Every major business or marketing decision — launching a product, entering a new market, adjusting a price — is only as strong as the research behind it. This course, delivered by the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy, gives a practical look at how solid business and marketing research is actually planned, run, and used to support real decisions.

Rather than starting from dry definitions, the course walks through the six-step research process end to end — from spotting the right problem to presenting findings that stakeholders can act on — while distinguishing between research aimed at diagnosing a problem and research aimed at solving one.

The course is especially useful for current staff and aspiring professionals in the research field, as well as anyone responsible for commissioning or running business and marketing studies.

Target Audience

• Current and prospective employees in business and marketing research.
• Researchers working within institutions, public service, and non-governmental sectors.
• Managers who commission or use business and marketing research services.

By the End of the Program, Participants Will Be Able To:

• Distinguish between problem-identification research and problem-solving research.
• Walk through the six-step framework for conducting business and marketing research.
• Explain how organizations decide whether to commission business or marketing research.
• Compare research suppliers, from internal teams to full-service or limited-service firms.
• Recognize the career paths, skills, and ethical responsibilities within the research field.

Module 1: Defining and Classifying Business and Marketing Research

• What counts as business and marketing research
• Classifying research by purpose and approach
• Problem-identification research versus problem-solving research

Module 2: The Six-Step Research Process

• Step 1: Defining the problem
• Step 2: Developing an approach to the problem
• Step 3: Designing the research
• Step 4: Fieldwork and data collection
• Step 5: Data preparation and analysis
• Step 6: Report preparation and presentation

Module 3: Research's Role in Strategic Decisions

• Connecting research findings to strategic decision-making
• Business and marketing research in a competitive environment
• Deciding whether to commission research at all

Module 4: The Research Industry and Its Suppliers

• Understanding the structure of the research industry
• Internal versus external, full-service versus limited-service providers
• Criteria for selecting the right research provider

Module 5: Careers and Ethics in Research

• Career paths available in business and marketing research
• Skills and backgrounds needed to succeed
• Ethical responsibilities of researchers toward stakeholders and the project