If you search for market(ing) research books on Google or Amazon, you will find that there is no shortage of such books. However, this book differs in many important ways:

• This book is a bridge between the theory of conducting quantitative research and its execution, using the market research process as a framework. We discuss market research, starting off by identifying the research question, designing the data collection process, collecting, and describing data. We also introduce essential data analysis techniques and the basics of communicating the results, including a discussion on ethics. Each chapter on quantitative methods describes key theoretical choices and how these are executed in SPSS. Unlike most other books, we do not discuss theory or application, but link the two.
• This is a book for non-technical readers! All chapters are written in an accessible and comprehensive way so that readers without a profound background in statistics can also understand the introduced data analysis methods. Each chapter on research methods includes examples to help the reader gain a hands-on feeling for the technique. Each chapter concludes with an illustrated case that demonstrates the application of a quantitative method.
• To facilitate learning, we use a single case study throughout the book. This case deals with a customer survey of a fictitious company called Oddjob Airways but with a real website (surely familiar to those who have seen the James Bond movie Goldfinger!). We also provide additional end-of-chapter cases, including different datasets, thus allowing the readers to practice what they have learnt. Other pedagogical features, such as keywords, examples, and end-of-chapter questions, support the contents.
• This book is concise, focusing on the most important aspects that a market researcher, or manager interpreting market research, should know.
• The book makes use of the Springer Multimedia App, which allows you to scan an image tagged with the Play Button and stream videos directly to your mobile device. The App allows saving the documents on your device and keeps track of your 50 most recently accessed media. This unique merger of offline and online content offers readers a broad spectrum of additional and readily accessible information. You can download the Springer Multimedia App from the Apple App Store or from Google Play.
• Lastly, we have set up a Facebook page called Market Research: The Process, Data, and Methods. This page provides a platform for discussions and the exchange of market research ideas.

We’ve revised the third edition thoroughly. Some of the major changes in the third edition are:

• The third edition comes in a new design template, which allowed us to implement further pedagogical elements, which allow highlighting excurses, tips, case studies, and review questions. We also organized chapters in a more reader-friendly way, with more sections to facilitate navigation.
• Learning market research vocabulary is essential for understanding the topic. We therefore added a glossary in which we define each keyword. Descriptions offer further information on selected topics.
• To facilitate learning, the third edition uses a single case study throughout the book. This case deals with a customer survey of a fictitious company called Oddjob Airways. All illustrations of statistical methods draw on this one example.
• We fully revised the sections on survey design, which now covers the latest research on survey administration (e.g., smartphones and tablets), item generation (e.g., item content and wording), and the properties of different scale types.
• The third edition contains substantial new material to reflect the latest research on each topic. There is additional content in the context of regression analysis (e.g., model selection via information criteria), factor analysis (e.g., further details on the similarities and differences between principal component analysis and principal axis factoring), cluster analysis (e.g., sample size recommendations), results communication (e.g., how to present statistical data), and many more.
• All the examples have been updated and now use SPSS 25. All the material reflects this new version of the program.

Enjoy!