To begin your project, you will need to identify a marketing problem that you wish to use as the basis of your project. In choosing a marketing problem, you are encouraged to identify a problem with a specific objective. For instance, you may choose a company that wants to assess the extent to which customers perceive services received to be of high quality, the extent to which customers are satisfied with those services, and whether perceptions of service quality and satisfaction differ by customer classification. An organization may wish to know what benefits customers or prospects of different demographic backgrounds seek. You could choose to evaluate the best advertising campaigns with which to position a brand. In other words, you have many choices of problems to use as the basis for your proposal.

Part ABegin by providing the background information necessary for the reader to understand the problem you've chosen to address with your market research proposal. Define the problem clearly, as a well-defined problem is an important step in writing a good proposal. In this step, you should also explain how the information would be utilized to address the problem if you actually executed the proposal. Identify the data needed to address the problem and list the variables that you will need to measure. You may need to conduct some qualitative research for this part of your project.

This part should include the following components in Part A.

1. Background description

2. Problem definition from marketing manager's point of view

3. Problem definition from research perspective

4. List of research questions the study would answer

5. Data requirements with list of variables

Part BYou should include all relevant sources. While some sources will be more dated, be certain to include recent sources (no more than three (3) years old) in your review as well. You should identify a minimum of ten (10) sources, with no less than five (5) of those from scholarly journals. This is only a minimum.

Part CDesign a research plan that will effectively address the research problem and answer the research questions specified in Part A. Rely upon knowledge gleaned during PartB to guide your choices. Your plan should include the following components.

1.Sampling:Design a sampling plan. This section should address the type of sampling approach you will use and include a justification for the approach. It should also include a statement of the population, target population (if different from the population), sampling frame, and unit of study. Last, you must describe the procedures for drawing the sample from the sampling frame using the sampling approach chosen for the project.

2.Variables:Operationalize the variables measured in the study. In this section you should explain how the variables in the study will be measured. Whenever possible, variables that have been previously developed and examined for reliability and validity should be used. Established scales for many variables studied in marketing can be found in journals like the Journal of Consumer Research, among others, which are available in the Ashworth College online library. You must cite sources for established variables in your bibliography. If you cannot identify an existing scale for a variable, you must operationalize the variable yourself using the principles highlighted in your text.

3.Data Collection:Specify the procedures for data collection. In this section, you will explain what mode of data collection you propose to use to distribute the survey and collect participant responses. You must justify the mode you choose with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the mode and a rationale for the mode given the problem you are addressing. Specify the precise procedures for executing the data collection stage of the study. Imagine that another researcher will have to follow your specifications for data collection to ensure that your procedures are well specified.

4.The questionnaire must be designed appropriately given the data collection mode specified in Step #3. Your questionnaire will have a different visual layout if it is intended for use as a mail survey rather than an online survey. Your questionnaire should include scales for all of the variables specified as necessary for solving the problem at hand.

5.Level of Measurement:Identify the level of measurement captured in each question in the questionnaire.

6.Data Analysis:Identify the statistical techniques you would use to answer the research questions. You will not actually execute the research project and so you will not have data to use in data analysis. However, knowing the research questions and the measurement level for each variable, you can identify the appropriate statistical technique for addressing each question.