By Diahanna Post, lecturer in the M.S. in Applied Analytics program, School of Professional Studies
This past spring, Columbia’s M.S. in Applied Analytics program launched the new elective course, Market Research, which I recently developed and taught. I have spent many years working in a subfield of market research related to media measurement at Nielsen, a company that provides the TV ratings that are used to trade $60 billion in U.S. television advertising annually. As the leader of the data science and analytics team that supports the panel-based measurement for Nielsen ratings, I see how important it is for us to have truly representative panels. The television viewing data feeds into artificial intelligence and machine learning models that other data science teams at Nielsen use to integrate the information from 75 million smart TVs and cable/satellite set-top boxes.
At its core, market research is about collecting data to understand a particular goal. The skills needed for this overlap to some degree with big data techniques, but they have some special considerations of their own. For example, you must start by crafting a solid question defining the data that you want to gather. In contrast, sometimes in analytics, you can have access to a large dataset and then ask, “What can we create from this?” Market research has to flow the other way.
The new course is designed to be practical and useful within an organizational context. It provides an end-to-end understanding of how to conduct market research within an organization. Upon completion of the class, students have a solid playbook for undertaking a customer segmentation exercise, knowing when to consult with another company, and how to report the results.
Throughout the first semester the course was offered, students worked to develop a comprehensive market research plan for a topic of their choosing. The topics were varied and broad, from smart shipping containers in ocean trading to sunscreen products for men. Students then completed a simulation of marketing in an international bicycle manufacturing firm to develop a better understanding of the role that research plays in the marketing process. They demonstrated tremendous enthusiasm and appreciated stepping back from the number-crunching to assess the bigger picture and execute a plan. Ultimately, the skills that were considered foundational years ago, such as honing clear research questions and conducting secondary research, will never go out of style.
About the Author
Diahanna Post is a lecturer in the Master of Science in Applied Analytics program at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies. She graduated with her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Diahanna currently serves as an SVP of Data Science and Analytics at Nielsen and has been recognized for her work there, winning the prestigious Arthur C. Nielsen Award in 2022.
About the Program
The Master of Science in Applied Analytics program in the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University prepares students with the practical data and leadership skills to drive decision-making in an organization. Their courses are taught by experienced practitioners who are leaders in the field.
