY OF THE REPORT MUST INFORM THE APPENDICES
The report should be in 12-point format (Times Roman or Arial font) with 1.5 line spacing.
Full references for any sources must be indicated at the end of your assignment in a reference list. Please use Harvard referencing,. Sources must be indicated clearly both in text (citation) and at the end in the final reference list. You must clearly source any data used in your report.
In this assignment, you may include relevant appendices. Materials in the appendix must be referred to and commented on in the report. Otherwise, the material is superfluous and should not be included.
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