MKTG7503 SEM2 2022 Assessment 2 – Project report: instructions and guidelines Assessment 2 – Project Report: INSTRUCTION AND GUIDELINES Page Limit: 21 pages max. A4 sized 2cm margin, 12-point font (Times New Roman). Inclusive
of all contents (title page, executive summary or Abstract, the main
text of the report, tables, figures, pictures, references, and
appendices, if any). All texts are double-spaced, except (1) pictures,
(2) tables, (3) figures, and (4) any other illustrations such as flow charts or diagrams. When citing and using searched information, make sure you cite them appropriately – check the APA styles guideline on Course Blackboard. Weight: 60% Submission: Through Turnitin link on Blackboard – submission link made available on 24th October 2022. Due date and time: 3:10 pm (AEST/Brisbane time), 7th November 2022 In
this report, you will examine a particular consumer behaviour (an
effect, a phenomenon, a consumption experience, etc.), study it (by
interviewing participants and analysing their comments and responses),
integrate your findings with theories learned from this course, and make meaningful and actionable recommendations for consumers, brands, firms or policymakers. The section below describes the required elements in your report, followed by detailed information and instructions. MKTG7503 SEM2 2022 Assessment 2 – Project report: instructions and guidelines THE PROJECT REPORT – ELEMENTS The report should be a formal report with actual data and interpretations. The report should include the following elements (also see the marking criteria on Blackboard): 1. Cover page (course code + the title of your report + your name + your student ID) 2. Executive summary or Abstract 3. Background section An overall description of the phenomenon you’re studying Literature from academic and non-academic sources to facilitate and support your description and arguments Research purpose(s) OR research problem(s) 4 (four) Research questions. Note: make sure at least one theoretical construct you’ve learned from this course is explicitly mentioned in the background section (e.g., priming, learning, memory, motivation, decision-making, involvement, reference groups, power, culture, etc.) 4. Study and results Description of the interviewees Description of the interview setups (see instructions below) Description of key interview questions. Description and interpretation of findings. 5. Integration with theory MKTG7503 SEM2 2022 Assessment 2 – Project report: instructions and guidelines Integrate
and discuss your key findings in the context of the theory/theories you
learned from this course, and preferably discuss a finding from multiple, alternative theoretical perspectives. Note: Integration with concepts and theories learned from this course is a required component for assessment.
Integration with theories outside the course and the discussion of
findings from multiple theoretical perspectives are optional and may help increase the mark on this section, depending on the appropriate use of the theories and the quality of arguments. 6. Recommendations Implications for the consumers Implications for marketers, and/or brands, and/or businesses, and/or policymakers (e.g., products/brands/services/government institutions/other non-profit organisations). Note: Discussion of implications for consumers is a required component for assessment. Discussion of implications for parties other than the consumers depends on the nature of your research topic and may not be applicable 7. References (8. Appendices, if there are any) Note: Tables and figures should be put in the main text of your report. DO NOT put tables and figures in appendices. Appendices will not be marked – they are not part of the assessment criteria, so make sure that you include all critical information in the main text of your report. MKTG7503 SEM2 2022 Assessment 2 – Project report: instructions and guidelines INSTRUCTIONS and GUIDELINES 1. Pick a particular consumer behaviour you’re interested in. You can work on the same topic in your group research proposal or pick a new one and start from scratch. 2.
In the “executive summary/abstract”, provide a summary of the overall
report. Think of it as a “mini version” of the full report. The summary/abstract should include the following information: The phenomenon/effect/trend/pattern etc. of your research The research problem(s) or research purpose(s). You can omit the research questions in the summary. A general description of the method (data collected via personal interview; the number of participants) Main findings from the interview Recommendations for consumers (Optional – recommendations for brands, firms, marketers, policymakers, etc.; depending on your topic) 3. In the background section, describe the phenomenon and the background of your study. Specifically: The background of the research generates the reader’s interest in your research question and helps them understand why your study is important or worth studying. Typically, the background of a study includes an introduction and description of the phenomenon/effect/trend/pattern, a review of the existing information, coming from both academic sources (e.g., journal articles, books or book chapters, conference papers), and non-academic sources (e.g., industry reports, consumer reports, newspapers, YouTube videos, blogs, etc), which eventually lead up to the statement of problem or research purpose. A good idea is to give examples to illustrate the phenomenon/effect/trend/pattern, especially if it’s new and unfamiliar to readers. MKTG7503 SEM2 2022 Assessment 2 – Project report: instructions and guidelines See assessment 1 guidelines on “research background” – the requirements and marking criteria remain the same for assessment 2. 4.
Clearly present the research problem(s) or research purpose(s) (that
is, what you aim to achieve by conducting this research or the overarching reason or goal for conducting this research). 5. Formulate four and only four research questions that will be answered by conducting this research. Clearly state them using numbers or bullet points. Unlike assessment 1, you don’t need to provide explanations or justifications for proposing the RQs. However, RQs will be marked based on whether or not they are relevant to your problem statement (s) or research purpose(s). The number of research questions – 4 (no more, no less. Less than 4, and your mark will be reduced. More than 4 – the markers will mark the first four questions and stop marking the rest RQs; regardless of the quality of the first 4 RQs, the overall mark will be reduced on the “professionalism” criterion). Research questions are what questions YOU hope to answer by conducting this research. RQs are different from Interview questions, which you ask your participants during the interview. You can ask as many questions as you like during the interview – as long as they help shed insight on your RQs. Interview questions are designed based on the RQs; you expect to get answers from participants that help you answer the RQs. Ensure that there’s a logical flow from the background information to your research problem/purpose, leading up to your research questions. You can re-use your group’s research proposal (a part or the whole) and integrate them into the background section in A2. MKTG7503 SEM2 2022 Assessment 2 – Project report: instructions and guidelines 6. Conduct personal interviews with actual data collection. Data collection must be based on a ONE-ON-ONE personal interview; do not interview participants altogether; do not do surveys (questionnaires), do not run statistical analyses. Invite 7 (seven) and ONLY 7 participants. No more, no less. Only invite your family members/relatives/friends and friends’ friends. Participation must be voluntary. Ensure that during the interview, most questions are open-ended – meaning that participants are not provided with a list of pre-determined responses. (e.g., do not ask “below are some emotional reactions you may have had, which one(s) of them apply to your case ”. Instead, ask ” what were your emotional reactions to xxx”.) For information on interview techniques, check the lecture contents on “assessment 2 briefings”. When describing the results, first describe the general information of the participants. Include the following information: (1) their gender/sex, (2) age (roughly; e.g., the 20s, 30s), (3) relationship to you (family/friends), (4) location – where the interview/survey is conducted, city or country, and (5) how long the interview lasts (approximately; in minutes). You can use a table to present this information. DO NOT include participants’ real names. Only use pseudonyms (e.g., “Amy”) or codes (e.g., person A). MKTG7503 SEM2 2022 Assessment 2 – Project report: instructions and guidelines 7. Summarise the interview/survey results and describe the main findings. You can (1) summarise your findings and describe them in the text, and (2) use tables (optional) to help describe your findings. Note that regardless of whether tables are used, you must describe your findings thoroughly to help readers understand what you’ve found. Do not provide a complete list of all interview questions asked in the interview. Only describe the key interview questions – “key” means they provide critical information and shed light on the RQs. Do not provide a transcript of the complete interview conversations. Only summarise and describe the key findings. Number the findings and describe them sequentially. Keep in mind that you’re looking for a “theme” or “common pattern” in participants’ responses. For example, if you asked participants’ perception of something and identified a psychological factor, how many of the seven interviewees mentioned it, explicitly or implicitly First mention the frequency (how many people say/describe/hint a particular element), then describe it. A theme can be identified and hence described when at least two participants said or hinted at it (note that interviews may use diverse words to describe the same theme – e.g., “low price” vs. “it’s cheap”). Do not describe all findings and all themes. Describe a theme only when it is highly relevant and provides answers to your RQs. (OPTIONAL) – unexpected findings – not covered by your RQs but are still relevant to your research problem/purpose. How do you make sense of them MKTG7503 SEM2 2022 Assessment 2 – Project report: instructions and guidelines 8. Theory integration. Describe the findings in the context of the theories we’ve learned from this course. This section requires analytical and reflective thinking skills. What theory/theories you learned from this course help explain the key findings (Optional) based on your information search, what other theories or concepts help explain the findings if they are not from the contents learned from this course Are there findings that can be explained by alternative, different theories, or multiple theories Describe and synthesise them.
The report may receive a higher mark on this section if the “multiple
theories/alternative theoretical perspectives” are used and interpreted appropriately with quality arguments and explanations You can cite and discuss the same literature/theory in the background section and again in the theory integration section. 9. Recommendations. Based on your findings, what would you recommend for the consumers For example, what would you suggest the consumers do in the future to enhance their relevant consumption experience and/or welfare Is there something consumers should adopt so that they can better safeguard themselves against negative marketing influences and events (e.g., unhealthy consumption, unscrupulous and unethical malpractices by firms) Based on your findings, what are the implications for the marketers and/or policymakers (e.g., the sellers/brands/government institutions/other policy markers ) For example, for firms to better target and serve consumers, products to improve the features and designs, brands to enhance brand image, and government institutions to develop better policies. Depending on your topic, this component may or may not be applicable. MKTG7503 SEM2 2022 Assessment 2 – Project report: instructions and guidelines 10. Other information: Minimum number of references from academic sources – 4 (four) (journal articles/books/book chapters/conference papers; this includes your textbook), AND Minimum number of references from non-academic sources – 4 (four) (industry reports/news reports/blogs, etc.). Adhere to the APA referencing styles (see Blackboard – Assessment folder). Adhere to the formatting requirements Grammar, spelling, presentation, clarity, and coherence, etc.
