Module: Practical Market Research

Module Specifications

Academic Year 2026 - 2027

Module Title	Practical Market Research
Module Code	MAD1011 (ITS: MG338)
Faculty	DCU Business School	School	DCU Business School
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

Throughout this course students will learn how marketing information can be provided to assist organisations in diagnosing, deciding and delivering marketing strategies and tactics. The main objective of this practical course is to help students develop an in-depth knowledge and hands-on skills of marketing research approaches, qualitative and quantitative methods and applications. This course provides students with a sound understanding of the major stages and techniques used in the marketing research process - defining the research requirement (problem definition), developing research questions, formulating a research design, the collection and interpretation of data, and the presentation of results via an assessed and individually designed and developed research portfolio.

Learning Outcomes

1. Appraise the role of marketing research in organisations and society.
2. Develop skills in constructing, analysing and interpreting both qualitative and quantitative data.
3. Identify, evaluate, and apply different research approaches and appreciate different ways in which data, research methods and research paradigms may be mixed.
4. Develop awareness of ethical issues.
5. Further advance transferrable skills (e.g., time management, communication, report writing, teamwork).

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	24	Course material
Assignment Completion	50	Individual
Independent Study	31	reading and researching
Online activity	20	Research Plan Submission for Individual Formative Feedback
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	10920	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	100%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	N
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Yuhui Gao	Module Teacher	Leighanne Higgins, Marija Grishin

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Professional Portfolio	A 2500 word individual research portfolio in which students will design an individual research project, collect and analyse primary data and collate the research study and findings into a portfolio that i) offers key insights from their study and ii) reflects on their research journey.	100%	Week 12

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Accessing and constructing good-quality data
accessing secondary data; in-depth interviews; focus groups; observation and other alternative qualitative research; survey research; sample design and selection; mixed research designs; the impact of information technology

Data analysis
analysing both qualitative and quantitative data; SPSS

Applications
international marketing research; communicating the results

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Alvin C. Burns,Ronald F. Bush: 2020, Marketing Research, Global Edition, 9, 129231804X
Naresh K. Malhotra, Daniel Nunan, David F. Birks: 2020, Marketing Research, 6th, all, Pearson,
Matthew Harrison,Julia Cupman,Paul Hague,Oliver Truman: 2016, Market Research in Practice, Kogan Page, 0749475854
Yvonne McGivern: 2013, The Practice of Market Research, 4, Pearson, 0273773119

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None