Chapter 4
48. Knowledge of research design is important in developing an appropriate study to approach a problem or opportunity.
TRUE
51. Knowledge of the needed research design allows advance planning so that the project may be conducted in less time and typically at a cost savings due to efficiencies gained in pre-planning.
TRUE
54. There are common categories of objectives. One of these includes gaining background information and developing hypotheses.
TRUE
56. There are common categories of objectives. One of these includes testing hypotheses that specify the relationships between two or more variables (for example, level of advertising and brand loyalty).
TRUE
59. Wrongfully gaining respondent cooperation to reduce costs; misrepresenting sampling methods; using information obtained for a client in another research project; and over- or underestimating data collection costs would be questionable ethical practices.
TRUE
60. The choice of research design may depend on how much is already known about the problem and research objective.
TRUE
62. Causal research should only be used when a fair amount is known about the problem and when looking for causal relationships among variables associated with the problem or research objectives.
TRUE
64. Exploratory research does not have a predetermined set of procedures.
TRUE
74. Data collection costs are strongly influenced by the incidence rate (the percentage of the population possessing the characteristics required to participate in a study).
TRUE
87. The phrase commonly used to indicate an experiment, study, or test that is conducted in a field setting is test marketing.
TRUE
33. When conducting ________, "if-then" statements become a researcher's way of manipulating variables of interest. a. causal research b. focus group research c. exploratory research d. descriptive research
a. causal research
9. ________ should only be used when the researcher knows a fair amount about the problem. a. Exploratory research b. Descriptive research c. Formal research d. Causal research
d. Causal research
45. Which of the following does NOT represent an advantage of test marketing? a. Test product acceptability b. Test marketing mix variable in a field setting c. Assists with sales forecasting d. Competition can run a simultaneous field test
d. Competition can run a simultaneous field test
30. Which type of panel varies questions from one panel measurement to the next? a. Continuous panels b. Repetitive panels c. Multivariate panels d. Discontinuous panels
d. Discontinuous panels
67. Exploratory research can offer breakthrough ideas and fresh insights that lead to strategic knowledge.
TRUE
70. Secondary information is widespread and readily available; analyzing secondary data is almost always an important part of a marketing research project.
TRUE
71. Identification of the most useful data sources is another important step to social media data analysis.
TRUE
73. Organization of the data from social media should be flexible and allow for diverse forms of media.
TRUE
75. Descriptive research is desirable when we wish to project a study's Endings to a larger population.
TRUE
76. Prior to important elections, many sample surveys ask likely voters: "If the election were held today, which candidate would you vote for?" This type of sample survey represents a cross-sectional study.
TRUE
84. Laboratory experiments are desirable when the intent of the experiment is to achieve high levels of internal validity.
TRUE
85. Laboratory experiments allow the researcher to control the effects of extraneous variables, which is the primary advantage of laboratory experiments.
TRUE
90. Test marketing allows for the most accurate method of forecasting future sales, and it allows firms the opportunity to pretest marketing-mix variables.
TRUE
46. Which of the following statements reflect a potential disadvantage of using a simulated test market? a. A simulated test market is not as accurate as full-scale test marketing. b. A simulated test market lacks confidentiality. c. Simulated test marketing is often too expensive. d. Simulated test marketing lacks confidentiality.
a. A simulated test market is not as accurate as full-scale test marketing.
29. Which type of panel asks panel members the same questions on each panel measurement? a. Continuous panels b. Variable panels c. Multivariate panels d. Discontinuous panels
a. Continuous panels
36. Sales, market share, customer satisfaction, sales force turnover, time spent on site, and unique net profits are examples of: a. Dependent variables. b. Independent variables. c. Co-dependent variables. d. Non-dependent variables.
a. Dependent variables.
25. A marketing researcher would use what type of research to find out how many customers there are, what brands they buy and in what quantities, which advertisements they recall, what are their attitudes toward the company, and who is the competition? a. Descriptive research b. Exploratory research c. Causal research d. Case study analysis
a. Descriptive research
6. Research design types include: a. Exploratory, descriptive, and causal. b. Exploratory, exploitive, and casual. c. Deductive, descriptive, and causal. d. Exploratory, causal, and prescriptive.
a. Exploratory, descriptive, and causal.
10. Exploratory research is unstructured research, which means it does not have a: a. Predetermined set of procedures. b. Predetermined timetable for completion. c. Predetermined management approval. d. Predetermined budget.
a. Predetermined set of procedures.
19. Experience surveys differ from surveys conducted as part of ________ in that there is usually no formal attempt to ensure that the survey results are representative of any defined group of subjects. a. descriptive research b. causal research c. exploratory research d. prescriptive research
a. descriptive research
43. An outside research firm guarantees distribution of a product that pre-specified types and numbers of distributors. This is an example of what type of test market? a. Electronic test markets b. Controlled test markets c. Simulated test markets d. Standard test markets
b. Controlled test markets Controlled test markets are conducted by outside research firms that guarantee distribution of the product through prespecified types and numbers of distributors.
8. The less we know about a market or subject, the more likely it is that a researcher should use: a. Causal research. b. Descriptive research. c. Exploratory research. d. Formal research.
c. Exploratory research.
17. Executives often use trade journals and industry publications as sources of information for innovation, trends, and news about customers, potential customers, competitors, and more. This is form of: a. Primary data analysis. b. Quantitative data analysis. c. Qualitative data analysis. d. Secondary data analysis
d. Secondary data analysis The Internet and your library offer access to large amounts of secondary data, which include information found on websites and in books, journals, magazines, special reports, bulletins, and newsletters.
50. Once a researcher knows the basic research design, a series of advance decisions may or may not be made to form a framework for the development of the research project.
FALSE
53. The choice of the most appropriate design depends largely on the objectives, the budget, and client preferences associated with the research.
FALSE
55. One common category of objective is to measure the state of a variable of interest for sale, purchase, or investment (for example, level of brand loyalty).
FALSE
58. A researcher has no legal or ethical issues or obligation to notify a client when designing a study in which data are collected for multiple clients.
FALSE
61. When not much is known about the problem or the research objective, it is best to use descriptive research design.
FALSE
88. The disadvantages of test marketing are infallibility, cost, exposure of the product or service to competition, and ethical issues.
FALSE
47. After submitting a winning proposal and becoming familiar with the client, researchers select a research design, which is a master plan that specifies the methods that will be used to collect and analyze the information needed for a research project.
FALSE After becoming familiar with the problem and research objectives, researchers select a research design, which is a master plan that specifies the methods that will be used to collect and analyze the information needed for a research project.
69. Descriptive research allows the researcher to define the problem more precisely and to generate hypotheses for the upcoming study.
FALSE Descriptive research is undertaken to describe answers to questions of who, what, where, when, and how. When we wish to know who our customers are, what brands they buy and in what quantities, where they buy the brands, when they shop, and how they found out about our products, we turn to descriptive research. Descriptive research is also desirable when we wish to project a study's findings to a larger population. If a descriptive study's sample is representative, the findings may be used to predict some variable of interest such as sales.
68. One of the shortcomings of exploratory research is that it cannot help to define terms and concepts.
FALSE Exploratory research helps to define terms and concepts.
72. The most important user-generated data from social media is in the form of text.
FALSE Some of the most important user-generated data will not necessarily be in the form of text. Photos, videos, artwork, literature, and other forms of data might provide new insights into product feedback
78. The alternative term for continuous panels is omnibus panels.
TRUE
80. When the ratio of negative to positive comments on social media about the new Diet Pepsi was worse than is usually found with new products, PepsiCo conducted causal research to understand their consumers' behavior.
TRUE
82. A field experiment involves manipulating the independent variable and measuring the dependent variable in a natural setting.
TRUE
23. An incident of adulterated milk in China in 2008 that led to the death of six infants and the illness of hundreds of thousands of other babies has been studied to prevent other disasters from occurring through supply chain management. What type of research technique does this describe? a. Exploratory analysis b. Case analysis c. Experience research d. Descriptive research
b. Case analysis
11. ________ designs are used to test hypotheses or measure the reaction of one variable to a change in another variable. a. More informal b. More formal c. More expensive d. Less expensive
b. More formal
20. Since research situations typically have at least some similarities to a past situation, executives may use ________ to review available information about one or more former situations to gain understanding of a current research problem with similar characteristics. a. exploratory analysis b. case analysis c. experience research d. descriptive research
b. case analysis
16. The core of exploratory research is often an analysis of: a. Quantitative data. b. Primary data. c. Secondary data. d. Qualitative data.
c. Secondary data.
22. Social media websites are a powerful source for what types of data? a. Primary research data b. Descriptive research c. Situational research data d. Exploratory research data
d. Exploratory research data
38. A procedure for ensuring that ________ is experimental design. a. any and all effects on all experimental values are measured b. the change in the dependent variable may be solely attributed to the change in the extraneous variable c. the change in the independent variable may be solely attributed to the change in the complex variable d. the change in the dependent variable may be solely attributed to the change in the independent variable
d. The change in the dependent variable may be solely attributed to the change in the independent variable
52. Research designs are classified into three traditional categories: exploratory, descriptive, and causal.
TRUE
44. Several firms flood a test market with sales promotions when they know a competitor is test marketing a product. This is an example of: a. Test market sale promotion support. b. Parallel product test marketing. c. Test market sabotage. d. Test market diversity.
c. Test market sabotage.
13. ________ is flexible in that it allows the researcher to investigate whatever sources he or she identifies and to the extent he or she feels is necessary to gain an understanding of the problem at hand. a. Causal b. Explanatory c. Descriptive d. Exploratory
d. Exploratory
49. Every problem and research objective may not be unique. There are not usually enough similarities among problems and objectives to allow researchers to make some decisions in advance about the best research design to use to resolve the problem.
FALSE
63. Unstructured, informal research that is undertaken to gain background information about the general nature of the research problem is called causal research.
FALSE
66. Exploratory research does not allow the researcher to investigate whatever sources he or she identifies to gain an understanding of the problem at hand.
FALSE
79. Firms are interested in using data from discontinuous panels because they can gain insight into changes in consumers' attitudes and behaviors.
FALSE
81. If you want to change your GPA (independent variable), you must change certain dependent variables such as amount of time devoted to study, class attendance, reading your text, and listening
FALSE
83. An extraneous experiment involves manipulating the independent variable and measuring the dependent variable in an artificial setting contrived to control extraneous variables.
FALSE Laboratory experiments are those in which one or more independent variables are manipulated and measures of the dependent variable are taken in a contrived, artificial setting for the purpose of controlling the many possible extraneous variables that may affect the dependent variable.
77. Because longitudinal studies involve multiple measurements, they can be described as "movies" of the population, and are used by almost all small businesses that use marketing research.
FALSE Longitudinal studies repeatedly measure the same sample units of a population over a period of time. Because longitudinal studies involve multiple measurements, they can be described as "movies" of the population. Longitudinal studies are employed by most of the largest companies that use marketing research
57. In the marketing research industry, ethical issues may arise in the potential for researchers to take advantage of clients in the research design process including recommending a costlier design than needed.
TRUE
86. The process that provides procedures for devising an experimental setting-such that a change in a dependent variable may be attributed solely to the change in the independent variable-is called experimental design.
TRUE
89. Determining the sales potential for a new product or service is the only use of test markets.
TRUE
92. Competitors get the opportunity to examine product prototypes and to see the planned marketing strategy for the new product via the test market.
TRUE
91. One of the major advantages to test marketing is the relative inexpensiveness since cost is usually spread over several cities.
TRUE Although test markets are very expensive and time consuming, the costs of introducing a new product on a national or regional basis routinely amount to millions of dollars. The costs of the test market are then justified if the results of the test market can improve a product's chances of success.
65. Ray Kroc, the milkshake machine salesman who created McDonald's, observed that restaurants in San Bernardino, California, run by the McDonald brothers were so busy they burned up more milkshake machines than any of his other customers. Kroc took that observation and turned it into the world-famous fast-food chain. This is an example of exploratory research.
TRUE Kroc took that exploratory observation and turned it into the world-famous fast-food chain.
37. A variable that exerts influence on the dependent variable but is not an independent variable is a(n): a. Extraneous variable. b. Non-extraneous variable. c. Complex variable. d. Co-dependent variable.
a. Extraneous variable.
5. The reason to justify the significance placed on research design includes: a. Research designs may be "matched" to different kinds of problems, the research design may serve as a blueprint for the researcher. b. Research designs are like blueprints, they are most helpful during data analysis. c. Research designs are used after studies are completed and are used to make improvements in future research studies. d. Research designs are important because clients often decide to fund research if they find the design is pleasing to the eye.
a. Research designs may be "matched" to different kinds of problems, the research design may serve as a blueprint for the researcher.
1. Research design should be: a. Selected after thoroughly considering the problem and research objectives. b. Formulated after data analysis. c. The first consideration in a research project. d. Selected during the initial meeting with a client.
a. Selected after thoroughly considering the problem and research objectives. After becoming familiar with the problem and research objectives, researchers select a research design, which is a master plan that specifies the methods that will be used to collect and analyze the information needed for a research project.
40. A firm wants to test the marketing mix or product variables through the company's normal distribution channels. What type of test marketing should be used? a. Standard test markets b. Simulated test markets c. Electronic test markets
a. Standard test markets The standard test market is one in which the firm tests the product or marketing-mix variables through the company's normal distribution channels. A disadvantage of this type of test market is that competitors are immediately aware of the new product or service. However, standard test markets are good indicators as to how the product will actually perform because they are conducted in real settings
39. Which of the following concerns internal validity? a. The extent to which the change in the dependent variable was actually due to the independent variable b. The measurement of extraneous variables that is internal to the experimental setting itself c. The extent that the observed relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable is generalizable to the real world d. The representativeness of the sample test units
a. The extent to which the change in the dependent variable was actually due to the independent variable Internal validity is the extent to which a researcher can be certain that a change in the dependent variable is actually due to the independent variable. This is another way of asking if the proper experimental design was used and if it was implemented correctly.
14. Which of the following is NOT a use for exploratory research? a. To confirm hypotheses b. To gain background information c. To define terms, to clarify problems, and hypotheses d. To establish research priorities
a. To confirm hypotheses
24. Focus groups are one of the most widely used ________ methods to gain greater understanding of a current problem or to develop preliminary knowledge to guide in the design of descriptive or causal research. a. exploratory research b. case study analysis research c. experience research d. descriptive research
a. exploratory research Focus groups are one of the most widely used exploratory techniques to gain greater understanding of a current problem or to develop preliminary knowledge to guide in the design of descriptive or causal research.
34. What is the type of study in which one or more independent variables are manipulated to see how one or more dependent variables are affected, while also controlling the effects of additional extraneous variables? a. Hypothetical research study b. Experimental research study c. A procedural study d. An observational study
b. Experimental research study Causal relationships may be discovered only through special studies called experiments. Experiments allow us to determine the effects of a variable, known as an independent variable, on another variable, known as a dependent variable. Experimental designs are necessary to ensure that the effect we observe in our dependent variable is due to our independent variable and not to other variables known as extraneous variables.
35. Level of advertising expenditure, type of advertising appeal (humor, prestige), display location, placement of website ads, method of compensating salespersons, price, and type of product are examples of: a. Dependent variables. b. Independent variables. c. Co-dependent variables. d. Non-dependent variables.
b. Independent variables.
7. The choice of the type of research design depends largely on: a. Budget restrictions. b. Objectives of the research. c. Whether the research is domestic or international. d. Type of analytics required.
b. Objectives of the research.
15. ________ is the process of searching for and interpreting existing information relevant to the research topic. a. Primary data analysis b. Secondary data analysis c. Interpretative data analysis d. Analytical data analysis
b. Secondary data analysis
26. What types of studies do descriptive research studies include? a. Studies that specify the causality in the problem b. Studies that need answers to who, what, when, where, and how questions c. Studies that describe previous findings in similar problems d. Studies that answer who, what, when, where, how, and why questions
b. Studies that need answers to who, what, when, where, and how questions
31. Brand-switching studies can be invaluable to brand managers because ________ that show changes in market shares between several brands can be misleading. a. longitudinal studies b. cross-sectional studies c. directional studies d. discontinuous studies
b. cross-sectional studies Studies examining the extent to which consumers are loyal to one brand versus buying different brands are known as brand-switching studies. Such studies can be invaluable to brand managers because cross-sectional studies that show changes in market shares between several brands can be misleading.
42. Because one of the major reasons for conducting a test market is to achieve ________, the test-market city should be representative of the marketing territory in which the product will ultimately be distributed. a. internal validity b. external validity c. internal variability d. external variability
b. external validity
2. The research design is a ________ that specifies the methods that will be used to collect and analyze the information needed for a research project. a. Methodology. b. master plan. c. generalized roadmap. d. proposed guide.
b. master plan
3. Knowledge of research design is important in: a. Selecting the appropriate data analytic visualization software. b. Developing an appropriate sales and marketing plan. c. Developing the research for the corporate strategic plan.
c. Developing the research for the corporate strategic plan.
12. A small family-owned jeweler experiences more than a 20 percent decline in sales. The owners do not know what the problem is. The research design they should use is: a. Causal. b. Explanatory. c. Exploratory. d. Descriptive.
c. Exploratory.
27. The two basic types of studies categorized as descriptive research include: a. Case analysis and experiments. b. Longitudinal studies and case analysis. c. Longitudinal studies and cross-sectional studies. d. Focus groups and case analysis.
c. Longitudinal studies and cross-sectional studies.
32. Tracking studies are studies that involve the monitoring of the same variables of interest, such as market share or unit sales, over time. These types of studies are an example of: a. Cross-sectional studies. b. Multi-directional studies. c. Longitudinal studies. d. Discontinuous studies.
c. Longitudinal studies.
21. By providing access to the unfettered opinions of consumers, ________ offer an instant way to gain background information for a problem, to define terms, to clarify problems and hypotheses, and to establish research priorities. a. focus groups b. online panels c. social media platforms d. executive interviews
c. social media platforms
28. The types of descriptive research study that measure a population at only one point in time is: a. Point-in-time studies. b. Longitudinal studies. c. Cross-point studies. d. Cross-sectional studies.
d. Cross-sectional studies. Cross-sectional studies measure units from a sample of the population of interest at only one point in time. A study measuring your attitude toward adding a required internship course to your degree program, for example, would be a cross-sectional study. Your attitude toward the topic is measured at one point in time. Cross-sectional studies are prevalent in marketing research, outnumbering longitudinal studies and causal studies. Because cross-sectional studies are one-time measurements, they can be described as "snapshots" of the population.
18. A medical device company developing a cardiac device surveys well-known cardiac surgeons with subject matter knowledge about the problem the device company is trying to solve. This is an example of: a. Exploratory research. b. Descriptive research. c. Causal research. d. Experience research.
d. Experience research. Experience surveys refer to gathering information from those thought to be knowledgeable on the issues relevant to the research problem. This technique is also known as the key-informant technique
41. Which of the following does NOT represent criteria useful for selecting test-market cities? a. Representativeness b. Degree of isolation c. Ability to control distribution and promotion d. Major U.S. market
d. Major U.S. market
4. Once the researcher knows the basic research design, ________ may be made to form a framework for the development of the research project. a. the survey instrument b. the research budget c. starting allocations d. a series of advance decisions
d. a series of advance decisions
