UTS, Faculty of Business, School of Marketing

Subject: 24720 Marketing Research

A Guide to Writing the Research Proposal for Autumn Semester 2010

Dear Students,

Please use this guide as the basis from which to build your research proposals. Please bear in
mind that we are after a systematic application of what has been delivered in the lectures and
discussed in the workshops with particular emphasis on the contents of the textbook.

To emphasise this again, your research proposal should closely follow the guidelines for the
general outline of a research proposal largely in keeping with Exhibit 1.5 on page 18 of your
textbook, however, truncated to Table 1 below so as to keep things tightly focused in your
writing.

Research Proposal
Research Brief (The research proposal directly addresses the
(What you have already submitted). research brief that you received from the
client i.e., what you have already submitted).
(1) Background (The Management (1) Purpose of the proposed research
Decision Problem); project;
(2) Purpose; (2) Time Frame;
(3) Objectives; (3) Type of study;
(4) Sample or population; (4) Definition of the target population;
(5) Time Line; (5) Definition of the sample to be
(6) Deliverables and Outputs; and collected;
(7) Contact Person (6) Sample and data collection;
(7) Outputs of the research study;
(8) Potential managerial benefits of the
proposed study;
(9) Proposed cost structure for the total
project;
(10) Profile of the research company; and
(11) Profile of the researcher(s); and
Table 1: Specific sections of the Research Brief (already submitted) and the Research Proposal
(due week 6 i.e., week commencing 5 April 2010).
 
Please note the specific 11 sections of the research proposal that you need to strictly adhere to.
Below I expand on each of these sections regarding exactly what should be included. We are not
after long pieces of work. A good research proposal needs to be very specific, both in focus and

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writing. Therefore, just as in the research brief, less is more. If you are to use bullet points in
your research proposal, please ensure that they read in near complete sentences. For instance,
instead of writing, “sample size = 200”, it is far better to write, “a sample size of 200 individuals
is needed to ensure statistical validity”.

Let us now address each section heading in terms of what should be reflected in your research
proposal.

(1) Purpose of the proposed research project

o Clearly explain the business problem;

o Specify the research questions;
o Specify the research objectives; and

(2) Time frame

o Provide a timeline of all parts of the research project.

(3) Type of study

o Discuss and defend the types of research such as

(1) exploratory;
(2) descriptive; or
(3) causal.
o Discuss and defend the secondary and primary research aspects of the study.

(4) Definition of the target population

 
o Discuss the target population in terms of the appropriateness of the type of study and why the
type of study (the actual research methods i.e., qualitative and/or quantitative research
methods) will work regarding your research problem.

(5) Definition of the sample to be collected

o Discuss the profile of the sample e.g., equal female to male split; the same age profile as the
population etc.; and
o Discuss why your chosen profile will address the research problem.

(6) Sample and data collection

 
o Is the sample random or purposive?
o Discuss the data collection medium e.g., face to face in case of qualitative groups or in-
depths, or, online panels in the case of quantitative research; and
o Are there any anticipated challenges, e.g., problems that might arise during data collection
and how these might be addressed, for instance, sampling sensitivity issues, accessing
sufficient sample size, incentive compatibility issues, fieldwork timing etc.

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(7) Outputs of the research study
 
o Discuss the outputs of the research e.g., in the case of focus groups in qualitative research,
outputs might be consumer openness to new ideas in the case of Corona Beer with Fruit
Flavours, or, in the case of quantitative research, the outputs might be understanding whether
they would pay more for Corona Beer with Fruit Flavours; and
o The outputs will directly address the managerial and research problem.

(8) Potential managerial benefits of the proposed study

 
o Discuss exactly how management intends to use the outputs to address their managerial
problem.

(9) Proposed cost structure for the total project

 
o Please outline this in modular form e.g.,

Phase 1: Secondary data search will cost $5,000

Phase 2: Qualitative research using in-depths $8,000
Qualitative research using focus groups $25,000
Phase 3: Analysis and reporting $10,000

Total costs: $48,000

Payment: 50% on commissioning and 50% on completion.

(10) Profile of the research company

 
o This is where you sell your company. Briefly talk about your research company’s strengths
and experience.

(11) Profile of the researcher(s)

 
o This is where you sell yourselves in terms of qualifications and experience and expertise.

Additional requirements

o Please ensure that you use Times Roman font size 12 throughout the research proposal. To
make headings stand out just use bold Times Roman font size 12;
o Please ensure a 2.5cm margin all around the page, i.e., 2.5cm on the top of the page, 2.5cm
on the bottom of the page, 2.5cm on the left hand side of the page, and 2.5cm on the right
hand side of the page; and
o Please ensure your student details i.e., name, student number and student email (must be a
UTS email account, not gmail, or hotmail, or bigpond etc.) are recorded correctly.

Good Luck!

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