Business Research Methods, 13e (Schindler) Chapter 2 The Research Process: An Overview

28) Ensuring consistency among participants, locating omissions, and reducing errors in recording are all benefits of ________. A) data collection B) data preparation C) sampling D) coding E) data analysis

B) data preparation

1) Which of the following terms fails to capture the meaning of a research design? A) Map B) Blueprint C) Model D) Dictionary E) Guidebook

D) Dictionary

26) Which type of sample provides a group of participants who are most representative of the target population? A) Census B) Judgment C) Probability D) Nonprobability E) Primary

C) Probability

58) If a researcher reveals the impact of data collection problems on findings and insights, this is one step toward achieving which standard of effective research? A) Purpose clearly defined B) Adequate analysis for decision maker's needs C) High ethical standards applied D) Limitations frankly revealed E) Findings reported unambiguously; insights and recommendations justified

D) Limitations frankly revealed

2) Apple plans to survey every customer who has purchased an Apple computer in the last 5 years. Apple plans to use a ________. A) convenience sample B) snowball sample C) systematic sample D) census E) random sample

D) census

38) A researcher who is method-bound is likely to ________. A) be responsible for data analysis B) utilize a probability sample C) prefer one research approach over all others D) mine a client's database E) All of the above

D) mine a client's database

29) Applying statistical techniques to data is an aspect of ________. A) sampling B) data collection C) pilot testing D) data analysis E) data transformation

D) data analysis

53) If a research's scope has been defined, this is one step toward achieving which standard of effective research? A) Purpose clearly defined B) Research design thoroughly planned and executed C) High ethical standards applied D) Adequate analysis for decision maker's needs E) Limitations frankly revealed F) Findings reported unambiguously; insights and recommendations justified

A) Purpose clearly defined

57) If a researcher connects findings to the research question, this is one step toward achieving which standard of effective research? A) Purpose clearly defined B) Adequate analysis for decision maker's needs C) High ethical standards applied D) Limitations frankly revealed E) Research design thoroughly planned and executed

B) Adequate analysis for decision maker's needs

3) Which of the following best describes the relationship between management dilemmas, key performance indicators, and dashboards? A) Dashboards cannot be designed to depict management dilemmas. B) Key performance indicators may reveal management dilemmas. C) Key performance indicators cannot be displayed on a dashboard. D) Management dilemmas are symptoms of problems, while key performance indicators are problems.

B) Key performance indicators may reveal management dilemmas.

45) A manager always turns to his extensive data warehouse to find data related to his research question, regardless of the data's age or applicability to current conditions, rejecting a problem-specific research project. This is an example of which of the following potential research process problems? A) Ill-defined problem B) Overembracing data analytics C) Favored-technique problem D) Unresearchable question E) A manager's hidden agenda

B) Overembracing data analytics

32) Using the research question to interpret a pattern in the data is called ________. A) a finding B) an insight C) a fact D) a recommendation E) data

B) an insight

51) The target population A) is identical to the sample population. B) is smaller in size than the sample population. C) must be defined before research begins. D) must be able to be captured in a sample frame. E) None of the above is correct.

C) must be defined before research begins.

16) Data collected during a survey asking someone to rank their top three favorite ice cream flavors would be A) secondary data. B) nominal data. C) ordinal data. D) ratio data. E) specialized data.

C) ordinal data.

46) Planning the research design involves decisions regarding ________. A) data collection mode B) type of study C) measurement D) sampling plans E) All of the above

E) All of the above

23) Data preparation A) addresses recording or data entry errors. B) clarifies unclear or unexpected responses. C) assigns codes to reduce the responses to manageable categories. D) determines if the preassigned codes are appropriate for subsequent analysis. E) All of the above are correct.

E) All of the above are correct.

39) Which of the following is not a common research process problem? A) A manager's hidden agenda B) Overembracing data analytics C) Unresearchable questions D) Ill-defined management problems E) Pilot testing

E) Pilot testing

37) Jason is entering the data analysis portion of his research project. Data preparation and examination involves all of the following activities except ________. A) reducing data to a manageable size B) developing summaries C) coding of responses D) looking for patterns E) applying statistical techniques to the data

E) applying statistical techniques to the data

17) Data collected by asking a participant to rate three different movies based on character development, each movie on the same ten-point scale, would be A) secondary data. B) nominal data. C) ordinal data. D) ratio data. E) interval data.

E) interval data.

A) a finding B) an insight C) a fact D) a recommendation E) data

A) a finding

55) If a researcher operationally defines all concepts, constructs, and variables, this is one step toward achieving which standard of effective research? A) Purpose clearly defined B) Research design thoroughly planned and executed C) High ethical standards applied D) Adequate analysis for decision maker's needs E) Findings reported unambiguously; insights and recommendations justified

A) Purpose clearly defined

61) During the stage of research design which ethical issue is of concern? A) Sponsor's right to quality research B) Sponsor's right to finding's non-disclosure C) Researcher's right to adequate compensation D) Researcher's right to absence of participant deception E) None of the above is correct.

A) Sponsor's right to quality research

31) In a research study on implementing new safety practices, the research discovered that employees with fewer years of experience had different preferences than those with more experience. This is an example of ________. A) a finding B) an insight C) a fact D) a recommendation E) data

A) a finding

63) Sponsor's right to quality research affects which stage(s) in the research process? A) Stage 1: Clarify the Research Question B) Stage 2: Research Design C) Stage 3: Collect and Prepare the Data D) Stage 4: Analyze and Interpret the Data E) All of the above are correct.

E) All of the above are correct.

7) The research question A) is a possible resolution to the management problem. B) is a hypothesis to be studied. C) represents a selection of action choices. D) is the focus of a research project. E) All of the above are correct.

E) All of the above are correct.

6) Exploration A) is highly structured research. B) is used to refine research questions. C) cannot be used to solve a management problem. D) cannot be used to understand a manager's options when solving a problem or addressing an opportunity. E) None of the above is correct.

B) is used to refine research questions.

11) Data collected from an article in a business magazine would be A) primary data. B) secondary data. C) nominal data. D) ratio data. E) interval data.

B) secondary data

21) Data have many characteristics. If you cannot see or feel the data being measured, you are describing their level of ________. A) abstractness B) elusiveness C) verifiability D) closeness to the phenomenon E) replicability

A) abstractness

5) If a business does not collect data on key performance indicators, it has a more difficult time A) defining management dilemmas. B) creating a research design. C) in sampling design. D) collecting data. E) None of the above is correct.

A) defining management dilemmas.

40) Ill-defined problems are those that ________. A) have too many interrelated facets for measurement to handle with accuracy B) will take expensive methods to answer. C) can be answered through data mining D) cannot be addressed with secondary data E) develop in method-bound research projects

A) have too many interrelated facets for measurement to handle with accuracy

49) The fundamental weakness in the research process is ________. A) incorrectly defining the research question B) identifying a flawed sampling frame C) misdefining the target population D) failing to identify all relevant secondary information E) skipping the exploratory phase

A) incorrectly defining the research question

12) Data collected by interview of a fan at a concert would be A) primary data. B) secondary data. C) nominal data. D) ratio data. E) interval data.

A) primary data.

13) Data collected by observation of which aisle a store visitor takes when entering would be A) primary data. B) secondary data. C) ordinal data. D) ratio data. E) interval data.

A) primary data.

4) If a dashboard display revealed rising costs in an operating division of a business, this would be a possible A) research question. B) management dilemma. C) research design. D) limitation. E) None of the above is correct.

B) management dilemma.

14) Data collected by observation of which aisle a store visitor takes when entering would be A) secondary data. B) nominal data. C) ordinal data. D) ratio data. E) interval data.

B) nominal data.

9) McGraw-Hill is planning a study of educator preferences to determine the needs of college instructors. Because of the number of college instructors, McGraw-Hill will select a portion of the target population, known as a(n) ________, to participate in the study. A) element B) sample C) sampling frame D) census E) extent

B) sample

18) Assume a business research study is conducted in a lab and designed to evaluate the scent of various flavors of coffee. The design requires several data collectors to evaluate those scents. The researcher will struggle with the data's A) abstractness. B) verifiability. C) elusiveness. D) truthfulness. E) loudness.

B) verifiability.

42) A researcher has exceptional experience in moderating focus groups and prefers to include this group interview method in all research projects, regardless of its appropriate application. This is an example of which of the following potential research process problems? A) Ill-defined problem B) Overembracing data analytics C) Favored-technique problem D) Unresearchable question E) A manager's hidden agenda

C) Favored-technique problem

54) If a researcher avoids using his personal bias to select the method for collecting data, this is one step toward achieving which standard of effective research? A) Purpose clearly defined B) Adequate analysis for decision maker's needs C) High ethical standards applied D) Limitations frankly revealed E) Findings reported unambiguously; insights and recommendations justified

C) High ethical standards applied

56) If a researcher includes design safeguards to protect participants, this is one step toward achieving which standard of effective research? A) Purpose clearly defined B) Adequate analysis for decision maker's needs C) High ethical standards applied D) Limitations frankly revealed E) Findings reported unambiguously; insights and recommendations justified

C) High ethical standards applied

62) Researcher's right to consenting participant's completion affects which stage in the research process? A) Stage 1: Clarify the Research Question B) Stage 2: Design the Research C) Stage 3: Collect and Prepare the Data D) Stage 4: Analyze and Interpret the Data E) Stage 5: Report Insights and Recommendations

C) Stage 3: Collect and Prepare the Data

19) A business wants to evaluate a participant's reaction to a sound track that contains some loud noises, so it designs an experiment. Assume it cannot interview every participant immediately, so it takes a video of their response and interviews each participant within 24 hours of the event. The researcher is attempting to account for the data's A) abstractness. B) verifiability. C) elusiveness. D) truthfulness. E) concreteness.

C) elusiveness.

43) A researcher chooses the wrong statistical test to assess the strength of a relationship between two variables. This is an example of which of the following potential research process problems? A) Ill-defined problem B) Overembracing data analytics C) Researcher inexperience D) Unresearchable question E) A manager's hidden agenda

D) Unresearchable question

34) Offering the manager direction on a decision related to the research question is called ________. A) a finding B) an insight C) a fact D) a recommendation E) data

D) a recommendation

35) "Option A is far more strongly supported by the data than Option B. You should implement Option A." This is an example of ________. A) a finding B) an insight C) a fact D) a recommendation E) data

D) a recommendation

22) Secondary data have a lower level of ________ than primary data. A) abstractness B) elusiveness C) verifiability D) closeness to the phenomenon E) replicability

D) closeness to the phenomenon

24) To address out-of-range data entry errors, during data preparation, a researcher A) summarizes the data on each variable to determine if the codes not specified were entered. B) reviews the original data instruments to determine what response was chosen. C) determines how to address each instance of out-of-range data. D) may drop a question from the survey containing too many out-of-range data errors. E) All of the above are correct.

E) All of the above are correct.

48) Which of the following questions is considered when discussing the management dilemma? A) How can management eliminate negative symptoms? B) What does the manager need to know to choose the best alternative from the available sources of action? C) What is the recommended course of action? D) What symptoms cause management concern? E) What should be asked or observed to obtain the information the manager needs?

B) What does the manager need to know to choose the best alternative from the available sources of action?

47) The federal government conducts a census of the U.S. population rather than a sample because ________. A) a census is less expensive than a sample B) a sample may not fully represent the population C) it is faster to collect data using a census D) data collection is more manageable E) All of the above

B) a sample may not fully represent the population

33) In a research study on choosing a new compensation system, the research discovered that men had different preferences than women. This is an example of ________. A) a finding B) an insight C) a fact D) a recommendation E) data

B) an insight

10) Information collected from participants, by observation, or from secondary sources is called ________. A) response B) data C) knowledge D) fact E) perceptual content

B) data

60) During the process of clarifying the research question, which ethical issue is of concern? A) Participant's right of confidentiality B) Researcher's right of adequate compensation C) Researcher's right to absence of sponsor deception D) Participant's right of informed concept E) None of the above is correct.

C) Researcher's right to absence of sponsor deception

52) A researcher is to conduct a survey of college graduates to study their 5-year post-graduation job placement. In this example, ________ is the target population and ________ is the case. A) any single college graduate; all college graduates B) all college graduates; any single college graduate C) all college graduates who graduated 5 years ago; any single college graduate who graduated 5 years ago D) any single college graduate who graduated 5 years ago; all college graduates who graduated 5 years ago E) None of the above is correct.

C) all college graduates who graduated 5 years ago; any single college graduate who graduated 5 years ago

27) During the ________ stage, the analyst will look for patterns of responses by looking for relationships among variables. A) data editing B) data collection C) data analysis D) sampling E) reporting

C) data analysis

59) A series of sequential, clearly defined stages for collecting, analyzing and reporting data defines the A) management dilemma. B) study limitation. C) research process. D) research question. E) None of the above is correct.

C) research process.

20) A business has two options, collect data at the time of an event or interview participants about what they remember within 1 week after the event. By collecting data at the time of the event, it is attempting to account for the data's A) abstractness. B) verifiability. C) truthfulness. D) concreteness. E) categorization.

C) truthfulness.

50) Secondary data as a means of addressing a management problem are considered weaker than primary data because the data A) were potentially collected to address a different problem. B) are older, and therefore, irrelevant to current conditions. C) are less specific to the current problem. D) All of the above are true. E) None of the above is true.

D) All of the above are true.

36) Which of the following can be used to develop a research project time frame? A) CPM B) Gantt chart C) Research Process D) CPM and Gantt chart E) CPM and research process

D) CPM and Gantt chart

44) A researcher cannot identify a currently available research technique that can be used to address a particular research question. This is an example of which of the following potential research process problems? A) Ill-defined problem B) Overembracing data analytics C) Researcher inexperience D) Unresearchable question E) A manager's hidden agenda

D) Unresearchable question

25) If a ________ sampling design is chosen, the process for choosing the sample must give every person within the target population a known nonzero chance of selection. A) census B) judgment C) nonprobability D) probability E) primary

D) probability

15) Data collected during a survey asking someone their actual age would be A) secondary data. B) nominal data. C) ordinal data. D) ratio data. E) interval data.

D) ratio data.

41) The question, "Should products be withdrawn if even one death is associated with its prescribed use, even if no fault for the tampered product accrues to the manufacturer?" is an example of a(n) ________. A) ill-defined problem B) overembracing data analytics C) favored-technique problem D) unresearchable question E) manager's hidden agenda

D) unresearchable question

8) A research study A) has value only if the information collected helps make a better decision than would be made without the new information. B) has value only if the budget needed to collect the data is less than the decision's estimated value. C) has value only if the budget for research is exceeded by the decision's estimated value. D) has an estimated value that is determined from the cost of acquiring the data and the value of any possible resulting decisions. E) All of the above are correct.

E) All of the above are correct.