MT355 Unit 2 Marketing Research Question Brief Example

Course	MT355 Marketing Research and Analytics
Unit	Unit 2
Paper type	Research question brief
Length	About 500 words, 4 pages double-spaced
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Purdue University Global
Program	BS in Business Administration
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for MT355 Unit 2

Decision First, Then the Number That Changes It: An MT355 Unit 2 Research Question Brief for a Four-Pool Swim School

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

MT355: Marketing Research and Analytics

Unit 2 Research Question Brief

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The swim school and its figures are composite; the methods and sources cited are real.

What this part is doingOrdering the lead from decision to threshold to question shows the brief will not ask anything without a reason.

The Decision

The owner of Lakeside Swim School, a composite four-pool school in suburban Dayton, Ohio, is deciding whether to offer adult beginner classes at two pools, North and Riverside, starting in the spring session. The spring schedule is published in the first week of February, so whatever cannot be learned by mid-January cannot inform the decision.

The Economics

A class of eight weekly 45-minute lessons would be priced at $168 per adult. A full class of six brings $1,008. Running it costs $256 in instructor pay and $304 in lap-lane rental the school gives up, since adult classes would use evening lanes now rented to a masters swim club. At $560 in cost per class, a class breaks even at 3.33 adults. The owner wants a margin of safety, so the school would run four classes per pool only if each averaged four adults: 16 enrollments per pool.

That number, 16 enrollments per pool in the spring session, is the threshold the research must speak to. Malhotra (2019) recommends that a research problem be defined by the decision it serves, and this one is defined by whether each pool can reach 16.

The Research Question

Among adults within fifteen minutes of the North or Riverside pool who cannot swim one length of a 25-yard pool, how many would enroll in an eight-week evening beginner class priced at $168?

The question names a population, a behavior, a price and a place, so that its answer can be compared directly with the threshold.

A research question that cannot be compared with 16 enrollments cannot help the owner decide.

What this part is doingLinking the question to the threshold shows the brief was written backward from the decision.

Sub-Questions

First, which weekday evenings would most of those adults attend? Second, how does likely enrollment change at $148 and at $188? Third, what keeps those adults from enrolling, and which barriers could the school remove?

Action Standard

If projected enrollment at a pool is 16 or more at $168, launch four classes there in spring. If it is between 10 and 15, run a trial of two classes and review after the session. If it is below 10, hold and revisit in the fall. Writing the standard before any data arrive keeps the owner from reading results to fit a preference. Morwitz et al. (2007) found that stated intentions predict purchases unevenly, so the standard will be applied to projected enrollment after a conversion discount, not to raw survey interest.

What this part is doingFixing the action standard before data collection shows the brief guards against reading results to suit a preference.

Scope Limits

Private lessons are out of scope, as are private lessons, children's programs or the two other pools, which have no evening lanes to spare. Dillman et al. (2014) note that every question added to a survey costs completions, so the brief keeps only what the decision needs.

References

Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian, L. M. (2014). Internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: The tailored design method (4th ed.). Wiley.

Malhotra, N. K. (2019). Marketing research: An applied orientation (7th ed.). Pearson.

Morwitz, V. G., Steckel, J. H., & Gupta, A. (2007). When do purchase intentions predict sales? International Journal of Forecasting, 23(3), 347-364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijforecast.2007.05.015

Reading the MT 355 Unit 2 instructions

Unit 2 asks for a brief that turns a business decision into a research question. The brief should begin with the decision and its deadline, since these limit what research can do. Instructors expect the economics that make some answer decisive, such as a break-even or threshold, to come next. The research question should be one sentence naming who, what behavior, at what price or condition and where, so its answer can be compared with the threshold. Sub-questions should be few and tied to the decision. An action standard, stating in advance which results lead to which actions, is a strong close. The brief should also name what it leaves out. Two pages is usually enough when every heading earns its place.

How the MT 355 Unit 2 example is put together

The sample names the decision and the February deadline. The economics section works out the break-even of 3.33 adults and the threshold of 16 enrollments per pool, citing Malhotra. The research question follows in one sentence, under the highlighted line that a question which cannot be compared with 16 cannot help the owner decide. Three sub-questions are stated. The action standard sets launch at 16 or more, trial at 10 to 15 and hold below 10, written before data collection, with Morwitz and colleagues explaining why projected rather than stated enrollment will be used. A short scope section leaves out private lessons, children's programs and the two other pools, citing Dillman and colleagues on survey length.

Reading the MT355 Unit 2 grading rubric

Research briefs are typically marked on clarity of the decision, the logic connecting economics to a threshold, the precision of the research question and the usefulness of the action standard. A question that could be answered without informing the decision misses the unit's point. Graders reward thresholds worked out from the business's own costs. The research question should be specific enough to measure. Sub-questions should each connect to a part of the decision. An action standard set before data collection shows discipline. Naming exclusions shows focus. Methods sources appear in APA 7. Briefs that ask broad questions, such as what customers think of the business, without a decision or threshold, usually score lower.

Common MT355 Unit 2 mistakes, and how to avoid them

Research briefs often begin with a topic, such as customer satisfaction, rather than a decision. Another common weakness is a research question that names no population or behavior. Some briefs list ten sub-questions, most unrelated to the decision. Action standards are rarely written in advance. Before drafting, ask the decision-maker what number would change their mind and when they need to know. Work out where that number comes from in the business's costs. A brief written backward from that number is almost always sharper than one written forward from a topic.

Get an MT355 Unit 2 example written to your instructions

Tell us the decision behind the Unit 2 scenario, even roughly, and add the prompt and rubric. Within 24-48h the brief comes back with that decision stated first, a threshold derived from the case's own figures, a question with every term defined and an action standard beneath it. Your first custom sample is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

More MT355 papers and BS in Business Administration samples

MT355 Unit 2 questions, answered

What is an action standard?

A rule written before data collection that says which result leads to which action, such as launch at 16 projected enrollments, trial at 10 to 15, hold below that. It keeps results from being interpreted to fit a preference after the fact. Not every MT355 prompt uses the term, but most reward a brief that states in advance what answer would change the decision.

Where do the economics come from if my case gives no costs?

Estimate plainly and label every figure as an assumption: a price from competitors' listings, an hourly wage from a job posting range, a rental rate from the business's own schedule. The sample's threshold rests on three such figures. Graders look for a threshold derived openly, since a round number with no reasoning cannot be tested or revised when better figures arrive.

Can the brief have more than one research question?

One main question with a few sub-questions beneath it usually works best, because a single decision rarely needs several independent questions. The sample's three sub-questions each serve a specific design choice. If your case involves two separate decisions, two main questions can be justified, but each then needs its own action standard and its own defined population.

Where can I find a free MT355 Unit 2 sample paper?

The complete MT355 Unit 2 brief is on this page, sizing a research question to a swim school's 16-enrollment threshold.

What is the action standard in the MT355 Unit 2 sample?

Launch at 16 or more projected enrollments per pool, run a trial at 10 to 15 and hold below 10.