Hypothesis Identification Article Analysis

Hypothesis Identification Article Analysis

In an article entitled "The Teaching of Marketing Research in Relation to Industry Needs" from the Journal of Marketing, has a unique research question. The research question is how the subject matter of present marketing research courses compares with the type of work encountered in commercial research. The hypothesis was to find out what teachers were teaching in the classroom and find if it closely related to what those in the industry considered important and essential.

The way this was accomplished was through having surveys completed by two groups - teachers and industry research personnel. Forty-six of the ninety teachers that received the survey responded. One hundred twenty-three of the two hundred seventy-seven of the industry research personnel responded. The survey questions were more open in nature, by not tying those surveyed to particular scenarios. Both groups were supplied with basically the same survey in which they ranked different items as essential, valuable but not essential, interesting buy not essential, or limited. Doing the survey in this manner helped remove any bias that might result from those being surveyed. The article also brought up an interesting side-note about one variable that was not considered in this particular survey. The ability of each individual teacher plays a large role in how students take and use the information they are given. Therefore, each course could have a completely different outcome with the survey if looked at individually, teacher by teacher.

Overall the hypothesis was accepted; however, there were several topics that the industry personnel ranked as essential that were not necessarily being focused on in the classroom. When it came to the actual market research methods both groups agreed well on the foundational content that was taught because they often provided a broad overview. Oddly enough where the difference was found, did not actually have to do with marking research or statistics. Rather the industry personnel found a lack of emphasis on the importance of being able to communicate what was found in the research. In order to correct what was taught in the classroom to better prepare students for their careers after graduation, the material covered in the classroom needs to have a broader scope with topics that may not be directly related to the course, such as communication.