MARKETING RESEARCH TERM PAPER PROJECT Overview Throughout the semester you will be working in research teams of three to four students each. Your role is that of a marketing research (MR) supplier or research consultant who works for a client organization requiring research information to help make marketing decisions. Each team will prepare a written MR report based on survey research—gathering information from a sample of people from a target population using a questionnaire. Each research team will plan the research design, conduct the fieldwork, analyze the data, and write a research report. This project is designed to provide a major "hands-on" experience since MR is best learned by doing. It will enable you to apply the concepts covered in the textbook and in class and to integrate the inter-related series of steps in the MR process.
Research Problem/Opportunity
In every presidential election since 1964, young voters between the ages of 18 through 24 have consistently voted at lower rates than all other age groups, although young-adult voting rates have fluctuated from one election to another. Overall, America’s youngest voters have moved towards less engagement over time, as 18- through 24-year-olds’ voting rates dropped from 50.9percent in 1964 to 38.0 percent in 2012 (see Fig. 1).
Voting rates have also historically varied according to gender. In every presidential election since 1996, women have voted at higher rates than men (Figure 2). Most recently in 2012, the spread was about 4 percentage points. Since 1996, a gender voting rate gap has been consistently present for most age groups, particularly young voters. In every election in this section, young women between the ages of 18 through 29 voted at higher rates than young men of the same ages, reaching a differential of about 8 percentage points in 2008.