Case Study – Two different kinds of case studies are considered acceptable for this course. First, you may choose an interesting problem or opportunity that has been encountered by a firm or industry, such as the New Coke disaster or the disappearance of the LP and its effect on the recording industry. Information for a case of this type may be obtained from trade journals, newspapers, & business magazines; all of which are available in the library. The second kind of case study involves a focused investigation of a single firm. Usually, a local firm is chosen, managers are interviewed, the industry as a whole is researched, etc. For both approaches it is important to focus the case study on consumer behavior, bringing theoretical issues and insights into the analysis.
Original Research – You may want to conduct original research to investigate a theoretical or practical problem. This will involve defining the problem, designing the research, collecting data, analyzing it, and reporting your findings and conclusions. This approach is recommended if you have some experience doing marketing research.
You would need to submit a written report as a Word document, not exceeding 10, double-spaced, and typed pages of text. This page limit does not include title page, executive summary, and table of contents, references, and appendix materials. Written term papers will be evaluated according to the following criteria: careful and complete research, logical development of conclusions and implications, originality, and quality of the written report (including coherence, grammar, spelling, and typing).