UNISA Bureau of Market Research

The Bureau of Market Research (BMR) is a research unit of the University of South Africa’s College of Economic and Management Sciences (CEMS).  The BMR undertakes basic socioeconomic research as well as commissioned research projects over a wide field.  The basic research reports are published in the BMR’s four research divisions namely:

• Behavioural and Communication research
• Demographic research
• Economic research
• Household Wealth research

From time to time multi-disciplinary reports are published by the four divisions conducting joint research on business and consumer-related issues.  Over the years, the BMR has managed a large number of individual projects of a value exceeding R1 million.

As part of Unisa, the BMR subscribes to Unisa’s empowerment policies and has employed a number of staff in accordance with these policies.  The BMR also makes use of people in disadvantaged communities to assist with and carry out surveys.  Capacity building due to undertakings of the BMR has so far benefited over a thousand people in disadvantaged communities across the country.

Master’s and doctoral students are also assisted by BMR staff members who act as supervisors, study leaders and examiners in their field of expertise.

Furthermore the BMR:

• Conducts national and regional interviewer-administrated personal in-house and business surveys in urban and rural residential areas as well as at formal and informal businesses.
• Conducts landline telephone and computer-aided telephone (CATI) interviews with households and businesses.
• Manages and administrates self-administrated e-mail and Web-based surveys and conducts focus group discussions.
• Edits, captures, codes, cleans and verifies data in accordance with its quality standards.
• Analyses/interprets data as part of its reporting responsibilities towards research users.
• Presents research findings in hardcopy, electronic and/or PowerPoint presentation format.