True/False Questions

1. Work orientation is an interviewer characteristic described as "works hard and sees work as more than a job, but an expression of oneself."

True (easy, page 387)

2. "Forms good team relationships with others" describes the interviewer characteristic of aptitude.

False (moderate, page 387)

3. Third ear is the interviewer characteristic described as "has a natural affinity for telephone research—enjoys collecting opinions via the telephone."

False (moderate, page 387)

4. Pride is an interviewer characteristic described as "is positive, quality conscious, and likes being recognized for a job well done."

True (moderate, page 387)

5. "Stays focused on a task and completes it" describes the interviewer characteristic of discipline.

True (moderate, page 387)

6. Pride is the interviewer characteristic described as "empathizes with a respondent and tailors the presentation accordingly."

False (moderate, page 387)

7. Command is an interviewer characteristic described as "takes charge and can turn refusals around by conveying the purchase of the survey and its importance."

True (easy, page 387)

8. "Gets people to like him or her quickly and convinces people to cooperate who might not otherwise respond" describes the interviewer characteristic of ethics.

False (moderate, page 387)

9. Aptitude is the interviewer characteristic described as "is honest and behaves ethically at all times."

False (moderate, page 387)

10. According to the text, field work is the first step in the marketing research process.

False (moderate, page 388)

11. Field work is the step in the research process immediately after developing an approach to the problem.

False (easy, page 388)

12. An observer counting customers in a particular section of a store is an example of a field worker.

True (moderate, page 389)

13. The first step in the field work process is the selection of field workers.

True (moderate, page 390)

14. Researchers have one choice for collecting their data: hire a data collection agency.

False (moderate, page 390)

15. Field workers who collect data typically have research backgrounds and extensive training.

False (moderate, page 390)

16. A researcher should decide what characteristics the field workers should have when selecting field workers.

True (moderate, page 390)

17. To the extent possible, interviewers should be selected to emphasize a higher income class than respondents, since this increases the probability of a successful interview.

False (moderate, page 390)

18. According to the text, the typical interviewer is a single woman aged 18 to 34, with an above-average education and an above-average household income.

False (moderate, page 391)

19. Field workers are generally paid an hourly rate or on a per-interview basis.

False (easy, page 391)

20. Validating the interview is recognized as a phase of the interviewing process.

False (difficult, page 391)

21. A motivational technique used when asking survey questions to induce the respondents to enlarge on, clarify, or explain their answers and to help the respondents focus on the specific content of the interview is called probing.

True (moderate, page 392)

22. All interviewers should use the same format and conventions to record the interviews, but should alter their way of editing completed interviews to ensure variety and coverage.

False (moderate, page 392)

23. Sampling helps respondents focus on the specific content of the interview and provide only relevant information.

False (moderate, page 392)

24. The general rule for recording answers to unstructured questions is to record the responses verbatim.

True (moderate, page 392)

25. Supervision of field workers involves coding of questionnaires.

False (moderate, page 392)

26. To understand the interviewers' problems, the supervisors should do some interviewing.

True (moderate, page 392)

27. An important aspect of supervision is sampling control, which attempts to ensure that the interviewers are strictly following the sampling plan rather than selecting sampling units based on convenience or accessibility.

True (moderate, page 394)

28. According to the text, interviewer cheating can be minimized through pretesting of the questionnaires.

False (moderate, page 394)

29. Central office control involves tabulating the responses to important demographic characteristics and key questions.

True (moderate, page 394)

30. Coding of field work means verifying that field workers are submitting authentic interviews.

False (moderate, page 394)

31. To validate the study, the supervisors call 1 percent to 10 percent of the respondents to inquire whether the field workers actually conducted the interviews.

False (moderate, page 394)

32. The supervisor should ask a complex and sensitive survey question when validating an interview with a respondent.

False (moderate, page 394)

33. When evaluating field workers, the interviewer's time should be broken down into actual interviewing, travel, and administration.

True (easy, page 395)

34. To evaluate interviewers on the quality of interviewing, the supervisor must directly observe the interviewing process.

True (moderate, page 395)

35. For structured questions, frequent occurrence of nonresponse items is an indicator that should be used to evaluate an interviewer on the quality of interviewing.

False (difficult, page 395)

Multiple Choice

36. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text as a characteristic of an outstanding interviewer?

a. ability to woo

b. third ear

c. ethics

d. physically attractive (moderate, page 387)

e. command

37. ______________ is an interviewer characteristic described as "works hard and sees work as more than a job, but an expression of oneself."

a. Work orientation (easy, page 387)

b. Aptitude

c. Third ear

d. Ability to woo

e. expressiveness

38. "Forms good team relationships with others" describes the interviewer characteristic of ______________.

a. aptitude

b. teamwork (easy, page 387)

c. command

d. ethics

e. third ear

39. Which of the following interviewer characteristics is described as "has a natural affinity for telephone research—enjoys collecting opinions via the telephone"?

a. pride

b. third ear

c. aptitude (moderate, page 387)

d. ability to woo

e. work orientation

40. ______________ is an interviewer characteristic described as "is positive, quality conscious, and likes being recognized for a job well done."

a. Aptitude

b. Pride (moderate, page 387)

c. Discipline

d. Command

e. teamwork

41. "Stays focused on a task and completes it" describes the interviewer characteristic of ______________.

a. aptitude

b. third ear

c. discipline (moderate, page 387)

d. ethics

e. work orientation

42. Which of the following interviewer characteristics is described as "empathizes with a respondent and tailors the presentation accordingly"?

a. pride

b. aptitude

c. command

d. third ear (moderate, page 387)

e. ethics

43. ______________ is an interviewer characteristic described as "takes charge and can turn refusals around by conveying the purchase of the survey and its importance."

a. Third ear

b. Pride

c. Ethics

d. Command (easy, page 387)

e. Work orientation

44. "Gets people to like him or her quickly and convinces people to cooperate who might not otherwise respond" describes the interviewer characteristic of ______________.

a. work orientation

b. pride

c. ability to woo (moderate, page 387)

d. ethics

e. command

45. Which of the following interviewer characteristics is described as "is honest and behaves ethically at all times"?

a. aptitude

b. price

c. third ear

d. ethics (easy, page 387)

e. work orientation

46. According to the text, field work is the ______________ in the marketing research process.

a. first step

b. second step

c. third step

d. fourth step (moderate, page 388)

e. fifth step

47. Which of the following individuals is NOT recognized as a field worker?

a. an interviewer intercepting shoppers in a mall

b. a project director conducting a pretest on a questionnaire recently designed (difficult, page 389)

c. a telephone interviewer calling from a central location

d. an observer counting customers in a particular section of a store

e. a worker mailing questionnaires from an office

48. All of the following are mentioned in the text as elements related to the field work process EXCEPT:

a. the selection of field workers.

b. the validation of field work.

c. the evaluation of field workers.

d. the training and supervision of field workers.

e. All of the mentioned elements are related to the field work process. (difficult, page 390)

49. The first step in the field work process is _______________.

a. the selection of field workers (moderate, page 390)

b. the training of field workers

c. the supervision of field workers

d. the evaluation of field workers

e. the validation of field workers

50. A researcher should implement all of the following steps when selecting field workers EXCEPT:

a. develop job specification for the project.

b. decide what characteristics the field workers should have.

c. recruit appropriate individuals.

d. all of the mentioned steps should be followed when selecting field workers. (difficult, page 390)

e. a and b only

51. To the extent possible, interviewers should be selected _______________ since this increases the probability of a successful interview.

a. to emphasize a higher income class than respondents

b. to match respondents' demographics (difficult, page 390)

c. to emphasize a lower income class than respondents

d. based primarily on their availability

e. based on height and weight tables

52. According to the text, the typical interviewer is a _____________, with an above-average education and an above-average household income.

a. single woman aged 18 to 34

b. single woman aged 35 to 54

c. married woman aged 18 to 34

d. married woman aged 35 to 54 (difficult, page 391)

e. senior woman aged 55 to 65

53. Which of the following is NOT recognized as a phase of the interviewing process?

a. validating the interview (moderate, page 391)

b. making the initial contact

c. asking the questions

d. recording the answers

e. probing

54. A motivational technique used when asking survey questions to induce the respondents to enlarge on, clarify, or explain their answers and to help the respondents focus on the specific content of the interview is called ______________.

a. probing (moderate, page 392)

b. sampling

c. factoring

d. recording

e. selecting

55. ______________ helps respondents focus on the specific content of the interview and provide only relevant information.

a. Sampling

b. Factoring

c. Probing (moderate, page 392)

d. Recording

e. Selecting

56. Commonly used problems include all of the following questions EXCEPT:

a. "Any others?"

b. "Which of the following best describes your total annual household income?" (moderate, page 392)

c. "Anything else?"

d. "Could you tell me more about your thinking on that?"

e. b and c

57. The general rule for recording answers to unstructured questions is to ______________.

a. summarize the responses

b. record the responses verbatim (moderate, page 392)

c. filter the responses

d. interpret the responses

e. select the responses

58. Supervision of field workers involves all of the following EXCEPT:

a. quality control and editing.

b. sampling control.

c. central office control.

d. coding of questionnaires. (moderate, page 392)

e. control of cheating.

59. To understand the interviewers' problems, the supervisors should ______________.

a. revise the questionnaire

b. do some interviewing (moderate, page 392)

c. replace the interviewer

d. interview the interviewer

e. do secondary data analysis

60. An important aspect of supervision is ______________, which attempts to insure that the interviewers are strictly following the sampling plan rather than selecting sampling units based on convenience or accessibility.

a. questionnaire design

b. sequential coding

c. sampling control (moderate, page 392)

d. pretesting

e. insurance

61. To control the problems of interviewers not strictly following the sampling plan, supervisors should keep daily records of all of the following EXCEPT:

a. the number of calls made.

b. the number of not-at-homes.

c. the number of refusals.

d. supervisors should keep daily records of all of the selections to control interviewers. (difficult, page 394)

e. the number of completed interviews for each interviewer.

62. According to the text, interviewer cheating can be minimized through all of the following EXCEPT:

a. proper training.

b. pretesting of questionnaires. (difficult, page 394)

c. proper supervision.

d. validation of field work.

e. a and b

63. ______________ involves tabulating the responses to important demographic characteristics and key questions.

a. Central office control (moderate, page 394)

b. Sampling control

c. Control of cheating

d. Questionnaire pretesting

e. Cross-tabulation

64. ______________ of field work means verifying that field workers are submitting authentic interviews.

a. Verification

b. Validation (moderate, page 394)

c. Pretesting

d. Coding

e. Selection

65. To validate the study, the supervisors call ______________ of the respondents to inquire whether the field workers actually conducted the interviews.

a. 1 percent to 10 percent

b. 10 percent to 25 percent (moderate, page 394)

c. 25 percent to 40 percent

d. 40 percent to 49 percent

e. 50 percent

66. Which of the following types of questions should the supervisor NOT ask when validating an interview with a respondent?

a. length of the interview

b. a complex and sensitive survey question (difficult, page 394)

c. reaction to the interviewer

d. basic demographic data

e. quality of the interview

67. When evaluating field workers, the interviewer's time should be broken down into all of the following categories EXCEPT:

a. actual interviewing.

b. travel.

c. administration.

d. All of the selections are categories into which an interviewer's time should be itemized. (moderate, page 395)

e. b and c

68. To evaluate interviewers on the quality of interviewing, the supervisor ______________.

a. should ask other interviewers about the interviewer in question

b. must directly observe the interviewing process (difficult, page 395)

c. should ask the respondent about the qualities of the interviewer in question

d. should use a pretested questionnaire to evaluate the interviewer

e. should ask permission of the interviewer

69. Which of the following is NOT an indicator that should be used to evaluate an interviewer on the quality of interviewing?

a. The recorded data are legible.

b. All instructions, including skip patterns, are followed.

c. The answers to unstructured questions are recorded verbatim.

d. For structured questions, item nonresponse occurs frequently. (difficult, page 395)

e. The answers to unstructured questions are meaningful and complete enough to be coded.

70. All of the following are mentioned in the text as indicators that should be used to evaluate interviewers on the quality of interviewing EXCEPT:

a) the answers to unstructured questions are summarized. (difficult, page 395)

b) for structured questions, item nonresponse occurs infrequently.

c) the recorded data are legible.

d) all instructions, including skip patterns, are followed.

e) a and b

71. The evaluation of field workers should be based on which of the following criteria?

a) quantity

b) quality

c) task conditions

d) all of the above

e) a and b only (difficult, page 395)

72. The Internet can be a good supplementary tool for training and supervising field workers in each of the following ways EXCEPT:

a) personal training programs can be complemented.

b) communication between supervisors and interviewers enhances supervision.

c) central office control is strengthened by being able to post progress reports on a secured web site.

d) validation of field work can be easily accomplished using short e-mails.

e) selection of field workers is streamlined. (difficult, page 396)

73. Conditions of conducting field work in international marketing research include _______________.

a) minimal training of overseas field workers is all that is required for success.

b) selecting sampling units is done with stricter adherence to the sampling plan than in the US.

c) cheating by field workers is less of a problem.

d) sending expatriates to collect data overseas is frequently done.

e) Local field work agencies are unavailable in many countries. (moderate page 397)

74. Researchers and field workers can make respondents feel comfortable by _______________.

a) entertaining them

b) providing adequate information about the project

c) addressing questions of respondents

d) all the above

e) b and c only (difficult, page 398)

75. ____________ is a new computer technology allowing marketing research companies using telephone surveys to double their call attempts.

a) Random digit dialing

b) Stochastic dialing

c) Ready-reference dialing

d) Total dialing

e) Predictive dialing (difficult, page 398)

Essay Questions

76. In a short essay, discuss the process of selecting qualified field workers.

Answer

The first step in the field work process is the selection of field workers. The researcher should: (1) develop job specifications for the project, taking into account the mode of data collection; (2) decide what characteristics the field workers should have; and (3) recruit appropriate individuals. Interviewers' background characteristics, opinions, perceptions, expectations, and attitudes can affect the responses they elicit. To the extent possible, interviewers should be selected to match respondents' demographic characteristics since this increases the probability of a successful interview. The job requirements will also vary with the nature of the problem and the type of data collection method. However, some general qualifications of field workers include work orientation, teamwork, aptitude, pride, discipline, third ear, command, the ability to woo, and ethics. Interviewers with these qualifications will have a high likelihood of being successful in conducting the field work.

(moderate, page 390)

77. In a short essay, describe the process of properly training field workers. Next, list and discuss the five phases of the interviewing process.

Answer

Training field workers is critical to the quality of the data collected. Training may be conducted in person at a central location, or, if the interviewers are geographically dispersed, by mail. Training ensures that all interviewers administer the questionnaire in the same manner so that the data can be collected uniformly. Training should cover all phases of the interviewing process: making the initial contact, asking the questions, probing, recording the answers, and terminating the interview.

a. The initial contact can result in the cooperation or the loss of potential respondents. Interviewers should be trained to make opening remarks that will convince potential respondents that their participation is important.

b. Asking questions is an art. Even a slight change in wording, sequence, or manner in which a question is asked can distort its meaning and bias the response. Training in asking questions can yield high dividends by eliminating potential sources of bias.

c. Probing is intended to motivate respondents to elaborate, clarify, or explain their answers. Probing also helps respondents focus on the specific content of the interview and provide only relevant information. Probing should not introduce any bias.

d. Although recording respondent answers seems simple, several mistakes are common. All interviewers should use the same format and conventions to record the interviews and edit completed interviews. While the rules for recording answers to structured questions vary with each questionnaire, the general rule is to check the box that reflects the respondent's answer. The general rule for recording answers to unstructured questions is to record the responses verbatim.

e. Before terminating the interview,the interviewer should answer the respondent's questions about the project. The respondent should be left with a positive feeling about the interview. It is important to thank respondents and express appreciation for their participation.

(difficult, pages 391-392)

78. In a short essay, discuss the importance of properly supervising field workers and list and discuss the four elements of field worker supervision.

Answer

Supervision of field workers means making sure that they are following the procedures and techniques in which they were trained. Supervision involves quality control and editing, sample control, control of cheating, and central office control.

a. Quality control of field workers requires checking to see if the field procedures are being properly implemented. If any problems are detected, the supervisor should discuss them with the field workers and provide additional training if necessary. To understand the interviewers' problems, the supervisors should also do some interviewing.

b. An important aspect of supervision is sampling control,which attempts to ensure that the interviewers are strictly following the sampling plan rather than selecting sampling units based on convenience or accessibility. To control these problems, supervisors should keep daily records of the number of calls made, the number of not-at-homes, the number of refusals, the number of completed interviews for each interviewer, and the total of all interviewers under their control.

c. Cheating involves falsifying part of a question or the entire questionnaire. An interviewer may falsify part of an answer to make it acceptable or may fake answers. The most blatant form of cheating occurs when the interviewer falsifies the entire questionnaire, filling in answers without contacting a respondent. Cheating can be minimized though proper training, supervision, and validation of field work.

d. Central office controlinvolves tabulating the responses to important demographic characteristics and key questions. It also includes checking on the quotas to make sure they are being met. Supervisors provide quality and cost-control information to the central office so that a progress report can be maintained.

(moderate, pages 392-394)

79. In a short essay, discuss the process of validating field work.

Answer

Validation of field work means verifying that field workers are submitting authentic interviews. To validate a study, the supervisors call 10 percent to 25 percent of the respondents to inquire whether the field workers actually conducted the interviews. The supervisors ask about the length and quality of the interview, reaction to the interviewer, and basic demographic data. The demographic information is cross-checked against the information reported by the interviewers on the questionnaires.

(easy, page 394)

80. In a short essay, discuss the importance of properly evaluating field workers and discuss five elements that are important when conducting these evaluations.

Answer

It is important to evaluate field workers to provide feedback on their performance. Evaluation helps identify the more effective field workers in order to build a better, higher-quality field force. The evaluation criteria should be clearly communicated to the field workers during their training. The evaluation of field workers should be based on the criteria of quantity and quality. Interviewers can be compared in terms of total cost per completed interview. Field workers should also be evaluated on how they spend their time. Time should be broken down into categories such as actual interviewing, travel, and administration. It is important to monitor response rates on a timely basis so that corrective action can be taken if these rates are too low. Supervisors can help interviewers with an inordinate number of refusals by listening to the introductions they use and providing immediate feedback. When all the interviews are over, different field workers' percentage of refusals can be compared to identify the better workers.

(moderate, page 395)

81. In a short essay, discuss the field-work issues facing researchers conducting international marketing research.

Answer

The selection, training, supervision, and evaluation of field workers are critical in international marketing research. Because local field work agencies are unavailable in many countries, it may be necessary to recruit and train local field workers or import trained foreign workers. Using local field workers is preferable, however, since they are familiar with the local language and culture and can create an appropriate climate for the interview and be sensitive to the concerns of the respondents.

Extensive training of field workers may be required, and close supervision may be necessary. In many countries, interviewers tend to help respondents with the answers and select households or sampling units based on personal considerations rather than the sampling plan. Also, interviewer cheating may be more of a problem in many foreign countries than in the United States. For these reasons, validation of field work is critical. Proper application of field work procedures can greatly reduce these difficulties and result in consistent and useful findings, as the following example demonstrates.

(moderate, page 397)

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 2890