BUSI3322: Behavioural Science Marketing Project

• BUSI2211 Behavioural Science for Marketers AND BUSI2351 Marketing Research Methods

• None.

• BUSI3242: Dissertation in Marketing

• The module aims to:
• To expose students to the growing range of experimental behavioural science methods being used in academic and commercial consumer research.
• To equip students with the skills needed to design, conduct, critically evaluate and disseminate the results from laboratory and field experiments in consumer psychology.
• To provide an opportunity for students to undertake extended blocks of supervised practical work, carrying out independent behavioural science research on a substantive marketing topic.

• Indicative Content
• Experimental approaches to consumer research.
• Areas of application - academic, commercial.
• Approaches to experimental design - laboratory-based, fieldwork, quasi-experimentation.
• Traditional experimental methods - verbal reporting, priming effects, reaction time studies, learning experiments, conditioning, taste tests, problem-solving tasks, 'nudging', etc.
• Behavioural science methods - biofeedback, GSR measurement, EEG studies, fMRI scans, eye/mouse-tracking, etc.
• Analysing, interpreting and reporting experimental data.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• A comprehensive understanding of a broad range of experimental methods employed in academic and commercial behavioural science research.
• Extended knowledge of a relevant topic of interest in the field of consumer psychology.

Subject-specific Skills:

• To have acquired skills of independent research and project management.
• To be able to demonstrate an ability to present and analyse data in a clear and appropriate manner.
• To be able to demonstrate an ability to present arguments and conclusions in an extended and coherent form.

Key Skills:

• Written communication - through summative assessment.
• Planning, Organisation and Working to deadlines.
• Problem Solving and Analysis - e.g. by designing research, manipulating concepts and applying analytical skills.
• Initiative by gaining access to relevant sources.
• Computer literacy - by production of the dissertation in word processed form, accessing literature and other sources via electronic means, relevant use of computer based experimentation and data analysis methods.

• This is a tutorial-based module, supported by online learning materials, and centered around the design, execution, reporting and dissemination of a major behavioural science research project. Learning is facilitated via small-group tutorial. In Term One, introductory and plenary lectures frame the terms key activities and serve as their roadmap. Weekly small-group tutorials during this term help students refine their topics, conduct initial literature searches and design an original behavioural science experiment that may be field or laboratory based. Weekly online materials focused on key discipline-specific methods, including podcasts, interactive activities and self-assessed quizzes are also used to support the tutorials. During Term Two, students then conduct the experiments designed in the previous term under the supervision of the Module Leader, with fortnightly tutorials being used to provide continuous advice, support and monitoring of progress within a peer-review environment. The two-term learning journey culminates in the presentation of student research during a one-day conference, supported by key commercial and social research partners, a final project report being submitted in the format of a journal article being the key assessment component at the end of the module.
• Formative assessment is in two forms: evaluation of, and feedback on, work undertaken during the tutorials; and through feedback on the preparation of the project outline, draft chapter, tutorial discussions, and the maintenance of an individual project diary.
• Summative assessment is in three parts. The first component is a research proposal submitted at the end of Term One, outlining the intended project to be undertaken during Term Two. Students present their findings at a summatively-assessed mini-conference held at the end of Term Two which evaluates skills in the dissemination and communication of key research findings to a diverse audience. The main element of the summative assessment is the Practical Project Report, submitted at the start of Term Three, assessed as a scientific report conforming to a journal style and requiring students to demonstrate their evaluative, analytical and research skills in a single comprehensive piece of work.

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