Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Building on the success of the previous editions, the third edition of Marketing Research: Tools and Techniques provides an accessible and engaging insight into marketing research. Based on the concept of the Marketing Research Mix, the text is organized around the core themes of research preparation, data collection, analysis and communication of findings, and how skills and techniques are used in different research contexts. The author adopts a sound balance between theory and practice and demonstrates how marketing concepts can be carried out in reality, and which methods are most appropriate for particular types of research.

The new edition has been fully revised to reflect the wealth of digital developments and contains new case studies on renowned commercial brands such as BMW, Google, McDonalds, Whiskas, Tesco, The National Student Survey (NSS), Eurobarometer and BMI Healthcare. Supported by a full range of pedagogical features, the author enables students to understand the issues involved in carrying out research and the potential pitfalls to be aware of, thereby ensuring a clear understanding of the overall subject.

The book is accompanied by a comprehensive Online Resource Centre which offers the following resources for students and lecturers:

For students:
Multiple choice questions
Questionnaire wizard
Online version of Market Researcher's Toolbox
Link to clips of author summarising contents of each chapter on YouTube
Web links

For registered adopters of the text:
PowerPoint presentation
Illustrations from the book

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• About the author (p. xiii)
• About the book (p. xiv)
• How to use this book (p. xvi)
• How to use the Online Resource Centre (p. xviii)
• Acknowledgements (p. xx)
• Part 1 Research preparation (p. 1)
• 1 Introduction to marketing research (p. 2)
• Introduction (p. 4)
• Research for the company (p. 7)
• Social research (p. 8)
• Managing knowledge (p. 10)
• Ethics (p. 15)
• The structure of the MR sector (p. 16)
• A career in marketing research (p. 20)
• Chapter summary (p. 24)
• 2 Planning research (p. 30)
• Introduction (p. 32)
• The marketing research mix (p. 35)
• Briefings (p. 41)
• Proposals (p. 47)
• Selecting an agency (p. 56)
• Evaluating proposals (p. 58)
• Chapter summary (p. 62)
• Part 2 Data collection (p. 67)
• 3 Secondary data (p. 68)
• Introduction (p. 70)
• The nature of secondary data (p. 73)
• Sources of secondary data (p. 77)
• Planning desk research (p. 86)
• Evaluation and reverse researching (p. 94)
• Recording and reporting sources (p. 98)
• Chapter summary (p. 99)
• 4 Primary data (p. 106)
• Introduction (p. 108)
• The nature of primary data (p. 112)
• Interviewing (p. 115)
• Self-completion methods (p. 117)
• Differences between traditional and online research (p. 122)
• Mixed-mode methodologies (p. 126)
• Observation (p. 126)
• Research instruments (p. 131)
• Factors that affect cooperation (p. 133)
• Chapter summary (p. 139)
• 5 Sampling (p. 144)
• Introduction (p. 146)
• Purposes of sampling (p. 149)
• Social classification (p. 151)
• Populations involved in social research (p. 153)
• The stages of sampling (p. 155)
• Sampling frames (p. 155)
• Sampling procedures (p. 161)
• Populations involved in online research (p. 169)
• Qualitative recruitment (p. 173)
• Sample size determination (p. 175)
• Chapter summary (p. 179)
• 6 Questionnaires and topic guides (p. 186)
• Introduction (p. 188)
• Purposes of questionnaires and topic guides (p. 191)
• Supporting materials (p. 193)
• Projective techniques (p. 195)
• Open-ended questions (p. 198)
• Closed questions (p. 200)
• The steps in questionnaire design (p. 204)
• Procedures involved in online research (p. 216)
• The topic guide (for qualitative studies) (p. 220)
• Quasi-questionnaires (p. 222)
• Chapter Summary (p. 225)
• 7 Qualitative research (p. 234)
• Introduction (p. 236)
• Depth interviews (p. 238)
• Focus groups (p. 238)
• The Delphi technique (p. 241)
• Observation research (p. 242)
• Grounded theory (p. 247)
• Verbal communication (p. 247)
• Non-verbal communication (p. 250)
• Chapter summary (p. 260)
• 8 Quantitaive research (p. 266)
• Introduction (p. 268)
• Some applications (p. 272)
• Experimentation (p. 272)
• Databases (p. 286)
• Spreadsheets and survey software (p. 289)
• Chapter summary (p. 292)
• Part 3 Analysis and communication (p. 299)
• 9 Analysis (p. 300)
• Introduction (p. 302)
• Analysis of qualitative data (p. 306)
• Analysis of quantitative data (p. 313)
• Data storage (p. 326)
• Chapter summary (p. 328)
• 10 Reporting and presentation (p. 334)
• Introduction (p. 336)
• The purposes of reports and presentations (p. 339)
• Planning (p. 341)
• Presentations (p. 356)
• Chapter summary (p. 367)
• Part 4 Marketing research contexts (p. 375)
• 11 Business-to-business research (p. 376)
• Introduction (p. 378)
• Differences between FMCG research and B2B research (p. 379)
• Purposes of B2B research (p. 380)
• Populations involved in B2B research (p. 381)
• Procedures involved in B2B research (p. 384)
• Publication considerations in B2B research (p. 388)
• Chapter summary (p. 391)
• 12 International research (p. 396)
• Introduction (p. 398)
• Differences between domestic and international research (p. 399)
• The purposes of international research (p. 400)
• The populations involved in international research (p. 401)
• Procedures involved in international research (p. 406)
• Publication considerations in international research (p. 413)
• Chapter summary (p. 414)
• 13 Audience and Advertising Research (p. 418)
• Introduction (p. 420)
• Purposes of audience and advertising research (p. 423)
• Procedures for audience research (p. 424)
• Procedures for advertising research (p. 429)
• Publication considerations in audience and advertising research (p. 433)
• Chapter summary (p. 434)
• 14 Web metrics (p. 438)
• Introduction (p. 440)
• Differences between web analytics and social media monitoring (p. 443)
• Purposes of web metrics (p. 444)
• Populations involved in web metrics (p. 446)
• Procedures involved in the web metrics sector (p. 447)
• Publication considerations in web metrics research (p. 456)
• Chapter summary (p. 460)
• Market researcher's toolbox (p. 465)
• Checklist for audit of MR activities (p. 466)
• Checklist for objective verbs (p. 467)
• Marketing metrics checklist (p. 468)
• Questions to ask about secondary data (p. 472)
• Options for primary data capture (p. 473)
• Checklist for focus groups (p. 474)
• Website evaluation form (p. 476)
• Common screener questions (p. 477)
• Common rating scales (p. 478)
• Common classification questions (p. 479)
• Checklist for sampling (p. 483)
• Checklist for online surveys (p. 484)
• Checklist of projective techniques (p. 485)
• Checklist for questionnaires (p. 486)
• Checklist for report-writing (p. 487)
• Checklist for presentations (p. 488)
• Five reflective research questions (p. 489)
• Example of a market research brief (p. 490)
• Example of a market research proposal (p. 492)
• Example of a topic guide (p. 498)
• Example of operational instructions (p. 501)
• Abbreviations (p. 505)
• Glossary of marketing research terms (p. 507)
• Index (p. 515)