Business Research Ch 15
If we were using content analysis software to analyze the PLAVIX advertisement, which of the following words would require the use of stemming? A. Protect B. Help C. Aspirin D. Form E. Heart attack
A. Protect
In a standard normal distribution, the mean is _____ and the standard deviation is _____. A. 0; 1 B. 5; 1 C. 3; 1 D. 1; 5 E. it varies based on the sample
A. 0; 1
What percentage of respondents is contacted typically during data validation? A. 10% B. 15% C. 25% D. 33% E. 40%
A. 10%
_____ is a measure of the relative peakedness or flatness of the curve defined by the frequency distribution. A. Kurtosis B. Deviation C. Point estimate D. Standard error E. Z score
A. Kurtosis
In the array provided, what is the mean? A. 7 B. 9 C. 10 D. 15 E. Both A and B
C. 10
Which type of variable is coded using a 0 for one response and a 1 for the other? A. Nonmetric B. Ordinal C. Interval D. Dummy E. Ratio
D. Dummy
What is the range for the array provided? A. 5 B. 7 C. 9 D. 10 E. 16
E. 16
For the vacation survey, how many variables would be represented in the codebook with this question? A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 E. 6
E. 6
Which of the following guidelines must be followed in the development and use of coding rules? A. Categories within a single variable must be appropriate B. Categories within a single variable must be exhaustive C. Categories within a single variable must be mutually exclusive D. Categories must be derived from one classification principles E. All of the above
E. All of the above
Which of the following is an accurate interpretation for a "don't know" response from the respondent? A. It isn't important enough to answer B. I don't know C. I don't want to answer that question D. I'm too ambivalent to figure out the best answer E. All of the above
E. All of the above
Why might a data record suffer from missing data? Explain the techniques researchers may use to handle missing data during data analysis.
Missing data are information from a participant or case that is not available for one or more variables of interest. It could occur because a participant skipped the question accidentally, did not know the answer, or refused to answer the question. When data are missing, researchers have three choices on how to use the data record. The first choice is called listwise deletion. It is the simplest approach and means to delete cases from the analysis if they have missing values on any of the variables used in that analysis. Pair-wise deletion provides an estimation of missing values using all cases that had data for each variable or pair of variables in the analysis. Finally, missing values can be replaced with estimated scores. A common technique is to substitute the measure of central tendency for the missing value.
What is meant by stemming, aliasing, and the use of exclusion filters in content analysis software applications?
Stemming means to use derivations of common root words to identify words that should be grouped together. For instance, the words teacher, teach, and teaching all reflect the root word of teach. Aliasing means searching for synonyms. Like stemming, synonyms reflect the same meaning and should be identified as a group. An example is this list of words: wise, smart, intelligent, bright. Exclusion filters eliminate trivial words such as prepositions.
On a survey of how students spend their time, one question asks, "Which of the following best describes your employment status?" The response options provided are 1) not employed, 2) employed part-time, 3) employed full-time, 4) full-time student, and 5) other. 15. Which of the following code descriptions is most appropriate for the employment status question? A. 1 = not employed, 2 = employed part-time, 3 = employed full-time, 4 = full-time student, 5 = other, 9 = missing B. 1 = checked, 0 = not checked C. 1 = not employed, full-time student, 2 = employed full-time, 3 = employed part-time, full-time student, 4 = not employed, other, 5 = other D. All of the above are correct E. None of the above are correct
A. 1 = not employed, 2 = employed part-time, 3 = employed full-time, 4 = full-time student, 5 = other, 9 = missing
Viking Cruises leaves a survey in each stateroom that each guest is ask to complete before departing, to assess various issues of the cruise, cruise activities, cruise food, etc. Cabin staff collect the questionnaires and management feed the questionnaires through an optical scanning device to enter the data, permitting easy editing. Princess is using ____. A. Optical Mark Recognition B. Optical Character Recognition C. Field editing D. Voice Recognition E. None of the above
A. Optical Mark Recognition
The value obtained by summing all elements in a set and dividing by the number of elements is the _____. A. mean B. median C. mode D. range E. standard score
A. mean
With the _____ method, missing values are estimated using all cases that had data for each variable in the analysis. A. pair-wise deletion B. replacement C. listwise deletion D. minimized deletion E. case-specific deletion
A. pair-wise deletion
In a content analysis of the PLAVIX advertisement, the words "adding" or "added" are used four times and the phrase "heart attack" is used five times. These are _____ units in our analysis. A. syntactical B. referential C. propositional D. thematic E. semiotic
A. syntactical
In the array provided, what is the median? A. 7 B. 9 C. 10 D. 15 E. Both A and B
B. 9
Which number below is frequently used to code missing responses? A. 0 B. 9 C. 11 D. 100 E. Missing responses are not coded
B. 9
Researchers at shipping giant Federal Express want to study delivery patterns and their relationship to customer complaints. Federal Express uses a system that electronically tracks packages from the time a label is printed until it is delivered and a customer completes a satisfaction survey. Researchers could access this data by using _____. A. Content Analysis B. Bar codes C. Field editing D. Voice Recognition E. None of the above
B. Bar codes
Which of the following shapes best represents a normal distribution as it is depicted graphically? A. Square B. Bell C. Triangle D. Star E. Hat
B. Bell
Allison is editing a data record and finds that a response of 7 has been entered for a question that requests a response between 1 and 5. What should Allison do? A. Enter a response between 1 and 5 B. Enter a response of unknown C. Enter a mode for the question D. Enter a 3 as a neutral response E. None of the above
B. Enter a response of unknown
Which term below refers to an ordered array of all values for a variable? A. Correlation table B. Frequency distribution C. Frequency table D. Scatter diagram E. Histogram
B. Frequency distribution
What type of data results from the employment status question? A. Dichotomous B. Nominal C. Ordinal D. Interval E. Ratio
B. Nominal
What type of data results from the vacation question? A. Interval B. Nominal C. Ordinal D. Ratio
B. Nominal
Sam's Club installed self-checkout stations that can track not only member's purchases but also packaging problems, as the system uses universal product codes to match the item the shopper has in their cart with its price and inventory level in the store, generating a spreadsheet style report for the researcher. If you consider the scanner as the tool for collecting data for Sam's researchers, they are doing data entry by ____. A. Spreadsheet B. Optical Character Recognition C. Field editing D. Voice Recognition E. None of the above
B. Optical Character Recognition
Which data entry technique uses a software program to transfer printed text into a computer file for editing? A. Data mining B. Optical character recognition (OCR) C. Keyboarding D. Transcripting E. Voice recognition
B. Optical character recognition (OCR)
Field editing is necessary to _____. A. send data back to the analysis team each day B. elaborate on abbreviations commonly used during field work C. validate that interviews took place D. screen for qualified respondents E. all of the above
B. elaborate on abbreviations commonly used during field work
In the example, the use of the response option "other" is used to meet the requirement that categories be _____. A. appropriate B. exhaustive C. mutually exclusive D. of a single dimension E. numeric
B. exhaustive
A _____ is equal to the observation minus the mean. A. standard deviation B. deviation score C. range D. mode E. quartile
B. median
Which of the following groups of words indicates a series of words for which aliasing would be used in content analysis? A. be, is, of, the B. pretty, beautiful, attractive C. search, searching, searches, searched D. going, walking, running, flying E. all of the above
B. pretty, beautiful, attractive
A codebook generally contains all of the following information except _____. A. variable number B. record number C. code description D. instructions for coding E. variable name
B. record number
An advertisement for the drug, PLAVIX, states the following: " 'if you've been hospitalized for heart-related chest pain or a certain type of heart attack.' Doctors call these conditions ACS, or Acute Coronary Syndrome. You can do more to help protect yourself against a future heart attack or stroke - ask your doctor about adding PLAVIX. For most, heart attack or stroke is caused when platelets form clots that block the flow of blood to the heart or brain. Think aspiring and other heart medications alone are enough? Adding PLAVIX could help protect you against a future heart attack or stroke. PLAVIX, added to aspirin and your current treatment, helps raise your protection against a future heart attack or stroke. Prescription PLAVIX and your other medications work in different ways. Adding PLAVIX can go beyond your current treatment. PLAVIX, taken with aspirin, plays its own role in keeping platelets from sticking together and forming clots - which helps keep blood flowing. Talk to your doctor about PLAVIX." 22. If we were to conduct a content analysis of the PLAVIX advertisement, platelets would be considered _____ units. A. syntactical B. referential C. propositional D. thematic E. semiotic
B. referential
Common measures of _____ include the range, interquartile range, variance or standard deviation, and variation. A. central tendency B. variability C. shape D. location E. significance
B. variability
When viewing data entered into a spreadsheet, the columns identify _____. A. records B. variables C. categories D. coding instructions E. variable labels
B. variables
_____ involves assigning numbers or other symbols to answers so that the responses can be grouped into a limited number of categories. A. Editing B. Data entry C. Coding D. Measurement E. Operationalization
C. Coding
Which term below refers to an analytical process for measuring the semantic content of a communication? A. ANOVA B. Regression C. Content analysis D. Factor analysis E. Reliability analysis
C. Content analysis
Which of the following statements is not true of the mode? A. The mode is the most frequently occurring value B. There may be more than one mode in a distribution C. Distributions may not be multimodal D. Some distributions have no mode E. The mode is most appropriate for nominal data
C. Distributions may not be multimodal
Which missing data technique is most appropriate when missing data are considered data missing completely at random (MCAR)? A. Pair-wise deletion B. Replacement C. Listwise deletion D. Minimized deletion E. Weighting
C. Listwise deletion
In the example, which of the following characteristics of coding rules did the researcher fail to address adequately? A. Appropriate categories B. Exhaustive options C. Mutual exclusivity D. Single dimension E. Closed-ended
C. Mutual exclusivity
The process of ensuring the accuracy of data and their conversion from raw form into classified forms appropriate for analysis is called _____. A. coding B. data entry C. data preparation D. data measurement E. quality control
C. data preparation
A collection of data organized for computerized retrieval is called a _____. A. data mine B. data field C. database D. data code E. computer recognition retrieval system
C. database
The median is an appropriate measure of central tendency for _____ data. A. interval B. ratio C. ordinal D. nominal E. all of the above
C. ordinal
In the PLAVIX advertisement, the claim that adding PLAVIX to aspirin helps raise a person's protection against future heart attack is a _____ unit, because it makes an assertion about the benefits of aspirin alone. A. syntactical B. referential C. propositional D. thematic E. semiotic
C. propositional
Which of the following groups of words indicates a series of words for which stemming would be used in content analysis? A. be, is, of, the B. pretty, beautiful, attractive C. search, searching, searches, searched D. going, walking, running, flying E. all of the above
C. search, searching, searches, searched
The measure of deviation from the mean such that cases stretch toward one tail or the other is called _____. A. kurtosis B. platykurtic C. skewness D. ku E. mesokurtic
C. skewness
Which of the following code descriptions is most appropriate for coding responses to the vacation survey? A. 1 = beach, 2 = spa, 3 = adventure, 4 = big city, 5 = foreign travel, 6 = cruise B. 1 = beach only, 2 = beach and spa, 3 = beach, spa, and adventure, 4 = beach, spa, adventure, and big city, 5 = beach, spa, adventure, big city, and foreign travel, 6 = all of the above C. 1 = one item checked, 2 = two items checked, 3 = three items checked, 4 = four items checked, 5 = five items checked, 6 = six items checked D. 1 = yes, 0 = no for each variable E. None of the above
D. 1 = yes, 0 = no for each variable
Which of the following can be determined using a frequency distribution? A. How close a sample comes to the null hypothesis B. How does one variable, X, relate another variable, Y C. Whether a systematic association exist between two variables D. The shape of the variable's distribution E. The systematic variance associated with the sample
D. The shape of the variable's distribution
You receive a call from your cell phone service provider with questions about your satisfaction of their service. You cell phone service provider automatically records your answers as you give them and software translates those answers into into a data record. You service provider is using ______ for data entry. A. Optical Mark Recognition B. Optical Character Recognition C. Field editing D. Voice Recognition E. None of the above
D. Voice Recognition
Closed questions are favored over open-ended questions by researchers for all of the following reasons EXCEPT _____. A. ease of coding B. ease of recording C. ease of analysis D. insight provided E. efficiency
D. insight provided
In the example, employment levels and student status are both included as response options. This indicates that the requirement for categories to be _____ may be in violation. A. appropriate B. exhaustive C. mutually exclusive D. of a single dimension E. numeric
D. of a single dimension
The difference between the smallest and the largest values in a distribution is the _____. A. mean B. median C. mode D. range E. deviation
D. range
The broad topic of "protection" featured in the PLAVIX advertisement is a _____ unit. A. syntactical B. referential C. propositional D. thematic E. semiotic
D. thematic
Consider the following array of numbers: 5 6 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 9 10 15 19 20 21 42. In the array provided, what is the mode? A. 7 B. 9 C. 10 D. 15 E. Both A and B
E. Both A and B
All of the following techniques are used in content analysis except _____. A. counting words B. categorizing phrases C. assessing the structure of expressions D. triangulation E. all of the above are used with content analysis
E. all of the above are used with content analysis
All of the following activities EXCEPT _____ are included in the data preparation process. A. editing B. coding C. data entry D. analyzing frequency distributions E. evaluating reliability estimates
E. evaluating reliability estimates
What are the four rules that guide the coding and categorization of a data record? Explain why each one is important for researchers.
The four rules are that the categories within a single variable should be 1) appropriate to the research problem and purpose, 2) exhaustive, 3) mutually exclusive, and 4) derived from one classification principles. Appropriateness is determined according to the best partitioning of the data for testing hypotheses and showing relationships and the availability of comparison data. Exhaustive means that any respondent should find all possible answers listed as response options. When researchers cannot anticipate all possible answers, another category may be used. Mutual exclusivity prevents respondents from needing to respond to a single-response question using more than one category because more than one category applies to them. Finally, every option in a category set should be defined in terms of one construct. Category sets that are derived from multiple constructs are more likely to lack mutual exclusivity.
Using the copy from the PLAVIX advertisement provided, briefly content analyze the ad. Include an assessment of the four types of units that can be coded using content analysis.
The four types of units that can be coded using content analysis are syntactical units, referential units, propositional units, and thematic units. Syntactical units are words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. These can be counted and also analyzed for meaning. In viewing the PLAVIX ad, there are many syntactical units in the ad. For instance, the words "add or added" appears four times. The words "protect" or "protection" appear five times. The word "heart" appear six times and the word "aspirin" is used three times. From this we can surmise that PLAVIX should be associated with aspirin which is a known preventative of heart attack. PLAVIX likely wants to be viewed in context with aspirin as a product that protects one's heart. Referential units are objects, events, or people that are described by words, phrases, and sentences. In this example, PLAVIX itself is a referential unit. The words, phrases, and sentences describe PLAVIX as a protector of hearts and as a compliment to aspirin. Aspirin is also a referential unit. It is described as being "not enough when used alone." Propositional units are assertions about an object, event, or person. The assertion in this advertisement is that people with some form of risk for heart attack are less likely to suffer blood clots and future heart attacks if they take PLAVIX with an aspirin regiment. Thematic units are topics contained within and across texts. They represent higher level abstractions inferred from the text. The thematic units in the PLAVIX advertisement emphasize protection and fear.