The Dropbox 1 Research Paper that is assigned at the beginning of Week 4, is not due until the end of Week 5, as per the Course Syllabus. As per the Assignment Expectations for the Research Paper, found under Start Here in the Content Area of the Course (which I have pasted below) students are to use the Template provided for formatting this assignment and Part 1 of your paper is to be in outline form. Part 2 will be narrative (paragraph.) The paper is due Sunday of Week 5 to the appropriate folder in the Dropbox area.
Note: The dropbox folder for this paper will not appear until after you have reviewed the Plagiarism tutorial and earned 90% or above on the quiz. The tutorial is located in the Content Section and the quiz in the Quiz Section of the class.
Research Paper
Overview
The Internet provides a wonderful opportunity for doing marketing research and learning about various consumer markets. In this research paper, you will be preparing a report on the size, location, purchasing power, and market potential for the three largest minority target markets in the country—Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans.
Paper requirements
Your paper is worth 100 points, see the breakdown of the points below. Part 1 of your paper is to be in outline form. Part 2 will be narrative (paragraph.) The paper is due Sunday of Week 5 to the appropriate folder in the Dropbox area.
Note: Dropbox 1 will not appear until after both the Plagiarism tutorial and quiz have been taken. The tutorial is located in the Content area and the quiz is in the Quizzes area.
Not all information on each market will come from just one source. I recommend you use the resources available through the Stafford Library. This gives you access to a wide variety of accurate online sources for your research. In addition, you will need to access more than one website for each market. All of the information below needs to be included in each report. Be sure to cite all information that is not common knowledge and provide a bibliography at the end of the paper. You may use APA or MLA. Your citations must include a direct URL to where you found the information. For example: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff01.html, not http://www.census.gov.
Your paper must include the following in either the upper left- or right-hand corner of the first page of your paper:
- Your name
- MKTG 310
- Date of the Paper
- Paper Title
Additional Guidelines
If your paper does not include the above information in the requested format, you will automatically lose 10% of the points for the assignment.
Work submitted for this class must not have been previously submitted by you or another individual for any course. Any student who submits previously used work will be reported to Columbia College Student Life and Academic Affairs administrators and a 0 will be given for the assignment.
Outline and Grade Allocation
Use the outline below as a template for the assignment. Download Research Paper Word template .
- Introduction
- Part 1: Three Target Market Summaries (Total 66 pts.)
Each answer below must include a citation using the direct URL where the information was found. - Total numbers in the U.S.
- Percent of the total U. S. population
- Rate of growth
- Average household size
- Average age
- % with college degrees
- Average or median income levels
- Geographic location(s) – metro, states, etc.
- Brands that have higher than average purchase for each group
- Identify specific products which have above average usage for each group
- Best media to use to target each group
- Part 2: Business Potential Summaries (Total 18 pts.)
For each target market group, write a minimum of two, but no more than four paragraphs, evaluating and summarizing the overall business potential in the United States. This is not to be an "industry" specific or "marketer" specific analysis. The purpose is to evaluate for the entire United States. - Bibliography and Citations (Total 4 pts.)
- Bibliography: Criteria include credibility, date of resources, and bibliography format
- Appropriate use of Citations
Overall Grading: Writing analysis (Total 12 pts.)
- Proper use of thesis statements, paragraph, and sentence structure
- Proper utilization of grammar, including punctuation, spelling, subject, and verb usage will be analyzed.
- In order to earn all 12 pts. the paper must be error free.
Research Paper Template
Student Name
Date
Class
Minority Research Paper
Introduction
(Your comments)
Part I
AFRICAN AMERICAN
Total numbers in the U.S.
Information (source)
Percent of the total U. S. population
Information (source)
Rate of growth
Information (source)
Average household size
Information (source)
Average age
Information (source)
% with college degrees
Information (source)
Average or median income levels
Information (source)
Geographic location(s) – metro, states, etc.
Information (source)
Brands that have higher than average purchase for each group
Information (source)
Identify specific products which have above average usage for each group
Information (source)
Best media to use to target each group
Information (source)
ASIAN AMERICAN
Total numbers in the U.S.
Information (source)
Percent of the total U. S. population
Information (source)
Rate of growth
Information (source)
Average household size
Information (source)
Average age
Information (source)
% with college degrees
Information (source)
Average or median income levels
Information (source)
Geographic location(s) – metro, states, etc.
Information (source)
Brands that have higher than average purchase for each group
Information (source)
Identify specific products which have above average usage for each group
Information (source)
Best media to use to target each group
Information (source)
HISPANIC AMERICAN
Total numbers in the U.S.
Information (source)
Percent of the total U. S. population
Information (source)
Rate of growth
Information (source)
Average household size
Information (source)
Average age
Information (source)
% with college degrees
Information (source)
Average or median income levels
Information (source)
Geographic location(s) – metro, states, etc.
Information (source)
Brands that have higher than average purchase for each group
Information (source)
Identify specific products which have above average usage for each group
Information (source)
Best media to use to target each group
Information (source)
Part 2 - Analysis of Business Potential for Each Group
For each "ethnic" group write a minimum of 2 paragraphs analyzing the business potential using the information found in your research for Part 1 and additional research necessary to complete your analysis.
African American
Comments/rationale narrative
Asian American
Comments/rationale narrative
Hispanic American
Comments/rationale narrative
Bibliography/Citations
