The Teaching of Marketing Research in Relation to Industry Needs

Abstract

OF concern to both industry and academic members of the marketing profession is the relationship of marketing research courses as presently taught to the needs of marketing research in commerce and industry. Marketing research courses cannot, of course, cater to this need alone, for the students in these courses represent many diverse major fields of specialization. Most of them probably move into some other area of marketing; some of those who specialize in marketing research tighten their belts and move into teaching; and only a minority are likely to end up as researchers for commerce and industry. At the same time, however, many of those who specialize in other areas of marketing come into contact with research problems (if only accidentally), and it would therefore seem that a thorough grounding in the means of handling research problems in practice-and in being able to recognize a problem when one has it-is an important, if not the principal, objective of marketing research courses. In line with this objective, the AMA Subcommittee on the Teaching of Marketing Research has attempted to determine how the subject matter of present