Marketing Research

This is the fifth edition of Marketing Research and the first that also takes a United Kingdom, European perspective. It continues to reflect the importance of social media, ‘big data’, neuromarketing and the use of online technology in qualitative and quantitative data collection. This edition has a revised chapter on qualitative research, which includes a wider discussion of sentiment analysis in social media and the evolving software approaches that can be used in this area.

This edition of Marketing Research also examines practical examples of market and social research, and what students can learn from the advantages and disadvantages of each research approach when they are applied in real life (Real world snapshots). We also provide tips for conducting research and doing flowcharts, and offer improved and more detailed worksheets that will greatly facilitate the understanding and application of market research techniques by the student and practitioner.

We have worked diligently and carefully to make this edition a book that reflects the fast-paced and dynamic practice of marketing research. We have retained our central approach of making the subject interesting and entertaining for the student. This, we believe, is consistent with the style and learning approach of the original author, Professor William G. Zikmund. Market research, we argue, can be the most fascinating subject for the student, as it is now applied in diverse fields such as health, politics, social marketing, media and law. Therefore, we have continued to include a wider set of examples that reflect this throughout the text.