There is certainly a market for a lower-cost alternative to the many glossy textbooks on marketing research. This book was obviously intended to close this gap. It gives a good overview of the field at the level of an introductory course, from research design and measurement issues to data analysis, hypothesis testing, and the presentation of reports. It contains 16 short cases on various topics of marketing research, and is complemented by a CD-ROM with data files pertaining to these cases. The files are mainly in the SPSS format, one of the most widely used software packages for statistical analysis which is fully compatible with other applications under Windows. The book as such is a useful introduction for undergraduate classes or for self-study, and the research cases are valuable and original learning tools. At a lower price than most competitors, this no-frills book without color illustrations largely fulfills the same purpose as many other textbooks.

So far so good, one would say -- were it not for the numerous typographical mistakes, particularly in the chapters on sampling methods and on data analysis. The text was evidently written in Word and simply reproduced by the printing house. But there was no thorough editing. Since Word comes with a formula editor, it is regrettable that most formulas on pp. 169ff., 229 etc., contain typos, from missing equation signs to missing sigmas, misplaced subscripts, etc. At least these pages make little sense. It is hoped that a future edition of this otherwise useful textbook will correct these flaws.