6th

November

14

Team Three:

University Library Services in London

Student Names:
Dinmukhammed Syzdykov w14254776
Paige Glass w1425600
Paulina Staniecka w1517942
Leah Kossak w1521701
Svenja Schwarz w1339548

U n i v e r s i t y o f W e s t m i n s t e r C W 2 M a r k e t i n g R e s e a r c h M K M T 5 0 2
A n n a Z a c h a r o w i c h W o r d C o u n t : 1 , 8 8 1

MARKET RESEARCH PROPOSAL

CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
3. RESEARCH DESIGN OVERVIEW
4. SECONDARY DATA RESEARCH
1. Purpose
2. Procedures
5. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
1. Purpose
2. Sampling
3. Procedures
6. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
1. Purpose
2. Procedures
3. Population and Sampling
7. REPORTING
8. TIMING
9. FEES

1.

INTRODUCTION

The University of Westminster has four campuses across central London (Marylebone,
Cavendish, Regent Street and Great Titchfield Street). The university is keen to improve its
study facilities in the libraries across all four campuses.
The marketing problem the University of Westminster is facing is the need for improvements in
the library study facilitates and services for university students in central London.
The marketing decision is to invest in these library facilities, and to therefore undertake research
into students opinions and expectations on University of Westminsters library services.
2.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1. To understand the different study facilities in the library provision that are available to
students across all four university campuses (Marylebone, Cavendish, Regent Street and
Great Titchfield Street).
1.1. To explore the uses of these facilities in terms of frequency of use, study areas (group
work areas, silent study and the study rooms for booking) IT facilities and the librarians
on duty.
2. To quantify the use of the library by students in terms of how often they visit, borrow and use
library search.
2.1. To explore what is the most popular method of library search and why.
2.2. To assess whether the libraries are meeting the needs of students in terms of books
and e-books, and whether students feel there are enough resources available to them.
3. To understand the expectations of university students in terms of study facilities in the library
provision.
3.1. To determine to what extent the current libraries are meeting these expectations.
(likes/dislikes)
4. To determine specifically what students like and dislike about the current library services.
5. To determine which library is most successful in terms of use and meeting student
expectation.
6. To investigate any specific requirements that students may have, and to what extent the
library facilities and services are catering to these.
3.

RESEARCH DESIGN OVERVIEW

We propose to undertake secondary data research, produce a questionnaire and conduct focus
group sessions.
4.

SECONDARY DATA RESEARCH

4.1. Purpose

Research of secondary data will be carried out to clarify the objectives and to draw lines of
inquiry for further research. The desk research will gather information on facilities and services
provided, previous research data collections and all improvements introduced. This data will
provide information on the standards of facilities and services currently provided. By reviewing
previous surveys and collected data we will be able to investigate improvements suggested by
the library users.
The secondary data research will aim to achieve and answer the following:

Number of library users

Current opening times and convenient times for users

Available facilities and services

Users attitude towards offered facilities and services

Suggestions and improvements

4.2. Procedures
The research will begin by reviewing the University of Westminster Library and IT Webpage.
This will allow us to find information on research and action undertaken in previous years. We
will research and analyse reports produced on the subject.
5.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
5.1. Purpose

The main purpose of the qualitative research is to gain deep understanding of library users
attitudes toward facilities and services provided by University of Westminster libraries. The aim
is to explore the nature of needs and expectations towards University libraries.
The qualitative research will look at the following:

What library facilities and services are the users aware of

Are the current facilities and services provided up to the users requirements

What do the users like and dislike about the facilities and services provided

What improvements the users would like to see and how that would affect their
attendance frequency

5.2. Sampling
We propose to use a sample of:
Group of 40 students (10 students per session per campus)
Students only
Light and heavy users
Mix of males and females (aim for 20/20 with a margin or error of 5)
5.3. Procedures

Focus groups will first be introduced to all current facilities and services provided by the libraries
to ensure they have up to date knowledge of the library. We will use a skilled qualitative
moderator to host the session. Libraries at all campuses will be visited to experience the
facilities and services available for the library users. This method will help to understand the
standards of current facilities and services but will also allow the thinking/introducing of potential
improvements. With the permission of participants we will record the sessions.
6.

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
6.1. Purpose

The objectives of quantitative data are to collect numerical data, which will be mathematically
analysed to present phenomena of the research. We propose to collect numerical data via an
administered questionnaire.
6.2. Population and Sampling
This section describes the population used in the study and the process that will be utilized in
selecting a sample. The population is the entire group of individuals or elements who meet the
sampling criteria. For our study the population are students of the University of Westminster.
We propose to sample on:

We will aim for 400 participants (100 per campus)

Students only

Mixture of males and females (aim for 20/20 with a margin of error of 5)

Part-time and Full-time University of Westminster students

Following the stated introduction, this section also provides some demographic information
regarding the study population and sample. As most surveys include at least several
demographic points, this section provides the demographic composition of the respondents.
Information such as gender, age and position are usually reported in this section.
Therefore the questionnaire is just for students of these four campuses (Marylebone,
Cavendish, Regent Street, and Great Titchfield Street) at the University of Westminster. The
mixed male and female students are enrolled as Part-time or Full-time students.
6.3. Procedures
The questionnaire will be developed by our research team, tested on a small sample
and approved by a project manager. The questionnaire will contain ten questions. Participants
will be selected via convenience sampling, and research teams will base themselves at the
main reception of these four university campuses. Collected data will be in a formal report
containing numerical data presented in percentages.
7.

REPORTING

Once the quantitative research has been completed, the date will be collected to produce a set
of results and for analysis to take place. For the qualitative research, the data collected will be
applied to a designed scheme for the purposes of analysis. From the analysis of the results
collected conclusions will be drawn and recommendations made in the form of presentation and
the production of a detailed report.
8.

TIMING

The research project is expected to take a total of ten weeks; the table below provides a
breakdown of the times for the various elements of the research project. Weekly progress
reports will be provided, and amendments can be made to the timings of the project should this
be required.

9.

FEES

The following fees are simply a guideline and based on assumptions of the cost of various
research methods and the suggested methods in the proposal, and therefore may need to be
amended.
Activity

Cost

Total

Secondary data collection (desk

research)

30 hours desk research at 50 per

hour
50 x 30= 1500

1500

Qualitative research (focus groups)

4 focus groups at 2000 each

2000 x 4 = 8000

8000

Quantitative research (administered

questionnaire)

35 hours per week per interviewer at

6.50 per hour
(8 interviewers)
50 incentive
= 500

1870

Total:
11,370

Discussion Topics:
Key questions
a) What students expect from their library facilities and services.
b) How students feel about the library services provided at their campus.
1) Introduction
Respondent gender, course of study, campus based on, home country/state,
background on family, interests, organizations part of, likes/dislikes.
2) Expectations
a) Services: IT, laptop loans, printers, scanners, online library source, access to books.
b) Facilities: private study rooms, computer labs, quiet study/group study.
3) Experiences
a) Quiet/loud.
b) IT: un/helpful.
c) Space for group/individual study.
d) Preference of seating: couches, tables, and/or individual desks.
e) Different campuses: preference or none.
f)

Books: range/availability/access/online/in person.

4) Closing
a) Can we please summarise the key areas?
b) Is there anything not covered?
c) Thank you for your time and participation.

This Questionnaire is for New Students Only

Please fill in this short questionnaire; it will take no more than 5 minutes. When completed
please deposit the questionnaire in the box labelled library survey at main reception. To be in
with a chance of WINNING A 50 BOOK VOUCHER to be spent at University bookshops, fill in
your email at the bottom of the questionnaire.
1. When would you prefer to use the library? (Please tick the answer)
o Morning (before 12am)
o Afternoon (12am-5pm)
o Evening (5pm-10pm)
o Night (10pm-8am)
2. How often do you intend to visit the library? (Please tick the answer)
o Daily
o Weekly
o Monthly
o Less than once a month
o Only during exam time
o Never
3. How important are the following facilities and services in the library? (Please tick only
once for each facility)
Facility:

Very
important

Important Unimportant Not

Applicable

Computers
Printers/Scanners
Wi-Fi connection
Laptop Loan Services
Book Range
Online Library Search
Book Loan-Self Services
Individual Study Palace
Group Study Place
Online Group Study Room Booking
Service

4. What library facility do you plan on using the most? (Please rate from 1 to 5, where 1
is the least preferred and 5 is the most preferred)
Facility:
Study Space
Computer Rooms
Private Study Rooms
Books
Printers/Scanners

Rating:
12345
12345
12345
12345
12345

5. Which of listed below services in the most important to you? (Please tick)
o Printing/Scanning
o Computers
o Wi-Fi connection
o Library Online Services
o Laptop Loans
o Book Loan-Self Service
o Librarians help and advice
6. What other facilities would you like to see in the library? (Please write down the
answer)

7. What is your gender? (Please tick)

o Male
o Female
8. Are you a full time or part time student? (Please tick)
o Part-time
o Full-time
9. At what campus are you mainly based? (Please tick)
o Marylebone
o Cavendish
o Regent Street
o Great Titchfield Street
Thank you for taking the time to fill in this short questionnaire. To be in with a chance of winning,
please write your email in the line below.
Email:_________________________________________________________

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EVIDENCE OF GROUP / TEAM WORK

Worked in the Google Docs, so everyone could access the document anytime.

Usually had meetings before and after seminars but decided to meet in the library a few days
before the submission
C Confirmed booking
Tuesday 4 November 2014
11:00 to 13:00
Luxborough Building, L193G - Marylebone Library Group Study Room 6
Booking reference and notes
Marketing Reaseach
Team 3 Meeting
Contacts
Kossak,Leah (15217013)
Booked by 15217013 on Thursday 30 October 2014 at 3:59 pm
Event id 39493

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