• Use a persuasive ‘editorial style’: o Examples: we find that…studies have shown… in my opinion…, etc. • Recognize direct sources in text: o Example: according to McKinsey… • Provide a bibliography with a complete and extensive list of sources (20 to 30): o Examples: academic journals, industry publications, research reports, websites, case studies, etc. • Page/word count – approx. 5 to 6 pages, 1200 to 1500 words • 1.5 or double-spaced with headings/sub-headings that are appropriate for your content. Evaluation: • How clearly did you present the topic and your view/opinion/recommendation? • Was it substantiated by sufficient objective facts, examples, and information drawn from a wide variety of credible sources? • Have you considered different aspects of market research (draw from course topics – type of research, survey design, questions and best practices, measurements, data collection, qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques, biases, etc.)? • Is the conclusion clearly stated and does it flow logically from the analysis? Choice of Topic/Scenario:
B. You are responsible for market research for a well-known consumer brand. The company is doing well but lost ground during COVID-19 to e-commerce platforms. You suggest doing some market research on consumer behaviour. The Head of Sales and Marketing said the following: “why do we need to research their behaviour? We have our customer satisfaction surveys and we can see what their behaviour is because we know what they bought.” You need to sell your position on the best approach considering the incremental value for decision-making.