Chapter 5

Question 1

Selection of descriptive research

Answer 1

Based on:
1) the nature of the initial problem/opportunity (should describe characteristics of existing market situations or evaluate current marketing mix strategies)
2) the research questions (should include who/what/where/when/how – NO WHY)
3) the research objectives (should identify relationships between variables or determine whether difference exists)

Question 2

Descriptive research

Answer 2

Collects quantitative data to answer research questions: who, what, where, when, how

Question 3

Causal research

Answer 3

Collects data that enables decision-makers to determine cause-and-effect relationships between 2 or more variables
If X, then Y
Experiments MUST have manipulation and randomization

Question 4

Advantages of quantitative research

Answer 4

• Can accommodate large sample sizes for generalized results
• Produces precise enough estimates
• Easy to administer and record
• Facilitates advanced statistical analysis
• Concepts/relationships not directly measurable can be studied

Question 5

Disadvantages of quantitative research

Answer 5

• Questions that accurately measure respondent attitudes and behavior are challenging to develop
• In-depth data is difficult to obtain
• Low response rates

Question 6

Constructs

Answer 6

An unobservable, abstract concept that is measured indirectly by a group of related variables

Question 7

How are constructs measured?

Answer 7

With multiple indicator variables

Question 8

Advantages of telephone interviews

Answer 8

Interviewers are supervised at a central work location
Less expensive than face-to-face
Allows respondents from a wide geographic area
Call backs are possible
Random dialing selects random sample

Question 9

Disadvantages of telephone interviews

Answer 9

Only audio is used
Complexity of questions
Respondents can hang up
Limited to national borders
Landline access - less than 50%
High refusal rates
May annoy people

Question 10

Advantages of face-to-face interviews

Answer 10

Adaptability
Rapport (comfort zone)
Feedback
Quality of responses

Question 11

Disadvantages of face-to-face interviews

Answer 11

Possible recording error
Interviewer-respondent interaction error
High expense

Question 12

Advantages of mail-panel interviews

Answer 12

Inexpensive to implement
Reaches hard to interview respondents

Question 13

Disadvantages of mail-panel interviews

Answer 13

Lower response rates which creates nonresponse bias
Misunderstood/skipped questions
Slow acquisition of data

Question 14

Advantages of self-administered surveys

Answer 14

Low cost per survey
Respondent control
No interviewer-respondent bias
Anonymity in responses

Question 15

Disadvantages of self-administered surveys

Answer 15

Limited flexibility
High nonresponse rates
Potential response errors
Slow data acquisition
Lack of monitoring capability

Question 16

Advantages of online surveys

Answer 16

Less expensive per respondent than any other method
Collects data from hard-too-reach samples
Can randomize order
Missing data can be eliminated
Improved graphic capabilities
Companies can survey customers using email

Question 17

Disadvantages of online surveys

Answer 17

Internet samples are rarely representative
Nonresponse bias can be high
Limited ability to generalize to the general population – (propensity scoring can be used to adjust results to be more like a representative sample)
Underrepresented samples are weighed more heavily

Question 18

Data generalizability

Answer 18

Data that accurately represents the population being studied and can be accurately projected to the target population

Question 19

Data precision

Answer 19

The degree of accuracy of a response in relation to some other possible answer

Question 20

Incidence rate

Answer 20

The percentage of the general population that is the focus of the research
(when incidence rates are low, researchers spend time and money locating respondents and it is better to talk one-on-one)

Question 21

Advantages of mail panel surveys

Answer 21

Can be tested prior to the survey
High response rate
Can be used for longitudinal research

Question 22

Disadvantages of mail panel surveys

Answer 22

Members are often not representative of the target population at large