JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS

2021, VOL. 96, NO. 8, 552–556

https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2021.1887792

Marketing research: Innovation, experiential learning, and

student engagement
Anna Talafuse
College of Business, Montana State University Billings, Billings, MT, USA

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The following article outlines the importance of classroom engagement through use of Engagement; experiential
innovative group projects within a marketing research class. Project findings address learn- learning; group project;
ing engagement, student loyalty, and enhanced learning using an experiential learning learning by design;
marketing research
based project designed to help students produce a marketing research project. The learning
by design project details the course structure, segmented project sections, learning goals,
and approach used to ensure student engagement with professor, client, and active learn-
ing within the course project. Study implications focus on student success and methods to
address engagement factors.

Introduction segmented sections throughout the course while stu-

dents work with real community businesses as clients.
Experiential projects foster hands-on learning and com-
munity engagement within university curriculums.
Student engagement in these types of projects has typic- Literature review
ally been increased with a heavier burden on the student
Engagement
to both learn and apply course concepts. Experiencing
within these projects has been shown to increase both “Student engagement is an essential element of
knowledge and retention for student learners (Otjen & learning” educators have struggled with in the class-
Talafuse, 2018) and increases material comprehension, room (Calacal & Fabella, 2018, p. 8). In 2007 the
fosters risk-taking, work commitment, and applying Review of Higher Education (ASHE) stated student
both intelligence and determination (Caird, 1990). engagement was a national imperative (as stated by
Engagement with the instructor and clients Stone, 2017). Engagement increases the ability for
increases student engagement, which is a focus of the understanding and demonstration of understanding
innovative project outlined, and is important since course content (Winsett, Foster, Dearing, & Burch,
marketing research classes have typically been viewed 2016). The engagement factor is significant within
as dry course material with course evaluations being classroom activities to increase student effort with
lower than average (Bridges, 1999; FitzPatrick, Davey, purposeful activities and results in higher success.
& van Oostrom, 2010). Standards set by the AACSB for accredited schools
As a topic considered “foundational” to marketing outline professional engagement expectations which
(FitzPatrick et al., 2010), marketing research is a include integration of the university’s mission with
required course for the marketing discipline in many academic study and professional engagement devel-
universities. The course teaches students about ethical oped with three areas to connect practice and theory
components of the research process and how to con- (AACSB, 2018). The following outlines an innovative
duct research, collect data, and analyze data to address project highlighting the first of the three areas,
research questions. Student engagement is outlined in “teaching and learning activities … that highlight the
relation to the innovative experiential learning project importance of student engagement and experiential
completed in the course. Submissions are made in learning” within a marketing research course.

CONTACT Anna Talafuse [email protected] College of Business, Montana State University Billings, 1500 University Drive, Billings, MT
59102 USA.
ß 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
 JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS 553

Table 1. Group project time-line. Group projects in marketing research

Week Assignment
Prior to semester Instructor obtains clients
Taylor (2019) outlined a research process utilizing
Week 2 Group selection experiential learning and analytical tools to integrate
Week 4 Proposal new AACSB standards for technological agility relat-
Week 6 Survey discussion board
Week 7 Survey submission to instructor ing to the marketing research course. This change
Week 8 IRB document submission relates to how students apply technology in the pro-
Week 13 Completed project
Week 14 Peer evaluation ject including the use of data collection software such
Finals Week Discussion board project reflection as Qualtrics, Excel, IBM SPSS, r, and SAS. Stone
(2017) researched team cohesion within teaching of
Experiential learning the marketing research process and presented various
pedagogical approaches to instruction. Bridges (1999)
Student engagement can be increased by participation
stated he used “the input/marketing research efforts of
in experiential learning projects with a focus on the
those enrolled in the class to promote student engage-
individual student learning process (Winsett et al.,
ment that ultimately leads to improvements in the
2016). Experiential projects with high engagement also
course itself” (p. 208).
have the potential of increasing student loyalty to the
university and the overall value students perceive
from their completed education (Conrad & Guibault, Project guidelines
2019). In an uncertain economic environment busi-
The course is a required course within the marketing
ness schools have traditionally fared well; however, a
discipline taught to approximately 30 students who
focus on improving alumni loyalty and perceived edu-
are usually junior or senior level and others outside of
cational success are important factors in university
the discipline can take it as an elective. Twenty-four
loyalty and continued economic success for the uni- clients have participated in this project to date over
versity brand. A focus on experiential projects within the past decade. The project uses the following time-
the classroom promotes student learning, employment line for student submissions (Table 1).
success via hands-on experience, and has the added
benefit of loyalty to the university.
An article by Helle, Tynjala, and Olkinuora (2006) Group selection
called for rigorous documentation of project-based Group selection takes place in week two of the course
learning courses for further research on the matter to to provide students an opportunity to develop group
be available to other practitioners. The focus on shar- request or aversion in personal class conversations or
ing of successful projects and implementation across an online discussion forum depending on course
other classes offers the potential to increase student modality. Most semesters have five client projects;
learning, engagement, and ultimately to reflect on when there is not enough client interest some groups
practices which could be standardized. Stone (2017) can “compete” to provide a project for the client. Self-
pointed to anecdotal evidence of the inclusion of mar- selection increases engagement and provides students
keting research projects as part of the course compo- control over the group dynamic for group selection.
nent suggesting improvement of student engagement Students who do not have a preference are assigned
and understanding of the material. An additional fac- to groups based on remaining group availability.
tor for higher student engagement was utilitarian type Group assignments are provided in the online course
motivation as students could provide evidence of or class at the end of the week. At this time groups
experience to future employers (Stone, 2017). gain access to the group discussion area, shared sub-
The learning by design pedagogical approach is mission folder, and detailed information regarding
captured in the following outlined innovative group their specific client.
project for marketing research students. Experiential
learning projects take student knowledge learning
Clients
outside of the traditional classroom setting while cli-
ent-based projects supplement traditional text and Clients agreements are developed by the professor
instructor resources; active learning and engagement prior to the start of the course based on previous
are drawn within the context of what students interaction, word-of-mouth, and personal community
know, learn, and are able to apply to the cur- contacts. Clients are provided a final project docu-
rent problem. ment and onsite or recorded student presentations.
554 A. TALAFUSE

This process has been developed as a student-focused, focuses on learning content and course objectives for
instructor-led project which includes data collection, the survey development process.
analysis, report, and a final presentation to the client The week 7 submission often has several resubmis-
at the end of the semester. Clients are providing a ser- sions. Students have noted the significant learning
vice to the university by agreeing to work with stu- that takes place in this process and the considerable
dent groups in exchange for free projects they many improvement in quality of work during the revision
times cannot otherwise afford or resources they are process. This process of revision and review by mul-
unable to allocate. If a mailing list is unavailable from tiple sources mirrors the development phase in real
the client internally and it is necessary to purchase a world situations and provides students the experience
list, the client is responsible for the additional cost. they will participate in or facilitate outside of the
The experiential process is integral to student learning classroom. This development also allows students the
using an applied focus and helps students build their opportunity to earn a higher grade while developing
resumes with client partnerships. these skills; the grade is earned by continued learning
and application of course content further developed in
engagement with the instructor.
Problem statement and research questions
Students are required to communicate with their cli-
IRB approval
ents and determine the management problem and
associated marketing research problem for the firm. Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval through the
Once developed, students begin working on a problem university’s IRB board is a requirement of the project
statement. This component of the project is submitted which necessitates students obtain CITI certification
to the instructor in week 4 of the course and, after (free through the university). Students complete this
possible revision and instructor approval, is verified university form in week 8 of the course. The instructor
with the client. The proposal document includes an makes necessary revisions and shares those changes
introduction, the problem statement, the population with the students before submitting the document and
for the research, and the research questions. survey for approval as the primary investigator for the
project. Often projects are expedited once under IRB
review; however, if they are not the approval process
Business survey development
takes approximately seven to ten business days.
Students are asked to take what they have learned in
presented course material, the adopted text for the class,
Data collection
and secondary research relating to their client’s topic
and problem statement to create a survey addressing Surveys can be administered by email requests, mail
the research questions. The first survey submission cre- requests, or telephone survey responses. For semesters
ated by students has a deadline in week 6 of the course where large clients need response rates close to 600, the
as an online discussion forum to provide the opportun- class has worked on the data collection utilizing a tele-
ity classmate feedback. Each student is required to phone survey in the Marketing Research Lab (MRL) of
address all other groups with substantiated feedback the university. This provides students the unique experi-
supported by the text or referencing course instructor ence of a call center and telephone survey administration
notes. Feedback not supported in one of these ways which can be a resume builder for students entering
does not earn credit for the threaded discussion and sales positions or those seeking research positions.
groups are instructed to review only supported feedback After receiving IRB approval to begin data collec-
prior to utilizing for the revision process. tion students have approximately two weeks to collect
Students submit a revised survey in week 7 of the responses in Qualtrics. The instructor is the primary
course. This submission includes a requirement that owner of the data collection and students are added
students indicate which survey questions will address as collaborators during the semester and then
each of their research questions. This forces students removed for appropriate storage and destruction of
to remove unnecessary questions and ensures their data as outlined in the IRB application. The sample
research questions can be answered fully. Student email address list is sent a participation request and
engagement in this portion of the course survey devel- follow-up request within the software program. If this
opment is weighted with assigned individual and list is not available internally the client is responsible
group points. This evidence-based suggested revision for providing a purchased list.
 JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS 555

Final document and presentation myself and my husband (who co-owns it) are not
business professionals, let alone knowledgeable about
In week 13 of the course students submit a final written
Marketing, I thought it might be a worthwhile
project which has been built over the course of the
avenue to explore … [The] students were easy to
semester and includes the addition of methodology,
work with, and I believe they did a wonderful job
analysis, conclusions, and recommendations. This is
shared with the client after final instructor review. The with this project. - Katie
instructor takes an additional role to not only review  Yes, it was definitely a learning experience! Thank
and grade the final projects, but to also verify the ana- you for your flexibility in this process. We’re so grate-
lysis, findings, and conclusions of the project to ensure ful you were willing to work with us and make this a
confidence in what is shared with the client. Onsite reality for us! … Thank you so much for sending this
classes invite clients to classroom presentations in week over! I know we’re all pretty excited to see what the
14 and online classes submit recorded presentations overall consensus is. - Sarah
which are shared with the client.  This is great information! We enjoyed working with
your class. We have many marketing projects that
we are interested in partnering with the Marketing
Peer review and grading
department in the future. I hope we get to work
Although students were allowed the opportunity to together again. - Robert
select their groups and develop relationships based on  In addition to a wealth of documentation provided
preferences, location, or knowledge of other students, to [business name], the Marketing Research class
they are also provided the opportunity to submit a conducted an in-person presentation for [us] that
peer review to the instructor and grade their own per- addressed their data collection methods, their find-
formance and that of their group members and are ings, and their conclusions. This presentation clari-
required to substantiate this rating. The instructor can fied the documentation presented and provided an
verify poor ratings using Google documents, the opportunity for student feedback and a question
group discussion area, group submission area for their and answer period that further illuminated the
individual contributions or by students sharing emails information being presented. … In addition to dis-
or text messages within the group indicating responsi- cussions centered on the students conducting the
bility and work completed. There is an aspect of survey having a better understanding of [business
“fairness” with this review where non-participants are name] operations, the experience resulted in one of
addressed by the instructor. the students in the class becoming an intern at
[business name] subsequent to the survey. - Ken
Reflection
One client, Ken, shared the research findings were
Final projects are completed in the last two weeks of
used to satisfy FCC Equal Employment Opportunities
the class schedule leaving finals week as a project reflec-
(EEO) in the 2019 annual report and were also disse-
tion period. This component addresses the pedagogical
minated at a “Friends of Public Radio” event where
approach using learning by design and the university
the information was well received. Later a state sen-
tracks service learning projects and the reflections are
ator shared that she was in attendance at the meeting
saved to support this work. These discussions address
and the project was a positive example of university
four areas: (1) the most difficult aspect of the project,
partnerships in the community.
(2) discussion of what students would have done differ-
A marketing research feasibility study for one client
ently, (3) the most surprising finding or conclusion the
resulted in the businesses decision to open. The store
group/individual derived from the project, and (4) the
has been successfully operating for about two years. A
most important takeaway.
study for a Chamber of Commerce for a small town
in the state ended with another class on campus tak-
Project assessment ing the results to support and develop a marketing
Client feedback on the projects has been very positive. campaign and filming a television commercial sup-
The following are excerpts from two of the 2019 clients. porting the downtown area. This campaign was
funded through the Chamber’s downtown initiative.
 This letter is being written today to vocalize our Another private university in town utilized the mar-
great satisfaction and thankfulness in the opportun- keting research course to conduct alumni research
ity to work [with this class project]. … Being that since their own program does not have this course.
556 A. TALAFUSE

The results were used to suggest changes in outreach References

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