MRP Guidelines Fall 2020 PDF

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Mrp Guidelines for Commerce ...

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Marketing Research Practicum (COMM 223 / MARK 201) (Course Outline Supplement – fall 2020) Summary: The MRP portion of the course is designed to provide you with a first-hand understanding of current research in marketing by either: participating in academic research studies conducted by marketing professors (Option A) or by reviewing and summarizing marketing research articles appearing in major marketing journals (Option B). Your participation is worth 4% of your grade. Purpose: The purpose of the MRP is to provide exposure to the process by which knowledge in marketing is developed. In your class coverage of Marketing Research, you are introduced to various topics and methods in marketing research. The MRP component complements this coverage. You will have the opportunity to experience research in marketing first-hand, either as a reviewer of a recent research paper or as a participant of a research project with a certain research question. Your experience in this part of the course can contribute towards choosing a major or career in business in terms of evaluating marketing research findings and/or conducting marketing research. The John Molson School of Business also benefits from your involvement in the MRP as faculty members obtain increased participation in their consumer behavior and marketing research studies, and thus achieve a better comprehension of consumer decision making. You may complete the MRP requirement by choosing one of two options (A or B, not both). Either option is worth 4% of your grade. Participation: 1. Option A: Option A of the MRP will involve participating in research sessions covering a broad area of topics from your day-to-day shopping experiences and product choices to improvement of consumer welfare and consumer protection. The academic studies will involve completion of a survey and/or participating in marketing research related tasks. The studies will be scheduled outside of class times. All studies will take place online. Each 15 minutes of participation is equivalent to 0.5 points. Therefore, in order to receive your 4 points (i.e. 4%), you will need to participate in any combination of 2 hours’ worth of studies (eg., 1 hr study AND four 15 minute sessions OR 1 hr study AND two 30 minute sessions OR two 60 minute sessions OR eight 15 minute sessions). At the end of the semester, you will be informed about the goals of the research and how the results contribute to the development of marketing knowledge. You have the right to understand the research in which you were involved and to ask questions to the researcher. In some studies, you may have to sign your name to get points, but your answers will remain 1

strictly confidential. Individual answers will not be retained in any file by respondents' names and all analyses reported will involve only summaries of anonymous responses. If you are in any way concerned about the procedure of the sessions in which you participate, please contact the researcher involved. If you feel that the researcher is unwilling to discuss the research or has treated you poorly in any other way, please notify the MRP coordinator. 2. Option B: Review of TWO published research papers from any top marketing journal. You will be completing 2 separate, one-page paper reviews based on 2 journal articles published after 2012. These reports require that you read the articles and answer a number of questions provided on pages 4-5 of this handout. These questions focus on (a) major research questions, (b) major findings, and (c) implications for marketing. These papers may include the technical/quantitative methodology sections, but don’t let these parts change your focus: the basic contribution of the paper to marketing knowledge. It is important to understand how marketing knowledge that you read in many marketing textbooks is created. You are expected to have the basic summary of the papers and are free to choose topics that you enjoy reading in any one of these journals. The paper review should clearly reference the article. Questions about MRP: Please review the frequently asked questions page located at the end of this document (also in the FAQ section on the MRP website). If your questions still have not been addressed then please email MRP support directly at the following address: [email protected]. All emails will be responded to within 24 hours during the week (Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 17:00 except holidays such as Thanksgiving Day). Emails received on the weekend will be answered on the following Monday. This is a separate component to the course therefore should you have any questions about MRP, contact [email protected] and NOT your instructor. A copy of the instructions is posted on the MRP website: http://concordia-mrp.sona-systems.com MRP Coordinator:

Dr. Onur Bodur

Email:

[email protected]

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You may complete the MRP requirement by choosing one of two options (A or B), not both. How to Participate in Option A? In option A, your participation in 2 hours worth of studies will be 4 points (i.e. 4%) of your grade in COMM 223/MARK 201. To receive your 4 points, you can participate in any combination of 15 minute, 30 minute, and 60 minute studies. Step 1. Registration: To participate in Option A, you need first register on the MRP website. Please visit the website below to register. http://concordia-mrp.sona-systems.com/ Please create a username and password by clicking on the button at the bottom left hand corner of the screen titled “New Participant? Request an Account”. Please provide an email address that you regularly use, as you will be contacted at this email address for MRP announcements. Once logged in you can view available research sessions, the details for each, your points’ information, and upcoming appointments, if you have any. Step 2. Review of Studies and Signing-up for a Session: Once you have registered (Step 1), you can review available studies and sign-up for sessions. Sessions will be posted in September/October and will take place between September 28th and December 7th, 2020. Please do not email your instructor to sign up for a session. There will be enough sessions posted throughout the semester. However, capacity may be limited in the final two weeks of the semester. Therefore, please sign-up early. Studies will be posted on September 28th and October 26th, 2020. Please visit the MRP website on these dates to sign-up for your studies. There may be additional sessions added to the studies on other dates. If in the first round of study postings you cannot fulfill all your credit requirements, please wait for the second round. Each study will have a short description explaining the purpose of the study, what the participants are asked to do, the duration, the place, the points you will receive by participation, and the name and contact information of the researcher conducting the study. You can choose the study that you want to participate in and view available sessions. When you find a session that suits your availability, you can sign-up for the session. You will receive a confirmation email sent to your email address with the participation deadline.

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Step 3. Participation in a Session: You can participate from any computer with a reliable Internet connection (e.g., your home, the library). Follow the instructions for online studies carefully as they can vary from one study to another. You might have to enter some ID information to receive your credit. Kindly keep in mind that each session timeslot is valuable. A failure to participate in 3 or more of your booked sessions will result in a freezing of your account and an inability to complete Option A of the MRP. Step 4. Your participation credit: The researcher conducting the session should post the credits to the participants on the MRP website by the participation deadline. Please visit the MRP website to see if your credit is posted. If not, please contact the researcher who conducted your session. You may have to wait until the completion of the study period to see your credits.

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Other Important Issues: Please note that there is a “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) section on the MRP website. Please visit this website for commonly asked questions. There will be enough studies available for everyone to participate in throughout the semester, however “leaving it to the end” is not a wise choice. The availability of sessions specifically in the last couple of weeks of the semester is limited and therefore, it is strongly recommended that you participate in your sessions as soon as you can and throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, you will be receiving an email debriefing about the studies that you have participated in. This email debriefing will explain how the task you participated in relates to the research goal and how the findings of the study contribute to marketing knowledge. All studies posted have been reviewed for compliance with the University Human Research Ethics Committee (UHREC). This review assures that there are no unethical research protocols and that the outcomes of the research benefit you and the public. Participation in a research session is a voluntary activity and you are free to withdraw at any time during a session, in which case you will receive prorated credit. How to Participate in Option B? In option B, your completion of 2 separate article reviews will be worth 4 points (2 points each). Step 1. Choosing Your Articles: Choose two articles from any of the journals listed below. These journals are selected because they have high overall readability based on a publication in 2007. You can choose any two articles published in 2007 or later. Please choose subject areas that are interesting to you. You can find these journals at Concordia’s Webster Library (SGW). Journal of Marketing

Harvard Business Review (marketing related articles only)

Journal of Marketing Research

International Journal of Research in Marketing

Journal of Consumer Research

Marketing Letters

Journal of Consumer Psychology

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science

Journal of Retailing

Journal of Advertising

Step 2. Contents of the Review: Each 1-page article review should include the following: 5

The Header: “MRP- Paper Review Option (Comm223/Mark201)”. Indicate the (a) Author(s), (b) Title of the paper, (c) Journal Title, Publication Year, Volume, Number, Pages. Make sure that you have read the article carefully. The Body: Explain the main research question(s). This is the purpose of the study. If the authors have proposed and/or tested hypotheses, summarize the proposed hypotheses. Briefly summarize their findings. If the authors have proposed hypotheses, indicate the support for each hypothesis. Briefly explain the implications of this article. How does it help marketing managers or consumers or government / regulatory agencies? Step 3. Format of the Paper Reviews: Each one-page summary should be single-spaced, using font size 11, with 1 inch margins (2.54cm) on all sides. In the upper left corner, print your name, student ID, class (MARK 201) or (COMM 223), name of instructor, and section. On the next page, you will see a sample template. Expand it as needed. The submissions will be reviewed for quality. Step 4. Submission Deadline. The submission deadline is December 7th 2020 at 16:30. Late submissions will not be accepted. Step 5. Submitting the Assignment Make sure that you submit the article reviews in WORD format to [email protected]. Do NOT submit/email your paper review to your instructor. You will obtain a message within 24 hrs indicating that your assignment has been received. Please note that the paper reviews must be your own work (i.e., no collaboration is permitted) and that rules of the University Academic Code of Conduct apply.

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Option B Template Student Name: John Doe Student ID: xxx-xxxx CLASS X, Sec X MRP- Paper Review Option (Comm223/Mark201) ARTICLE Author(s): _____________________________________ Title of the Paper: _____________________________________ Journal Title, Year, Volume, Number, Pages: ___________________

What are the research questions investigated in this article? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

What are the major findings reported in this article? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

What are the major implications for marketing managers and/or consumers? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’s) Please review these questions carefully prior to sending an email to MRP. Can I sign-up for the same study more than once? No. Please ensure that you are signing up in ONE time slot per study. If there are no other studies available, please be patient as more studies continue to be posted throughout the term.

How do the credits/points work? First off, credits = percentage points, i.e. 4 credits = 4%. 60 minute studies = 2 credits, 30 minute studies = 1 credit, and 15 minute studies = 1 credit. Therefore, in order receive your 4 credits (i.e. 4%), you will need to participate in 2 hours’ worth of studies (e.g., eight 15 minute studies OR one 1 hr study and two 30 minute studies OR two 60 minute studies etc.).

I have signed-up for all studies currently available on the website but I still have not yet finished my credit requirements. What should I do? Please remember that studies will be posted on two dates of the semester: September 28th and October 26th, 2020. If in the first round of study postings you cannot fulfill all your credit requirements, please wait for the second round to be posted. Additional sessions / timeslots may be offered at any time between September 28th and December 7th, 2020. We ask that you please be patient as you will have the opportunity to fulfill your credit requirements.

I participated in a study but when I go to view my account I notice that I have not received my credit(s). What can I do? Firstly, if this has occurred please contact: [email protected]. Your account will be looked into further. This might have occurred if for example, the research assistant has not yet entered your credits in the system. Please expect a delay from the time you participated in a study to the time you see credits show up. In some cases, credits will be allocated after the participation deadline of the study.

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My Account Has Been Frozen, What Happened? Keep in mind that each timeslot is valuable and thus, a failure to participate in 3 or more of your booked sessions will result in a freezing of your account and an inability to complete Option A of the MRP.

When Will Sessions Be Posted? Studies will be posted on September 28th and October 26th, 2020. Sessions will take place between September 28th and December 7th. As need be, additional sessions will be added to these studies throughout the semester. Please do not email your instructor to sign up for a session.

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I don’t see any timeslots that are outside of business hours (e.g. evenings). What should I do if I want to participate in Option A? Unfortunately, most MRP studies are held during business hours (anywhere between 9:00 am – 18:00pm). Although there may be exceptions to this, it is very rare. If for example, you work during the day, then please do not ‘wait-out’ in the hopes that a study will be posted outside of business hours. This is unlikely to happen. Your best guarantee to get your 4-credits would be to complete Option B (two paper reviews).

Will Online Studies Be Available This Semester? All studies will be online.

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