Course:FRE518
| FRE 518: Survey Design and Data Analysis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| FRE 518 | |
| Section: | |
| Instructor: | Tim Silk |
| Email: | tim.silk@sauder.ubc.ca |
| Office: | Henry Angus 569 |
| Office Hours: | TBA |
| Class Schedule: | Jan 5- Feb 13
Mon & Wed 2:30 - 4:00 PM |
| Classroom: | MCML 154 |
| Important Course Pages | |
| Syllabus | |
| Lecture Notes | |
| Assignments | |
| Course Discussion | |
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Focus groups and surveys are the two most common data collection methods used in industry. This course will teach students the best-practices for conducting applied market research and give students hands-on experience so that they leave the course with the ability to design, implement and analyze data collected via focus groups and surveys.
Specific topics include the market research process, defining research objectives, focus group design and implementation, survey design and implementation, sample selection, data analysis, and presenting research findings. Classes will be discussion-based, interactive, and will present real-world examples of how the various research methods are used in industry. This course will be of interest to anyone who wants the skills to collect original data and insights using focus groups and surveys.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After this course, students will be able to:
- Write a well‐defined research question that acts as a guide in the market research process.
- Identify and apply the appropriate data collection techniques to address the research question.
- Design and implement effective exploratory interviews that identify new insights about the problem domain.
- Design and implement effective surveys that provide confirmatory data about the problem domain.
- Analyze focus group and survey data using a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques including narrative theme coding, descriptive analysis, cross tab analysis, t-tests, chi-square analysis, and cluster analysis.
- Present research findings in a captivating manner that clearly articulates key findings and insights
ASSESSMENT REPORT
Students will form teams to complete a 4-part research project on a topic that interests them. They will conduct a series of exploratory interviews, code the interviews to identify themes, develop a survey to measure attitudes and behaviors, and analyze the survey results to develop specific and actionable recommendations. You can choose any real-world problem that interests you. Examples of past projects include: Attitudes toward sustainable packaging, how to increase adoption of organic foods, attitudes toward public transit, how to overcome food insecurity, attitudes toward the ban of plastic bags, hot to increase the adoption of vegetarian meat, barriers to buying local, attitudes toward lab-produced meat.
REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS IN CLIMATE, FOOD & ENVIRONMENT
- In the context of climate and sustainability challenges, how can market research help us understand public attitudes, shift behaviours, and design more effective interventions?
- How can qualitative and quantitative research methods be combined to turn raw data into meaningful, actionable insights for decision-makers?
- What makes a research question “good,” and how does it shape the entire market research process from exploration to data collection to insight to decision?
ASSESSMENT METHODS
| Activity | Percent of Grade |
|---|---|
| Class Participation (Individual) | 10% |
| Project Part 1: Exploratory Interview Script (teams). | 15% |
| Project Part 2: Qualitative Coding Results (teams). | 15% |
| Project Part 3: Survey Design (teams). | 20% |
| Project Part 4: Final Presentation of Findings (teams). In class. | 20% |
| Cluster Analysis Exercise (Individual). | 20% |
| Total | 100% |