ASSIGNMENT BRIEF
Unit Name: MARKETING RESEARCH
Unit Code: BHO2285
Semester 2, 2018
PREPARED BY: Dr THUY-HUONG TRUONG
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BHO2285: MARKETING RESEARCH
RESEARCH BRIEF
Students’ Motivation and Attitudes towards Attending Lectures
There is genuine concern among teaching academics in relation
to the rise of non-attendance by students at lectures.
Anecdotally, lecturers have indicated that class attendance has
declined over the years. This phenomenon appears to
be a worldwide problem (Romer 1993). From a university
perspective, there is concern that non-attendance at lectures
or tutorials may be linked to poor student academic performance
and increased drop-out rates, which may lead to a
negative image of the University.

A preliminary examination of the literatures on student class
attendance and successful learning revealed a number of
factors that may contribute to students’ non-attendance in class.
These factors can be broadly classified as an attitude
towards teaching styles, different learning styles, quality of
teaching (duration of lecture, teachers’ ability or personality),
and students’ personal circumstances (financial, cultural capital,
lifestyle, hours of paid work, and hours of study time).
Research also suggests that the new generation of student, most
of whom are classified as generation Y by marketers,
learn differently, prefer technology in their teaching/learning,
and have different expectations from previous students
(Massingham 2006). The traditional approach to teaching may
not be appropriate to the new breed of student.
This study seeks to identify factors that may influence lecture
attendance patterns of students enrolled in College of
Business courses.
The specific aims of this study are:
• To determine students’ motivation and attitude towards
subject delivery;
• To determine aspects of subject delivery that encourage or
inhibit students from attending lectures; and
• To identify the personal circumstances of students that has the
greatest influence on lecture non-attendance.
Here are some references to help you get started:
Dolnicar, S 2005, ‘Should We Still Lecture or Just Post
Examination Questions on the Web?: The Nature
of The Shift Towards Pragmatism in Undergraduate Lecture
Attendance’, Quality in Higher Education, vol. 11, no. 2,
pp. 103-115.

Massingham, P 2006, ‘Does Attendance Matter? An
Examination of Student Attitudes, Participation,
Performance and Attendance’, Journal of University Teaching
and Learning Practice, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 1-19.
Paisey, C 2004, ‘Student Attendance in an Accounting Module –
Reasons for Non-Attendance and the Effect on
Academic Performance at a Scottish University’, Accounting
Education, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 39-53.
Rodgers, JR 2002, ‘Encouraging Tutorial Attendance at
University Did Not Improve Performance’,
Australian Economic Papers, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 255-266.
Romer, D 1993, ‘Do Students Go to Class? Should They?’,
Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 7, pp.167-
174.
The research assignment in this subject consists of two phases:
(1) data collection and entry; and (2) the final research
report. Phase 1 will be assessed individually and Phase 2 will be
undertaken in groups of three (or four) students.
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Phase 1: Data Collection and Entry
Phase 1A: Data Collection
Phase 1 of the research project will train you in conducting

interviews and handling surveys, considering and
documenting the sample you choose and finally entering all the
data into SPSS (statistical software). This is a
very ‘hands on’ task that requires you to do a fair bit of
practical real life research work.
In week 6, each student will receive five questionnaires that
have been developed to meet the research aims
of the project. You are required to interview respondents using
face-to-face interviews and record their answers.
Under no circumstance should the questionnaire be administered
as a self-completion questionnaire. If there is
any evidence that self-completion has been used you will
receive zero marks for this phase on the assignment.
Also in week 6 lectures, you will be given information on how
to conduct the interview.
The sampling process for this project is as follows:
• The participants have to be between the ages of 18 and 24 and
sign a consent form indicating their
willingness to participate in this survey.
• The participant must be a student enrolled in a College of
Business degree program at Victoria
University (e.g., courses that have any one of the following in
their title: Marketing, International
Trade, Marketing/International Trade, Marketing/Event
Management, Marketing/Applied
Economics, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Financial Risk
Management, Music Industry/Event
Management.
A research assistant has been hired to investigate the

authenticity of questionnaires. Respondents will be
required to sign on the consent form as being authentic and
provide contact details, as will interviewers.
Students found to be falsifying part of the questionnaire or
cheating on the data collection will be deemed to
have failed the assignment and will face disciplinary action.
The quality and authenticity of data collection,
adherence to the sampling plan and timely submission of the
completed questionnaires constitutes 5% of your
total assessment in this subject.
Phase 1B: Data Entry
The next phase of the project requires team effort. In week 8,
each student will enter the information obtained
from the surveys into a statistical software package.
The timelines are short but are required to provide you with
sufficient time to analyse the data and write up the
report. With your co-operation a data file consisting of
approximately 300+ respondents will be compiled. This
provides you with an opportunity to analyse data of a realistic
and scientific nature.
Data Entry Instructions
1. Please bring a USB stick to class.
2. Save the project template (SPSS spreadsheet) to USB stick.
This will be available on VU
Collaborate (under Phase 1 >Assessment). You will not be
required to code the questionnaire as
this will be done for you.
3. Enter the responses for all the questionnaires you receive.

Instructions will be provided in the
tutorial.
4. Save the data you have entered on the USB stick. Produce
frequencies and check your file for
accuracy (i.e., looking for out of range values).
5. Save data by using the copy and paste function.
6. Email the file to your Tutor.
7. In the email please write down your name and your Student
ID.
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8. Your data file will be evaluated for completeness and
accuracy.
9. If there are any problems with your data file you will be
requested to resubmit prior to the due date.
Please check your emails during this time to avoid lost marks.
Questionnaires
Once you have completed the task of entering the data into the
SPSS spreadsheet and have emailed your file,
return the completed questionnaires and the consent forms to
your tutor. Note that you must also submit
a short description about how the data was collected. This
description should only be a couple of paragraphs
and include information about the recruitment process.

It is crucial that you adhere to the due date above, as the entire
class depends on your input. Failure to do so
will result in reduced marks for Phase 1 of the assessment. The
quality of data collection and entry and timely
submission of the data file constitutes 10% of your total
assessment in this subject. The assessment criteria
are provided in Page 5.
Data Analysis
1. The data from all students will be collated and available for
analysis on VU Collaborate in week 9.
2. Time has been allocated for you to analyse the data set in
week 9 tutorial. Your tutor will be available
to provide you with guidance. To make the most of this session
come prepared with a plan of the type
of analysis you need to perform.
3. Read your literature review and determine the relationships
you think exist between the variables you
investigated (i.e., research hypotheses) and test them using the
data provided.
4. Analyse the data, using frequencies, cross tabs (Chi-Square
Tests), numerical summaries, and any
other appropriate tests. Also consider transforming and
recoding the data if needed.
Due Date: Week 8

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BHO2285: MARKETING RESEARCH
PHASE 1: DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ENTRY
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
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FINAL GRADE
HD D C P N1 N2
80-100% 70-79% 60-69% 50-59% 40-49% 0-39%
40 Survey handling

30 Documentation
(briefly) how
he/she collected their data.
referencing style
(Harvard system) has been adopted in the report
the Harvard
Referencing System
30 Data entry
dent match the
completed
questionnaires that student has provided (this will be controlled
by research
assistance)

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Phase 2: Research Report
Phase 2 involves the preparation of a research report. The
research report should include:
1. Cover
2. Title Page
3. Table of Contents
4. Executive Summary
5. Introduction
6. Methodology: Research design, taking into account the type
of research undertaken, scaling techniques,
sample design (make sure you take into account the population
of interest), data collection methods,
and plan of data analysis
7. Results & Discussion (using the most appropriate statistics)
8. Limitations
9. Conclusions and Recommendations
10. References
11. Appendices (e.g. include the questionnaire and any detailed
statistical output)

Refer to chapter 23 of the textbook for the structure and
additional detail on report writing. This phase of the
assignment should be presented in report format. The word limit
on this phase of the assignment is 3000 words
(not including appendices). This phase of the assignment is
worth 30% of your total assessment in this subject.
The assessment criteria are provided in Page 7.
Submission:
This assignment is to be uploaded to Turnitin on VU
Collaborate. The entire report and appendices must be
uploaded as one document, and only one document should be
submitted per group. Submit at [VU Collaborate>
Assignments›TurnItIn›Phase3]
Due Date: Week 12

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BHO2285: MARKETING RESEARCH
PHASE 2: RESEARCH REPORT
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Phase 2 – Research Report
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FINAL GRADE
HD D C P N1 N2
80-100% 70-79% 60-69% 50-59% 40-49% 0-39%
5 Executive Summary
introduction, research problem, summary
of methodology, summary of results and summary of
conclusions
5
Introduction
ching and
students’ behaviour and
attitudes towards attending lectures (literature)

knowledge)
problem
20 Methodology
50 Results & Discussion
– use sub-heading
5 Limitations
for the choices/techniques
used.

5 Conclusions
do not introduce
any new concepts).
5 Integration of Literature and References
adopted throughout the essay;
been included and is presented using
conventional method (refer to
a style manual).
5 Report form
graphs/tables/appendices (if applicable),
reference list and appendices (copy of questionnaire and
detailed statistical output).
excellent and of business report
standard