Peer Review

15.822 Strategic Marketing Measurement

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Mar 3, 2013 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This material is the MIT Open Courseware site for a Strategic Marketing Measurement course. The author explains that this course focuses on research methods that emphasize understanding the "market". Similar to a blackboard or Moodle site, this website contains the materials (i.e., syllabus, assignments, readings, lecture notes, etc.) used in this particular course. Marketing research may be divided into methods that emphasize understanding "the customer" and methods that emphasize understanding "the market." This course deals with the market.
Type of Material:: Online course
Recommended Uses:: While presented as a stand alone open access course, the material is better used as a resource for others teaching similar courses. Suggestions for projects, readings and assignments should be particularly useful to others teaching similar courses. Instructors could use this as a model for course design.
Technical Requirements:: Basic web browsing; ability to access pdf files; access to the JMP 5 package (directions on how to acquire are provided on the syllabus) or other similar statistical package.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: As indicated by the author, the learning goals focus on: 1. teaching students how to write, conduct and analyze a marketing research survey; 2. to give students some hands-on exposure to analysis techniques that are widely used in consulting and marketing research (i.e., factor analysis, perceptual mapping, conjoint, and cluster analysis).
Target Student Population:: The material is best suited for graduate level students.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: As stated by the author, the material "assumes familiarity with basic probability, statistics, and multiple linear regression." It also assumes some understanding of and appreciation for marketing.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: The author presents a nice plan for a course in Strategic Marketing Measurement. The syllabus, selected readings and assignments could prove useful reference material for other faculty teaching similar courses.
Concerns:: As a stand alone, open access course, this material is not particularly valuable. Most students, even at the graduate level, would have difficulty understanding the material as presented. For instance, while the lecture notes are likely quite useful as a companion to classroom discussion, they are confusing and incomplete as a stand alone tool. The course project which appears to be an integral part of the course is lost in this online presentation. This site contains the bones of a course in measuring markets. It contains limited content. For example, the syllabus refers to many readings outside of the text, but these materials are not on the site. The material is from a class that was taught in 2002.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: An instructor looking for ideas as to how to teach a similar class, should find some of the featured material useful. It also contains some lecture notes and assignments.
Concerns:: The lecture notes and assignments are without context, and the supplemental readings are not available on the site. Without further insights from the author, the material does not work as an open access, online course.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The website is easy to navigate and is well-organized. The site is clear and easy to use.
Concerns:: While the material is well-organized and easy to access, it is incomplete as an open access, online course, and does not engage the visitor.

Other Issues and Comments:: The value of this material may be lost due to the way it is positioned on the MERLOT website. Do you really intend for this to be an open access, online course? Or is this really more of a companion site for an in-person course? The material has value for the latter, but less value for the former.
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