Project_Library

ACADEMIES AUSTRALASIA MARKETING RESEARCH PROJECT DEDICATED STUDY LIBRARY TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 2 Problem Definition 2 Objective 2 Methodology 3 The research design 3 Data Types and Sources 4 Sample Plan 6 Primary Data: Results 7 Primary Data: Analysis 10 Secondary Data 11 Conclusion and Recommendation 12 References 12 Executive Summary Academies Australasia has two campuses in the heart of Sydney, New South Wales (George Street and Pitt Street). They also have campus in Leura in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) and in Barton (Australian Capital Territory). They are also considering expanding its operations to include Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. This marketing research project has the purpose of determine whether a dedicated study library at one of the Academies Australasia’s campus, located on George Street in Sydney-NSW will help its international students focus on their learning and improve their life quality. Problem Definition Even though the College Academies Australasia has a large room with computers and some tables to its international students to make researches or finalize their assignments, the College still has students studying to exams on corridors by the classroom doors, students using classrooms that are not supposed to be used to do assignments. With the purpose of sorting out this issue, a dedicated study library could provide a proper environment for studying. It could provide more comfort, raise commitment, improve performance and also integrate them into Australian Culture, as they will have more access to books, magazines and newspapers. Objective The main objective of the project is to determine whether a dedicated study library would facilitate international students on their daily studies and learning at Academies Australasia in Sydney. The report will be extremely important to support a decision making about establishing a dedicated study library in Academies Australasia. Methodology The research design “The design is the structure of any scientific work. It gives direction and systematizes the research. The method you choose will affect your results and how you conclude the findings. Most scientists are interested in getting reliable observations that can help the understanding of a phenomenon.”(1) There are two main approaches to a research problem: •Quantitative Research •Qualitative Research Qualitative Research is primarily subjective in approach as it seeks to understand human behavior and reasons for such behavior. Below few characteristics: • small number of respondents • not generalized to the whole population • statistical significance and confidence not calculated Researchers have the tendency to become subjectively immersed in the subject matter in this type of research method. In Quantitative Research, researchers tend to remain objectively separated from the subject matter. This is because Quantitative Research is objective in approach in the sense that it only seeks precise measurements and analysis of target concepts to answer his inquiry. Below some characteristics: • generally used to draw conclusions • tests a specific hypothesis • uses random sampling techniques so as to infer from the sample to the population • involves a large number of respondents • examples include surveys and questionnaires On this project a combination of a Quantitative Research and a Qualitative Research will be used to achieve the project’s objective. The research design will be a combination of Exploratory and Causal. Exploratory research will collect information of students about their experiences at Academies Australasia. It seeks to predict a future demand for a service. Causal Research seeks to find cause and effect relationship between variables. • Who' – International Students at Academies Australasia. • What' – To conduct a survey on whether a Dedicated Study Library on campus would benefit students. • When' – 2 week days at the end of May 2011, between 4:15pm and 5:15pm • Where' – In the main campus of Academies Australasia on George Street Sydney NSW 2000 Australia • Why' – To determine whether international students would benefit in their learning • How' – Randomly questioning 30 international students Data Types and Sources Primary and secondary data are significant inputs into researches and market analysis, they normally complement each other. Therefore, it is essential for researchers to know which type will be used and be aware of its characteristics, errors, issues, and problems that can arise in gathering and using both primary and secondary data. By definition, primary data is information that researchers collect first hand. Primary Data is concerned with demographic, socio-economic characteristics, psychological and lifestyle, characteristics, attitudes and opinions, motivation behavior, etc. To collect primary source, questionnaires will be asked to students of Academies Australasia randomly, as many as different nationalities as possible. Secondary data is information from secondary sources, i.e., not directly collected by the researchers; may include published or unpublished work based on research that relies on primary sources of any material other than primary sources used to prepare a written work. Sample Plan Quantity 32 students Male 41% Female 59% Characteristics different countries; day time and evening classes Countries Quantity Bangladesh 1 Brazil 9 Chile 2 Colombia 2 Germany 1 India 3 Indonesia 4 Japan 2 Nepal 5 Poland 1 Turkey 2 Primary Data: Results Primary Data: Analysis As the survey shows that 78% are between 26 to 35 years. People on this age, they are quite mature with concerns about future, improving their knowledge, quality of live and want to receive the best that a college can offer. Even though 59% of the students are studying at Academies Australasia for between 2 to 4 terms, the College might be losing some students for its competitors. It is shown that only 16% of students are studying for over 5 terms at ACA. This might be influenced by experience and satisfaction about the colleges and services. 71% agree in a way with the affirmation "Students at Academies Australasia don't have a proper place to study on the campus". Therefore 84% expect that the college should have one dedicated study library. As 78% of students have classes on the evenings, a library should be open until certain time that these students would use it for reasonable period. 65% of the population thinks that a library would improve their lives in a way. This shows how people are feeling about not only their studies but also their lives. 75% of the population usually go from work to college or vice versa, not having a place to go when they arrive to class before time. As improving their lives, 78% think that a library would improve their results at college throughout the terms. And if there was a library at the college, 46% would go every week (at least once a week). Secondary Data Australian Bureau of Statistics provides us only general information about habits in Australia. However, these data are important to have an understanding and an idea of what happens in Sydney. The most relevant information for this project is: "the highest attendance rates for libraries were reported by people who: were born overseas in the main English speaking countries (42%)". By assumption, we could say that people born overseas in non-english-speaking countries also in huge numbers in Sydney may have high attendance in library. "1. Library Users - General Social Survey: Summary of Results, Australia 2006 • 46% of Australians aged over 18 years visited a library in 2006. • Libraries were the second most attended cultural venue or event in 2006. The most popular cultural and leisure activities enjoyed by people aged 18 years and over in 2006 were: going to the movies (69% of persons when reporting all activities enjoyed over a 12 month period); visiting libraries (46% of persons); visiting zoological parks and aquariums (41%); and visiting botanic gardens (40%). 2. Visits to Libraries - Attendance at Selected Cultural Venues and Events, Australia 2005-2006 • 5.5 million people (34% of Australians aged 15 and over) visited a library in 2005-06. • Almost two-thirds (65%) of those who had visited a library during the 12-month period had visited more than 6 times during that period, including 25% who had visited more than 20 times. • While people in most states and territories had attendance rates similar to the national average (34%), the rates were somewhat higher for people in South Australia (40%) and in Western Australia (37%). Attendance rates were slightly higher for residents in the six state capital cities (35%) than in the rest of Australia (33%). • Females were more likely than males to visit a library - their attendance rate was 41%, compared with 27% for males. Large differences between the attendance rates for females and males were evident for most age groups except 75 years and over. • The highest attendance rates for libraries were reported by people who: were born overseas in the main English-speaking countries (42%), were unemployed (48%) or working part-time (43%), had graduate diplomas and certificates (51%), postgraduate degrees (50%) or bachelor degrees (45%)" (2) Conclusion and Recommendation According to the results of this project, based on primary and secondary data, the implementation of a dedicated study library at Academies Australasia is viable. It is very clear that international students will daily use this facility and would improve their academies results and their day-by-day life. References (1) http://www.experiment-resources.com/research-designs.html (2) Australian Bureau of Statistics, www.abs.gov.au http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-934872/Primary-and-secondary-data-concepts.html