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Market Audience and Research Proposal

Each group is to write a research proposal, which follows the 11-steps process of Burns and Bush to step 7, culminating in the design of data collection forms, ie. a survey questionnaire. The research proposal should be approximately 2,500 words (+/- 10%).

MARKETING RESEARCH PROJECT: ATTITUDES OF LA Trobe STUDENTS TOWARDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurship is one of the most important factors that contribute to economic and social development. It is a main driver of employment creation and national wealth. Therefore, many policy initiatives attempt to pull people toward an entrepreneurial career choice. In addition, entrepreneurship is a highly satisfying career choice.

Given the increasing importance of entrepreneurship in contemporary careers, this research project aims to uncover the determinants of entrepreneurial intentions, i.e. why some intend to start their own business whereas others do not. Samples of business and non-business students, for whom this choice has particular relevance, will be used to address the question.

To undertake this project in each campus, students will be divided into small groups of minimum 3 students and maximum 5 students.

Your group’s task is to follow the stages in the research process of Burns and Bush to design, investigate and report on the research project. The research project is to be undertaken as follows:

1. Investigate secondary information on the proposed research project and follow the research process to step 8, culminating in the design of data collection forms – i.e. a survey questionnaire. Steps 1 to 6 must be based around the use of a questionnaire to be used by each student in order to gather data. An in-depth briefing will be held during the seminar on Week 3 (TBC) by the lecturer in charge of the proposed research project.
2. Write up your work as you go and submit a report at your tutorial on Week 6 which covers steps 1 to 8, and includes in an appendix a copy of a ready-to-go survey. Your submission should also include an attachment with an SPSS database set up with all variables from the survey defined but excluding any data at this stage.
3. During week 7 and 8, semi-depth interviews using the questionnaire are to be undertaken, by each student in each group. The final version of master questionnaire will be used and each questionnaire is to include an Information and informed Consent Form. The fabrication of surveys is a form of academic cheating for which serious consequences apply. Each student is to collect data from at least 5 respondents.
4. At the tutorial on Week 9 (TBC), the data from the completed surveys need to be entered into the SPSS database. At the end of this tutorial, students are to hand in a copy of this database which includes their cases of questionnaire responses. All responses for the entire class will then be consolidated into the one master database.
5. At the following tutorial on Week 10 (TBC) if not earlier, one copy of the master database on a USB will be provided to each group for analysis using SPSS.
6. Each group is to then complete the last of the steps in the marketing research process. The final report is to combine the part completed earlier and submitted on Week 6 (covering steps 1 to 8) with the results from the remaining steps (9 to 11). The final report is due on Week 11 (TBC).