True/False Questions

1. The research designis a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project that specifies the procedures necessary to obtain the information needed to structure and/or solve the marketing research problem.

True (moderate, page 71)

2. A type of research design that has as its primary objective the provision of insights into and comprehension of the problem situation confronting the researcher is called conclusive research.

False (moderate, page 73)

3. Exploratory research is research conducted to gain ideas and insight into the problem confronting the management or the researcher.

True (moderate, page 72)

4. Conclusive research should be used when management realizes a problem exists but does not yet understand why.

False (moderate, page 73)

5. Conclusive research is conducted on a small and nonrepresentative sample, so the findings should be regarded as tentative and should be used as building blocks for further research.

False (moderate, page 73)

6. Research designed to assist the decision maker in determining, evaluating, and selecting the best course of action is a given situation is called subjective research.

False (moderate, page 73)

7. Conclusive research is based on the assumption that the researcher has an accurate understanding of the problem at hand.

True (moderate, page 73)

8. According to the text, the objective of exploratory research is to test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships.

False (moderate, page 74)

9. Exploratory research is typically more formal and structured than conclusive research.

False (difficult, page 74)

10. The objective of causal research is discovery of ideas and insights

False (moderate, page 80)

11. A characteristic of descriptive research is that it is often the front end of total research.

False (moderate, page 76)

12. The manipulation of one or more independent variables is a characteristic of causal research.

True (moderate, page 80)

13. According to the text, exploratory research can benefit from use of survey of experts and analysis of secondary data.

True (difficult, page 75)

14. Descriptive research is a type of exploratory research that has as its major objective the description of something—usually market characteristics or functions.

False (difficult, page 76)

15. According to the text, most commercial market research is descriptive in nature.

True (moderate, page 76)

16. A cause-and-effect qualitative study is a major type of descriptive study.

False (difficult, page 76)

17. The only classifications used for descriptive studies are in the following three categories: 1) sales, 2) consumer perception, and 3) behavior studies.

False (difficult, page 77)

18. A type of research design involving the one-time collection of information from any given sample of population elements is called longitudinal design.

False (moderate, page 78)

19. Cross-sectional design is a type of research design involving a fixed sample of population elements that is measured repeatedly.

False (moderate, page 78)

20. According to the text, a longitudinal design provides a series of pictures, which track the changes that take place over time.

True (moderate, page 78)

21. A panel consists of a sample of respondents, generally households that have agreed to provide information over an extended period.

True (moderate, page 79)

22. Causal research is a type of conclusive research whose major objective is to obtain evidence regarding cause-and-effect relationships.

True (moderate, page 80)

23. According to the text, the main method of causal research is a panel.

False (moderate, page 80)

24. When little is known about the problem situation, it is desirable to begin with descriptive research.

False (moderate, page 82)

25. Exploratory research is suitable for generating alternative courses of action and research questions.

True (moderate, page 82)

26. Causal research is very versatile and can be used at any point in a study.

False (moderate, page 83)

27. Determining how to make the research design error-free is a task a researcher must perform in formulating a research design.

False (difficult, page 85)

28. Random sampling error is where the error due to the particular sample selected is an imperfect representation of the population of interest.

True (moderate, page 85)

29. The budget process allows the researcher and the decision maker to compare the estimated value of the information with the projected costs.

True (moderate, page 85)

30. Errors that can be attributed to sources other than sampling are called nonsampling errors.

True (moderate, page 85)

31. Nonsampling errors are frequently attributed to the competition.

False (moderate, page 85)

32. The executive summary is usually at the very beginning of a research proposal.

True (easy, page 86)

33. "Deliverables" are the information and documents to be given to the client at the conclusion of the project.

True (moderate, page 86)

34. Conventional industry practice has the project paid in three parts due: 1) after the project is accepted, 2) at the project mid-point, and 3) at the conclusion of the project.

True (moderate, page 86)

35. When repeating a project for a previous client, a research proposal is not necessary.

False (moderate, page 87)

Multiple Choice

36. The ______________is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project that specifies the procedures necessary to obtain the information needed to structure and/or solve the marketing research problem.

a. problem definition

b. research design (moderate, page 71)

c. field work design

d. data preparation and analysis

e. research directive

37. A type of research design that has as its primary objective the provision of insights into and comprehension of the problem situation confronting the researcher is called ______________.

a. conclusive research

b. descriptive research

c. causal research

d. exploratory research (moderate, page 72)

e. casual research

38. ______________ is research conducted to gain ideas and insight into the problem confronting the management or the researcher.

a. Exploratory research (moderate, page 72)

b. Conclusive research

c. Descriptive research

d. Causal research

e. Directed research

39. Which of the following types of research design should be used when management realizes a problem exists but does not yet understand why?

a. conclusive research

b. exploratory research (moderate, page 72)

c. descriptive research

d. causal research

e. expeditionary research

40. ______________ is conducted on a small and nonrepresentative sample, so the findings should be regarded as tentative and should be used as building blocks for further research.

a. Causal research

b. Exploratory research (moderate, page 72)

c. Conclusive research

d. Descriptive research

e. Focused research

41. Research designed to assist the decision maker in determining, evaluating, and selecting the best course of action in a given situation is called ______________.

a. conclusive research (difficult, page 73)

b. subjective research

c. exploratory research

d. observational research

e. supporting research

42. ______________ is based on the assumption that the researcher has an accurate understanding of the problem at hand.

a. Exploratory research

b. Conclusive research (moderate, page 73)

c. Subjective research

d. Observational research

e. Directed research

43. According to the text, the objective of ______________ is to test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships.

a. conclusive research (difficult, page 73)

b. subjective research

c. exploratory research

d. observational research

e. conditional research

44. ______________ research is typically more formal and structured than ______________ research.

a. Exploratory; conclusive

b. Conclusive; exploratory (difficult, page 73)

c. Exploratory; descriptive

d. Subjective; observational

e. Lead; supporting

45. Large, representative samples are used to collect data that are analyzed with statistical techniques for which of the following types of research designs?

a. subjective research

b. exploratory research

c. conclusive research (difficult, page 73)

d. observational research

e. supporting research

46. The objective of which of the following types of research is discovery of ideas and insights?

a. exploratory research (easy, page 73)

b. descriptive research

c. causal research

d. objective research

e. conditional research

47. Which of the following is a characteristic of descriptive research designs?

a. flexible

b. marked by the prior formulation of specific hypothesis (difficult, page 76)

c. versatile

d. often the front end of total research

e. supporting

48. The manipulation of one or more independent variables is a characteristic of which of the following types of research designs?

a. exploratory research

b. descriptive research

c. causal research (easy, page 80)

d. objective research

e. conditional research

49. According to the text, exploratory research can benefit from use of all of the following methods EXCEPT:

a. survey of experts.

b. quantitative data such as structured surveys. (difficult, page 75)

c. pilot surveys.

d. analysis of secondary data.

e. qualitative research

50. Descriptive research is a type of ______________ that has as its major objective the description of something—usually market characteristics or functions.

a. subjective research

b. exploratory research

c. conclusive research (moderate, page 76)

d. observational research

e. supporting research

51. According to the text, most commercial market research is ______________ in nature.

a. subjective

b. exploratory

c. causal

d. descriptive (moderate, page 76)

e. relatively inexpensive

52. ______________ is particularly useful whenever research questions relate to describing a market phenomenon, such as frequency of purchase, identifying relationships, or making predictions.

a. Descriptive research (moderate, page 76)

b. Exploratory research

c. Causal research

d. Subjective research

e. Identifying research

53. Which of the following is NOT an example of a descriptive research goal?

a. to develop a profile of a target market

b. to determine the cause of a sales decrease (difficult, page 76)

c. to estimate the frequency of product use as a basis for sales forecasts

d. to determine the degree to which marketing variables are associated

e. to determine the relationship between product use and perception of product characteristics

54. ______________ assumes that the researcher has prior knowledge about the problem situation.

a. Exploratory research

b. Descriptive research (moderate, page 76)

c. Causal research

d. Subjective research

e. Lead research

55. All of the following are elements that describe descriptive research EXCEPT:

a. it is based on data that is collected using small, nonrepresentative samples. (difficult, page 76)

b. it is based on a clear statement of the problem.

c. it is based on specific hypotheses.

d. it is based on specification of the information needed.

e. data are collected in a structured fashion.

56. Which of the following is NOT one of the major types of descriptive studies?

a. internally or externally focused sales studies

b. consumer perception and behavior studies

c. cause-and-effect qualitative studies (difficult, page 76)

d. market characteristic studies

e. consumer behavior studies

57. A type of research design involving the one-time collection of information from any given sample of population elements is called ______________.

a. cross-sectional design (moderate, page 78)

b. longitudinal design

c. horizontal design

d. vertical design

e. conditional design

58. ______________ is a type of research design involving a fixed sample of population elements that is measured repeatedly.

a. Cross-sectional design

b. Longitudinal design (moderate, page 78)

c. Horizontal design

d. Vertical design

e. Fixed design

59. According to the text, a ______________ provides a series of pictures, which track the changes that take place over time.

a. cross-sectional design

b. longitudinal design (moderate, page 78)

c. horizontal design

d. vertical design

e. photographic design

60. A(n) ______________ consists of a sample of respondents, generally households that have agreed to provide information over an extended period.

a. focus group

b. panel (moderate, page 79)

c. hypothesis

d. theory

e. research mix

61. Which of the following is an example of a longitudinal design in a descriptive research project?

a. surveys involving 600 mall intercepts in six major cities to determine the likes and dislikes of health food

b. A variety of promotional offers would be displayed in stores, with each group of respondents seeing only one offer and the resulting brand sales would be monitored.

c. a panel that consists of households that provide purchasing information at specified intervals over an extended period (difficult, page 79)

d. a and b only

e. b and c only

62. ______________ is a type of conclusive research whose major objective is to obtain evidence regarding cause-and-effect relationships.

a. Descriptive research

b. Causal research (moderate, page 80)

c. Exploratory research

d. Subjective research

e. Conditional research

63. According to the text, the main method of causal research is a(n) _____________.

a. panel

b. focus group

c. survey

d. experiment (moderate, page 80)

e. client project

64. A disadvantage of a longitudinal design would be

a. detecting change

b. amount of data that can be collected

c. accuracy of data collected

d. lower expenses

e. response bias (difficult, page 80)

65. Which of the following is the best example in which to apply causal research?

a. the Andrew Jergens Company periodically conducting surveys to measure consumer's perceptions, attitudes and use of soap bars and related personal care products

b. to determine the relationship between sales promotion and advertising expenditures and sales of BMW

c. to gain insights on why Nokia is losing market share in Asia

d. to understand how consumers evaluate the Home Depot brand compared to competing brands

e. one-on-one depth interviews matching respondents and interviewers by gender (moderate, page 80)

66. When little is known about the problem situation, it is desirable to begin with _____________.

a. causal research

b. descriptive research

c. exploratory research (moderate, page 82)

d. observational research

e. conditional research

67. Exploratory research is suitable for generating all of the following EXCEPT:

a. alternative courses of action.

b. cause-and-effect relationships. (moderate, page 82)

c. research questions.

d. hypotheses.

e. c and d

68. ______________ is very versatile and can be used at any point in a study.

a. Causal research

b. Descriptive research

c. Exploratory research (moderate, page 83)

d. Observational research

e. Provisional research

69. All of the following are tasks a researcher must perform in formulating a research design EXCEPT:

a. specify the information needed.

b. determine how to make the research design error free. (difficult, page 85)

c. specify the measurement and scaling procedures.

d. determine the sampling process and sample size.

e. develop a plan of analysis

70. ______________ is the error due to the particular sample selected being an imperfect representation of the population of interest.

a. Nonsampling error

b. Random sampling error (moderate, page 85)

c. Problem definition error

d. Hypothesis error

e. Precision error

71. Errors that can be attributed to sources other than sampling are called ______________.

a. nonsampling errors. (moderate, page 85)

b. problem definition errors

c. hypothesis errors

d. random sampling errors

e. precision errors

72. Nonsampling errors are frequently attributed to all of the following EXCEPT:

a. the researcher.

b. the competition. (moderate, page 85)

c. the interviewer.

d. the respondent.

e. c and d

73. Which of the following elements of a research proposal is usually at the very beginning?

a. problem definition

b. executive summary (moderate, page 86)

c. approach to the problem

d. research design

e. analysis plan

74. Conventional industry practice would have the project paid______________.

a. after all deliverables had been received by the client

b. just before all deliverables will be sent to the client

c. at the midpoint and at the end.

d. whenever the client's accountants agree to send payment

e. in three parts due at the beginning, mid-point, and the end (difficult, page 86)

75. When conducting exploratory research overseas in a country such as Saudi Arabia on the topic of attitudes toward household appliances, it would be most effective to conduct______________.

a. focus groups by gender

b. only secondary data collection

c. focus groups composed of both males and females

d. interviews with several in-country experts now living in the US

e. one-on-one depth interviews matching respondents and interviewers by gender (moderate, page 88)

76. Exploratory research should NOT be used for which of the following situations that Adidas may face:

a. To understand purchase and consumption behavior of heavy users of athletic shoes

b. To examine the positive impact of celebrity endorsements on its image

c. To investigate the reasons why Adidas has a lower market share as compared to Nike in the United States

d. To develop a profile of the target market in order to make advertising placement decisions (difficult, pages 74-76)

e. To develop hypotheses - Are heavy users of athletic shoes more brand conscious than light users?

Essay Questions

77. In a short essay, discuss the differences between exploratory and conclusive research.

Answer

a. Exploratory research is research conducted to explore the problem situation, that is, to gain ideas and insight into the problem confronting the management or the researcher. Exploratory research may be used when management realizes a problem exists but does not yet understand why. Because the information needs are only loosely defined at this stage, exploratory research must be flexible and unstructured. Exploratory research is conducted on a small and nonrepresentative sample, so the findings should be regarded as tentative and should be used as building blocks for further research.

b. Conclusive research is research designed to assist the decision maker in determining, evaluating, and selecting the best course of action in a given situation. Conclusive research is based on the assumption that the researcher has an accurate understanding of the problem at hand. The objective of conclusive research is to test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships. Conclusive research is typically more formal and structured than exploratory research. The researcher specifies the detailed steps in the research to be conducted prior to initiating the project. Large, representative samples are used to collect data that are analyzed with statistical techniques.

(moderate, pages 72-73)

78. In a short essay, list and discuss at least five situations in which exploratory research can be applied.

Answer

a. To formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely – exploratory research may reveal that a brand has a lower market share because its brand image is not as strong as a competitor's image.

b. To identify alternative courses of action – alternative courses of action to boost the image of a brand might include improving product quality, increasing the advertising budget, and distributing the product through upscale company-owned stores.

c. To develop hypotheses – an interesting hypothesis may be that heavy users may be more brand conscious than light users.

d. To isolate key variables and relationships for further examination – celebrity endorsements can have a positive influence on the image of certain products.

e. To gain insights for developing an approach to the problem – brand image is a composite variable that is influenced by the quality of the product, pricing strategy, image of the outlets through which the product is distributed, and the quality and intensity of advertising and promotion.

f. To establish priorities for further research – a company may want to examine the purchase and consumption behavior of heavy users of its product category.

(moderate, page 72)

79. In a short essay, discuss the relationships among exploratory, descriptive, and causal research and provide some basic guidelines discussing the appropriate situation in which to apply each type of research design. Include a specific example of each research design type to support your answer.

Answer

When little is known about the problem situation, it is desirable to begin with exploratory research. For example, exploratory research is suitable for generating alternative courses of action, research questions, or hypotheses. Exploratory research can then be followed by descriptive or causal research. It is not necessary to begin every research design with exploratory research. If the researcher has a good understanding of the problem situation, descriptive or causal research may be a more appropriate initial step. Annual consumer satisfaction surveys are an example of research that need not begin with or include an exploratory phrase. Exploratory research can be used at any point in a study. For example, when descriptive or causal research leads to results that are unexpected or difficult to interpret, the researcher may turn to exploratory research for insight. Exploratory and descriptive designs are frequently used in commercial marketing research, but causal research is not as popular.

(moderate, page 82)

80. In a short essay, list the six tasks that a researcher must typically perform in formulating a research design.

Answer

a. Specify the information needed.

b. Design the exploratory, descriptive, and/or causal phases of the research.

c. Specify the measurement and scaling procedures.

d. Construct and pretest a questionnaire or an appropriate form for data collection.

e. Specify the sampling process and sample size.

f. Develop a plan of data analysis.

(easy, page 84)

81. In a short essay, list and discuss at least seven elements that are included in a proposal presenting a detailed research design.

Answer

a. Executive summary – the proposal should begin with an overview of the entire proposal, a summary of the major points from each of the other sections.

b. Background – the background to the problem, including the environmental context, should be described.

c. Problem definition/research objectives – normally, a statement of the problem should be presented. If this statement has not been developed, the objectives of the marketing research project should be clearly specified.

d. Approach to the problem – a review of the relevant academic and trade literature, along with some kind of an analytical model, should be included. If research questions and hypotheses have been identified, these should be included in the proposal.

e. Research design – the type of research, whether exploratory, descriptive, causal, or a combination, should be specified. This section often forms the heart of the proposal.

f. Field work/data collection – the proposal should discuss how the data will be collected and who will collect it. If the fieldwork is to be subcontracted to another supplier, this should be stated. Control mechanisms to ensure the quality of data collected should be described.

g. Data analysis – the kind of data analysis that will be conducted and how the results will be interpreted should be described.

h. Reporting – the proposal should specify the nature and number of intermediate reports. The form of the final report, including whether a formal presentation of the results will be made, should also be stated.

i. Cost and time – the cost of the project and a time schedule, broken down by phases, should be presented. A payment schedule should also be worked out in advance, especially for large projects.

j. Appendices – any statistical or other information that is of interest to only a few people should be presented in appendices.

(difficult, page 86)

82. What would you say is a unifying theme for the Ethics in Marketing Research examples related to research design in Chapter 3? Justify your answer.

Answer

One important theme in the ethics examples featured in Chapter 3 was simply "communicating honesty from the start". Other ways of saying this is "truthfulness", or "integrity". The research agency must honestly fulfill its role from the beginning to the end. Honesty between the researcher and the client will lead the researcher to match the right design with the needs of the business at that time. If a longitudinal design is needed, as in the case of brand switching, then it must be done. If the research firm has no experience in doing a longitudinal design, then this must be disclosed at the outset along with the ways the research agency will ensure quality (such as contracting for a consultant to guide them, or for another firm to actually execute this part of the project. A research firm that justifies the use of a cross-sectional design simply because it has no experience in conducting longitudinal studies is behaving unethically. Also, if customer contact has to be restricted or if time is an issue, the client should make these constraints known at the start of the project.

Honesty is also needed from client firms at the start of projects. Theft of ideas must always be avoided. It would be unethical for a client to extract details from a proposal submitted by one research firm and pass them on to another who actually would do the project for the client. A proposal is the property of the research firm that prepared it, unless the client has paid for it.

(moderate pages 89-91)

Chapter 4 – Exploratory Research Design: Secondary Data

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 8680