| Course | MT355 Marketing Research and Analytics |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 3 |
| Paper type | Secondary research review |
| Length | About 890 words, 6 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 3
What the School Already Knows: An MT355 Unit 3 Secondary Research Review Before Any Survey Is Sent
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT355: Marketing Research and Analytics
Unit 3 Secondary Research Review
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The swim school, its records and the competitors are composite; the methods and sources cited are real.
Why Start Here
Malhotra (2019) advises researchers to exhaust secondary data before collecting primary data, because existing sources are cheaper and faster and can sharpen the questions new research must answer. Each source below is judged with the same four questions: who produced it and why, how recent it is, whom it covers and what it adds to the research question from Unit 2.
Source 1: The School's Inquiry Log
The front desk logs every phone and email inquiry. Over the past 24 months, it recorded 311 inquiries about adult lessons. Of these, 118 asked specifically about evenings, and 199 came from parents whose children were already enrolled.
The log was produced by the school for customer service, so it was not designed for research, but it is recent and specific. Its coverage is limited to people who contacted the school, which leans toward current families. Its fit is strong on two points: it shows that adult interest exists and that evenings matter. It cannot say how many inquirers would enroll at $168, and it does not record whether the person could already swim.
Source 2: Census Counts
American Community Survey estimates by block group give adult population counts near each pool (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023). Summing block groups within a fifteen-minute drive gives about 61,400 adults aged 25 to 64 near North and about 48,900 near Riverside.
The source is official, regularly updated and broad. Its weakness is fit: it counts adults, not adults who cannot swim, and it says nothing about interest. It is useful as a ceiling and for comparing the two pools' catchments.
Source 3: Competitor Schedules
Three other providers within fifteen minutes of at least one pool offer adult lessons: a YMCA branch, a city recreation center and a private instructor. Their published schedules show prices between $20 and $27 per lesson. Lakeside's planned price, $168 for eight lessons, works out to $21 a lesson, near the low end. Two competitors offer evening classes; one is full for spring, according to its website.
The schedules are current and public but describe supply, not demand. The full evening class is a modest signal that demand exceeds supply in at least one place.
Source 4: The School's Lane Rental Records
Rental records show how often the target evening lanes are booked by the masters swim club and others. Over the past year, the lanes were booked 61 percent of evening hours at North and 47 percent at Riverside.
This source is internal, recent and exact. Its fit is on cost rather than demand: every adult class hour displaces lane rental income only if those hours would otherwise be booked. At Riverside, more than half of evening hours are already unbooked, so the true cost of an adult class there may be lower than the $304 assumed in Unit 2.
The cheapest finding in the review is that Riverside's evening lanes sit empty more than half the time, which lowers the bar there before anyone is surveyed.
How the Sources Fit Together
Taken together, the sources point in one direction without settling the question. The inquiry log shows that adults ask about lessons, mostly in the evenings, and mostly from families already connected to the school. The census counts show that both catchments are large, with North's about a quarter larger than Riverside's. Competitor schedules show that the planned price sits near the low end of what others charge and that at least one evening class elsewhere is full. Lane records show that Riverside's evening capacity is underused, which lowers the cost of trying a class there. None of these sources measures how many adults who cannot swim would enroll at a given price, which is the number the decision turns on.
Source 5: National Swimming Surveys
National surveys of swimming ability, such as those reported by public health and water safety organizations, suggest that a substantial share of U.S. adults cannot swim well, with higher rates among some groups. These surveys are produced for public health purposes, vary in their definitions and are not local. They are set aside as context: they support the idea that a market exists but cannot estimate it near either pool.
What Only Primary Research Can Answer
Four questions remain. How many adults near each pool cannot swim a length? How many of them would enroll at $168, and how does that change at $148 and $188? Which evenings would they attend? What keeps them from enrolling? Dillman et al. (2014) recommend that a survey ask only what cannot be learned another way, and these four questions define the survey's scope.
Limits
The inquiry log may undercount interest from people who never called. Census block-group boundaries do not match drive times exactly. Competitor schedules may not show waitlists. The review did not find a local estimate of adults who cannot swim. That gap is the main reason primary research is needed, and it is also the figure the survey's screener is designed to produce.
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.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2023). American Community Survey 5-year estimates. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
MT355 Unit 3 instructions, in plain terms
Unit 3 asks students to review existing sources before designing new research. Each source should be judged with the same questions: who produced it and why, how recent it is, whom it covers and what it adds to the research question. Internal records, such as inquiry logs or sales data, are often the most useful and should be included. Public data, such as census figures, can size a market but rarely measure interest. Instructors look for a statement of fit for each source and a synthesis showing what the sources say together. The review should end by naming what only primary research can answer, which defines the scope of the survey to come and keeps it from asking what is already known.
Inside the MT355 Unit 3 example
The sample explains why secondary data come first, citing Malhotra. Five sources follow, each with origin, recency, coverage and fit: the inquiry log, census counts, competitor schedules, lane records and national surveys. The lane records finding, that Riverside's evening lanes sit empty more than half the time, is highlighted as the cheapest finding in the review because it changes a cost assumption. A section combines the sources into one picture. National surveys are kept as context only. Four questions only primary research can answer close the review, citing Dillman and colleagues, and limits note that the inquiry log may undercount interest and that no local estimate of non-swimmers exists.
MT355 Unit 3 rubric: what earns full points
Secondary research reviews are mostly judged on consistent evaluation criteria, attention to internal sources, honest statements of fit and a clear handoff to primary research. Using one set of questions for every source, internal or public, earns credit. Internal records should be valued for their specificity. Public data should be used for what it can show. A finding that changes an assumption, such as a cost, shows the review informs the decision. Synthesis should show how sources fit together. The list of remaining questions should define the survey's scope. Data sources appear in APA 7 with dates. Reviews that list sources without judging their fit, or that skip the firm's own records, tend to receive lower marks.
MT355 Unit 3 help from the desk
Secondary reviews often gather national statistics and miss the business's own records, which are usually more relevant. Another common weakness is describing each source without saying what it adds to the research question. Some students treat a national figure as if it applied locally. The handoff to primary research is often vague. Before drafting, ask the business what it already records about the customers or prospects in question, such as inquiries, bookings or cancellations. Those records are free, and one of them may change an assumption the decision rests on. Writing a one-line fit statement for each source keeps the review honest about what each one can actually tell you.
Get an MT355 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
Name the internal records and outside sources available in your Unit 3 case, plus the assignment page and its rubric. Each source comes back judged for who made it, why, how recently and how well it fits your question, followed by what still needs primary research. Expect it in 24-48h; the 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.
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MT355 Unit 3 questions, answered
Why include a source only to set it aside?
Because showing why it does not fit is part of evaluation. The sample includes national swimming-ability surveys, explains that their wording varies too much to supply a local figure, and uses them only as context. A reader who knows those surveys exist would otherwise wonder why they were ignored. MT355 graders often credit the reasoning behind an exclusion as much as the inclusion of a strong source.
Can internal business records count as secondary research?
It can. Data counts as secondary whenever it was gathered for some other job, and an inquiry log or rental calendar exists for daily operations rather than for any study. Those records are often the most relevant evidence available, and the sample leads with them for that reason. Records from your own workplace can be described generally, with figures rounded and the rounding disclosed.
How many sources does the review need?
Enough to cover what the research question needs, commonly four to six in MT355 assignments, with at least one internal source. Depth of evaluation matters more than count; five sources assessed on origin, purpose, recency and fit outscore ten that are merely summarized. Your prompt may set a minimum, and that figure comes first.
Where can I find a free MT355 Unit 3 sample paper?
The complete MT355 Unit 3 secondary research review is on this page, weighing five sources before a swim school surveys adults.
Which finding changes a cost assumption in the MT355 Unit 3 sample?
Lane records show Riverside's evening lanes booked only 47 percent of hours, so an adult class there displaces less rental income.