ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

Unit: BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS

Class: BRM-DH49ISB-12
ASSIGNMENT 1. PARTICIPATION (10%)
Description: Every student is required to actively participate in every session of the unit.

Each student is expected to:

 Participate in at least 80% of the sessions.

 Be punctual – grade deduction will be applied to this unprofessional behavior.
 Contribute to the sessions by raising questions / giving answers / sharing ideas that are relevant
to the topics discussed. Students who do not raise questions / give answers / share ideas at least
will receive 0 point for the session.
 Complete the pre-class quizzes.

The final score is the average score of the participations in all the sessions of the unit.

ASSIGNMENT 2. TOPIC PRESENTATION (30%)

Description: All the groups study the assigned topics and then, share to all other students of the
class.
All the groups explore the assigned topics based on guiding questions. The assigned group(s) give
intensive presentations and discussion to help all class members to completely capture the key
knowledge of the topics.

The main contents of the Business research methods unit are divided into 9 main topics including:

 Topic 1: Business research process

 Topic 2: Exploratory research design
 Topic 3: Conclusive research design
 Topic 4: Measurement & Scaling
 Topic 5: Questionnaire design & sampling
 Topic 6: Frequency distribution, cross-tabulation, t-test, analysis of variance and covariance
 Topic 7: Discriminant and cluster analysis
 Topic 8: Correlation, factor analysis and regression
 Topic 9: Multi-dimensional scaling and conjoint analysis
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Procedure and requirements:

 Every topic is assigned to 2 groups.
 Students in the assigned groups read the relevant books and materials of the unit, look for
necessary information from other resources and synthesize all the key information logically and
appropriately.
 Students in the assigned group prepare and then submit the ppt file via an assignment in the e-
learning system before the deadline.
 The groups in charge give an intensive presentation covering all key aspects of the topic. The
target audiences of the presentation are students in the class and, thus, the presentation should help
them understand the topic thoroughly. For doing this, the group in charge is freely in preparing
necessary stuff, designing the idea flow, organizing any activities, and selecting appropriate mode to
deliver the presentation.
 The groups in charge submit the hard copy of Individual Contribution Rate clearly specifying the
percentage to which each group member contributes to this assignment. This is used to evaluate the
assignment individually. The template is available in the e-learning system.
 Topic 1: Business research process
o Group in charge: Group 1 & group 2
o Presentation schedule: Session 2 (30/09/2024)
o Guiding questions: Group 1 & group 2 can study topic 1 based on these following guiding
questions/requirements:
Common research type: Customer satisfaction.
 What is customer satisfaction research? Which are the objectives / purposes of the
research?
 Which business situations is the research type necessary? Why is it meaningful to
businesses?
 What are the main characteristics of the research type?
 Which companies have successfully utilized customer satisfaction research in their
business?
Main discussion: Business research process.
 What are the common steps in the marketing research process?
 What do researchers specifically do in each step in the process?
 Discuss the importance of each step in the process.
 How are the steps linked together?
 What are key notices about the marketing research process we should keep in mind?
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Note: Group can discover more aspects of the research type since these questions are only
for guiding purposes.

o Groups can find relevant information from:

 Chapter 1 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 2 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 3 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 8 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 9 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 10 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 11 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 13 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 14 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 23 of Malhotra (2010)
 Any other relevant extra materials
o Deadline of submission: 10:00 PM 29/09/2024 (ppt file only via e-learning system)

 Topic 2: Exploratory research design

o Group in charge: Group 3 & group 4
o Presentation schedule: Session 3 (02/10/2024)
o Guiding questions: Group 2 & group 3 can study topic 2 based on these following guiding
questions / requirements:
Common research type: Market segmentation
 What is market segmentation research? Which are the objectives / purposes of the
research?
 Which business situations is the research type necessary? Why is it meaningful to
businesses?
 What are the main characteristics of the research type?
 Which companies have successfully utilized market segmentation research in their
business?
Main discussion: Exploratory research design.
 How is marketing research probably classified? Identify some approaches used to
classify marketing research.
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 Describe problem solving research, problem identification research, exploratory

research, conclusive research generally.
 What are the main characteristics of exploratory research?
 Describe specifically some common and useful techniques used in qualitative research:
secondary data, focus group, depth interview, etc.
 What should be noticed in using these techniques in doing a qualitative research
project?

....Note: Group can discover more aspects of the research type since these questions are only for
guiding purposes.

o Groups can find relevant information from:

 Chapter 1 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 3 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 4 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 5 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 6 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 7 of Malhotra (2010)
 Any other relevant extra materials
o Deadline of submission: 10:00 PM 01/10/2024 (ppt file only via e-learning system)

 Topic 3: Conclusive research design

o Group in charge: Group 5 & group 6
o Presentation schedule: Session 5 (14/10/2024)
o Guiding questions: Group 5 & group 6 can study topic 3 based on these following guiding
questions / requirements:
Common research type: Usage and attitudes
 What is market usage and attitude? Which are the objectives / purposes of the
research?
 Which business situations is the research type necessary? Why is it meaningful to
businesses?
 What are the main characteristics of the research type?
 Which companies have successfully utilized usage and attitude research in their
business?
Main discussion: Conclusive research design.
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 What is conclusive research and what are its’ main characteristics?

 Compare and contrast conclusive research and exploratory research.
 Describe specifically descriptive research and causal research:
 Which situation they are appropriate to be used?
 Which information do these research types provide?
 Which techniques can researchers use in doing a descriptive and a causal research
project?
 What should be noticed in conducting a survey and an experiment?

Note: Group can discover more aspects of the research type since these questions are only
for guiding purposes.

o Groups can find relevant information from:

 Chapter 6 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 7 of Malhotra (2010)
 Any other relevant extra materials
o Deadline of submission: 10:00 PM 13/10/2024 (ppt file only via e-learning system)

 Topic 4: Measurement & scaling

o Group in charge: Group 1 & group 2
o Presentation schedule: Session 7 (23/10/2024)
o Guiding questions: Group 1 & group 2 can study topic 4 based on these following guiding
questions / requirements:
Common research type: Concept and product test
 What is a concept and product test? Which are the objectives / purposes of the
research?
 Which business situations is the research type necessary? Why is it meaningful to
businesses?
 What are the main characteristics of the research type?
 Which companies have successfully utilized the concept and product test in their
business?
Main discussion: Measurement & scaling.
 What are measurements and scaling and how are they important in research?
 Which are scale characteristics?
 Which are primary scales?
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 Compare and contrast the primary scales.

 Briefly introduce comparative scaling techniques
 Intensively describe noncomparative scaling techniques: continuous rating scale, Likert
scale and semantic differential scale
 What is multi-item scale? How to evaluate multi-item scale?

Note: Group can discover more aspects of the research type since these questions are only
for guiding purposes.

o Groups can find relevant information from:

 Chapter 8 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 9 of Malhotra (2010)
 Any other relevant extra materials
o Deadline of submission: 10:00 PM 22/10/2024 (ppt file only via e-learning system)

 Topic 5: Questionnaire design & sampling

o Group in charge: Group 3 & group 4
o Presentation schedule: Session 8 (28/10/2024)
o Guiding questions: Group 3 & group 4 can study topic 5 based on these following guiding
questions / requirements:
Common research type: Brand health check
 What is brand health check? Which are the objectives / purposes of the research?
 Which business situations is the research type necessary? Why is it meaningful to
businesses?
 What are the main characteristics of the research type?
 Which companies have successfully utilized brand health checks in their business?
Main discussion: Questionnaire design and sampling.
 Discuss the importance of survey questionnaires in quantitative research?
 Which steps do researchers need to take in designing a survey questionnaire?
 Describe the steps specifically and identify which should be noticed in doing each step.
 What is sampling and how important is it?
 Compare and contrast probability and non-probability sampling techniques.
 Describe specifically probability and non-probability sampling techniques
(convenience sampling, judgmental sampling, quota sampling, snowball sampling,
simple random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling).
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Note: Group can discover more aspects of the research type since these questions are only
for guiding purposes.

o Groups can find relevant information from:

 Chapter 10 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 11 of Malhotra (2010)
 Any other relevant extra materials
o Deadline of submission: 10:00 PM 27/10/2024 (ppt file only via e-learning system)

 Topic 6: Frequency distribution, cross-tabulation, t-test, analysis of variance and covariance

o Group in charge: Group 5 & group 6
o Presentation schedule: Session 10 (18/11/2024)
o Guiding questions: Group 5 & group 6 can study topic 6 based on these following guiding
questions / requirements:
Technique overview:
 What is frequency distribution, cross-tabulation, t-test, ANOVA and ANCOVA?
 Which situation, in terms of variables’ characteristic, are these techniques appropriate
to be used to used?
 Which information can we have from each of these techniques? Give some business
questions that can be answered by them.
Technique practicing:
 Read the “Description and questions” document to understand the scenario.
 Analyse the corresponding sample datasets.
 Demonstrate the analyzing steps in SPSS with sample datasets and interpret the results.

Note: Group can discover more aspects of the research type since these questions are only
for guiding purposes.

o Groups can find relevant information from:

 Chapter 15 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 16 of Malhotra (2010)
 Any other relevant extra materials
o Deadline of submission: 10:00 PM 17/11/2024 (ppt file only via e-learning system)

 Topic 7: Discriminant and cluster analysis

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o Group in charge: Group 1 & group 2

o Presentation schedule: Session 11 (25/11/2024)
o Guiding questions: Group 1 & group 2 can study topic 7 based on these following guiding
questions / requirements:
Technique overview:
 What is discriminant analysis and cluster analysis?
 Which situation, in terms of variables’ characteristic, are these techniques appropriate
to be used to used?
 Which information can we have from each of these techniques? Give some business
questions that can be answered by them.
Technique practicing:
 Read the “Description and questions” document to understand the scenario.
 Analyse the corresponding sample datasets.
 Demonstrate the analyzing steps in SPSS with sample datasets and interpret the results.

Note: Group can discover more aspects of the research type since these questions are only
for guiding purposes.

o Groups can find relevant information from:

 Chapter 18 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 20 of Malhotra (2010)
 Any other relevant extra materials
o Deadline of submission: 10:00 PM 24/11/2024 (ppt file only via e-learning system)

 Topic 8: Correlation, factor analysis and regression

o Group in charge: Group 3 & group 4
o Presentation schedule: Session 12 (27/11/2024)
o Guiding questions: Group 3 & group 4 can study topic 8 based on these following guiding
questions / requirements:
Technique overview:
 What is correlation, factor analysis and regression?
 Which situation, in terms of variables’ characteristic, are these techniques appropriate
to be used to used?
 Which information can we have from each of these techniques? Give some business
questions that can be answered by them.
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Technique practicing:
 Read the “Description and questions” document to understand the scenario.
 Analyse the corresponding sample datasets.
 Demonstrate the analyzing steps in SPSS with sample datasets and interpret the results.

Note: Group can discover more aspects of the research type since these questions are only
for guiding purposes.

o Groups can find relevant information from:

 Chapter 17 of Malhotra (2010)
 Chapter 19 of Malhotra (2010)
 Any other relevant extra materials
o Deadline of submission: 10:00 PM 26/11/2024 (ppt file only via e-learning system)

 Topic 9: Multi-dimensional scaling and conjoint analysis

o Group in charge: Group 5 & group 6
o Presentation schedule: Session 13 (02/12/2024)
o Guiding questions: Group 5 & group 6 can study topic 9 based on these following guiding
questions / requirements:
Technique overview:
 What is multi-dimensional scaling and conjoint analysis?
 Which situation, in terms of variables’ characteristic, are these techniques appropriate
to be used to used?
 Which information can we have from each of these techniques? Give some business
questions that can be answered by them.
Technique practicing:
 Read the “Description and questions” document to understand the scenario.
 Analyse the corresponding sample datasets.
 Demonstrate the analyzing steps in SPSS with sample datasets and interpret the results.

Note: Group can discover more aspects of the research type since these questions are only
for guiding purposes.

o Groups can find relevant information from:

 Chapter 21 of Malhotra (2010)
 Any other relevant extra materials
o Deadline of submission: 10:00 PM 01/12/2024 (ppt file only via e-learning system)
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ASSIGNMENT 3. RESEARCH PROJECT

Description: All groups are required to conduct a research project investigating consumer
characteristics and preferences toward a specific brand / product / service in a certain industry

Requirements:

o Groups freely select a brand to conduct the research project. With the selected brand, each
group is required to identify a research topic that provides meaningful information to the
company.
Some suggested topics are stated below serve as reference:
 Factors affecting Lazada consumers’ satisfaction.
 Factors affecting Grab consumers’ loyalty.
 Factors affecting buying intention of Shopee consumers.

o Based on the topic identified, group conduct the research project that includes 2 main stages:
 Stage 1: Exploratory research

Each group employs qualitative techniques such as in-depth interviews or focus group
discussion to explore the research topic. Specifically, based on the identified topic, each
group:

 Review relevant literature to adopt some potential factors.

 Prepare a discussion guide and detailed plan to conduct the exploration.
 Identify relevant participants for interviewing and invite them to join the interviews.
 Conduct the interviews and analyze data.
 Interpret the data to formulate the research model.
 Draw a graphical model illustrating the potential associations among the factors.

 Stage 2: Conclusive research

Each group employs the survey method to examine the possible associations among the
factors of the research model found from the 1 st stage. Specifically, based on the factors
identified from the Stage 1 (at least 5 independent factors and 1 dependent factor), each
group:
 Review the relevant literature to adopt the measurement scales for those factors.
 Design the survey questionnaire based on the measurement’s scales.
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 Collect data by using the survey questionnaire from around 200 participants.
 Prepare data collected and employ appropriate techniques to analyze the data.
 Interpret the findings.
o Once both stages are completed, each group writes a report describing the research project.
Groups submit the presentation file, the written report and individual contribution rate
(template is available in the e-learning system) clearly specifying the percentage to which each
group member contributes to this assignment.

Note: Referencing styles: All citations and references in the written report should follow Vancouver
citation style.

Deadlines:

o All groups introduce some potential topics of the research project in session 2 (30/09/2024).
o All groups participate in session 4 (07/10/2024) to discuss and then finalize all necessary things
before conducting the focus group discussion and/or in-depth interviews to collect data for
stage 1.
o Session 6 (21/10/2024) is for the groups to practically conduct the focus group discussion
and/or in-depth interviews to collect data for stage 1.
o All groups analyse data collected and complete stage 1 before session 9 (11/11/2024). Submit
the draft survey questionnaire via e-learning system before 10:00 PM 10/11/2024. All groups
participate in session 9 (11/11/2024) to discuss and then finalize the survey questionnaire
before collecting data for stage 2.
o All groups analyse data collected by employing appropriate techniques and complete the study.
Groups participate in session 14 (04/12/2024) for finalizing the data analysis and interpretation.
o All groups submit the presentation file via e-learning system before 10:00 PM 08/12/2024.
o All groups submit the final written report of the project and individual contribution rate via e-
learning system before 10:00 PM 15/12/2024.

ASSIGNMENT 4.FINAL EXAM (20%)

Description: All students are required to complete a final exam that includes multiple-choice
questions covering all the topics discussed.

 The exam duration: 60 minutes.

 Number of multiple-choice questions: 45 – 55.
 Time & venue: scheduled and informed by the BBus program.
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