OVERVIEW

Statistics for marketing and management aims to equip students with the main tools for market analysis and business management.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with the main statistical tools for marketing research. The main topics are primary data collection (survey methodologies, questionnaire), sampling, correlation and regression, factor analysis and principal component analysis, segmentation techniques. Part of the course will be dedicated to the use of statistical software

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Knowledge and understanding: Students will become acquainted with the main methods for sample surveys and the tools of market analysis.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: Students will be able to organise a sample survey, construct an articulated questionnaire and implement it on some market survey platforms, carry out preliminary analyses to assess the quality of the data collected, analyse data in order to investigate consumption behaviour.

Making judgements: Students must be able to use the acquired knowledge both on a theoretical and operational level with autonomous assessment skills, in various applicative contexts.

Communication skills: Students will acquire the technical language typical of the discipline to communicate clearly and without ambiguity with both statisticians and non-statisticians.

Learning skills: Students will develop adequate learning skills that allow them to continue to study the subject independently.

Connections of the course with other courses in the programme: The topics introduced in this course will allow the students to properly understand numerical data within other disciplines.

PREREQUISITES

To successfully undertake the course, it is necessary to know the basic methods of descriptive statistics (measures of central tendency and variability, correlation and association between variables) and statistical inference (interval estimation, hypothesis testing on means).

TEACHING METHODS

Standard lectures and exercises.Given that the training aims to develop both theoretical knowledge and applied skills, lectures will cover methodological aspects of statistics. These will be complemented by practical sessions where students will use appropriate computational tools to create online questionnaires and analyze real-world data.

The course is taught in Italian.

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Prof. Serena Scotto (scotto@economia.unige.it), the Department’s disability liaison.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

1. Introduction
2. Sources for data collection
3. Sample surveys
4. Sampling methods: simple random sampling, stratification, cluster and multi-stage sampling
5. Questionnaire preparation and administration: structure of the questionnaire, measure scales, administration methods
6. Qualitative methods: in-depth interviews, projective techniques, focus groups
7. Data analysis
8. Statistical inference: estimation and hypothesis testing
9. Linear regression
10. Principal components analysis and factorial analysis
11. Cluster analysis and market segmentation

For students who have the course in their study plan with 6 CFU, the syllabus is limited to points 1-8.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Biggeri et al., Statistica per le decisioni aziendali, Pearson

Mazzocchi, Statistics for Marketing & Consumer Research, Sage

Bassi, Ingrassia, Statistica per analisi di mercato, Pearson

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

CORRADO LAGAZIO (President)

MARTA NAI RUSCONE

FABIO RAPALLO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The course is taught in the first semester, see Easyacademy for schedule and classrooms

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of a written test with multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions. For attending students, one or more practical tests are also scheduled to be conducted during the lessons, and their evaluations are valid only for the first exam session at the end of the lessons.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The written test covers the entire syllabus and serves to assess the student's degree of understanding, while the practical tests serve to measure the ability to apply the knowledge acquired. 

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Non-attendant students should contact the teacher at the beginning of classes.