Marketing Research Exam 1 Review Ch. 1-7

With a known decision problem, a researcher's primary task is to develop a partial range of research problems.

False

When meeting with the client, to get as much information as possible about the problem/opportunity, how many times should you ask "why" the situation has occurred to dive deeper into possible causes?

Five

The type of exploratory research to use when a researcher hopes that ideas will drop "out of the blue" or be fully developed because of the "snowball" effect is

Focus groups

What is the primary advantage of a focus group over other exploratory techniques?

It features group interaction, allowing participants to hear and respond to others' ideas.

What is true about Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?

It is a system for gathering all relevant information about a company's customers.

Unlike the research request agreement, the research proposal specifies the techniques to be used in implementing research.

True

When meeting with the client, it is important to keep the broader issue in mind to keep from going down a very specific and possibly incorrect path.

True

How a firm responds to a new product introduced by a competitor is an example of which type of marketing problem/opportunity?

Unplanned change in the marketing environment

Which method of ethical reasoning holds that the correct course of action is the one that promotes the greatest good for the greatest number of people?

Utility approach

Which of the following are focus group outcomes to avoid?

a. Using focus group data to provide final answers to the problem b. Using focus group data to intentionally support a manager's position c. Letting executive bias influence the interpretation of focus group data d. All of the above are correct. <----

Which of the following is probably the best source of data for a marketer doing research on the U.S. labor force?

A federal government agency

At which stage can errors enter the marketing research process?

At any stage

"Sugging" is best described by which of the following statements?

Attempting to sell products or services after telling respondents you are conducting marketing research

Why does the research request agreement make the job of the researcher easier?

Because it makes certain that the client and the researcher agree about the research problem to be addressed.

The introduction of New Coke in the early 1980s is an example of a product introduction, backed by research, that had a disastrous result. Why did the marketing research process fail in the case of New Coke?

Because researchers asked all the wrong questions

Why is it important for the researcher to be actively involved in problem formulation?

Because researchers bring a new perspective to the problem/opportunity situation

Which broad approach to marketing research sheds light on a particular issue at a particular time?

Collecting data to address specific problems

The first stage of the marketing research process is Problem Determination. What is the best course of action if the phenomenon to be investigated is broad or vague?

Conduct exploratory research to clarify the issue.

Which component of a decision support system (DSS) has modules containing information about customers, general economic and demographic data, competitor information, and industry information such as market trends?

Data system

A manager's view of the problem or opportunity is known as the

Decision problem

Which systems approach makes the most sense for a manager in a dynamic marketing environment that needs data at irregular intervals?

Decision support system (DSS)

Which of the general approaches to marketing research focuses on describing a population?

Descriptive research

Which of the following examples represents a strategy-oriented decision problem for a restaurant owner?

Determining the effectiveness of two proposed advertising campaigns for the restaurant

All of the following represent examples of the causal research approach, except:

Determining the frequency with which something occurs within a population

The stage of marketing research in which error can enter the process is

Error can enter during any stage

"Normal thinking" can help managers or researchers understand the true nature of a problem.

False

Advertising agencies are most likely to do marketing research that estimates market needs for products and services.

False

Descriptive research is a less common means of gathering primary data.

False

Exploratory research is inappropriate for any problem about which little is known.

False

If an action is legal, then it is ethical.

False

Much of the data that marketing managers need to make routine decisions do not exist inside a company's databases.

False

The element of a DSS that clearly separates it from an MIS is its model system.

False

The primary function of focus groups is to validate a seller's beliefs about its own product.

False

The usefulness of a knowledge management system depends on the willingness of customers to share information.

False

Understanding the source of a problem rarely provides clues about the type of research that is needed.

False

Which statement about an exploratory study is true?

It is flexible regarding methods used for gaining insight.

Which of the following statements about marketing research is true?

It is the process of gathering and interpreting data for use in developing, implementing, and monitoring a firm's marketing plans.

Which of the following statements about primary data is true?

It is time-consuming to generate primary data.

Which of the following statements about the research proposal is true?

It specifies the techniques that will be used for implementing the research.

One of the quickest and least costly ways of conducting exploratory research is

Literature search

Which systems approach to providing managers with the information they need produces regular, standardized reports based on data held in a database?

Marketing information systems (MIS)

Managers who study and understand marketing research will know which of the following statements about the research process are NOT true?

Marketing research is inexpensive to an organization and can therefore be undertaken on trivial issues

Considering how managers use marketing research, which use applies to a manager who wishes to allocate resources in the best way to pursue business opportunities?

Marketing research used for planning

The first key step in problem formulation:

Meet with the client

Which component of a decision support system (DSS) has routines or tools for helping managers do things like make better marketing mix decisions and new product development decisions or assess alternative marketing plans?

Model system

What is the role in a focus group that is most critical to its success?

Moderator

Which of the following is NOT one of the requirements for entering the marketing research field?

Negotiation skills

Which exploratory research approach is best if you're concerned about minimizing the potential for "group think?"

Nominal groups

The two basic sources of change in the marketing environment are

Planned and unplanned

Which part of the research request agreement discusses the groups from whom the information must be gathered?

Population and subgroups

What source of secondary data might be useful for a company seeking to understand the type of people who use its products?

Product registration card data

What is the document that is typically used to describe the nature of the problem and ask research providers to offer proposals?

Request-for-proposal

Which type of research would an advertising agency most likely conduct?

Research designed to create effective campaigns and measure their effectiveness

When data that marketers need to make decisions already exist inside or outside the organization, it is known as

Secondary data

The section of a formal research proposal that discusses the editing and proofreading of questionnaires, coding instructions, and type of data analysis is

The analysis

Who has the most important role in a focus group?

The focus group moderator

The first thing that must occur for research to be properly designed:

The problem or opportunity must be precisely defined.

Which of the following is a potential disadvantage of using secondary data?

The quality of the data

Under which moral reasoning framework is it more difficult to judge an action as ethical?

The rights approach

Which of the following statements about the ethical reasoning frameworks is true?

These frameworks will not always lead to the same conclusion about the ethics of research.

Which of the following are key characteristics of exploratory studies?

They are typically small scale and flexible.

All of the following statements describe attributes of successful marketing researchers except which one?

They simply respond to explicit requests for information.

A request-for-proposal (RFP) is a document a manager would use for what research-related purpose?

To ask research providers for proposals and cost estimates for a research project.

Which of the following is NOT one of the purposes of exploratory research?

To determine a set of final answers and decisions to address the research problem

The most critical error in research work is

Total error

Because the time from data collection to data dissemination is often long, secondary data are often out of date.

True

Discovery-oriented research rarely solves a problem in the sense of providing actionable results.

True

Even the best marketing research projects contain error of one kind or another.

True

Exploratory studies are very flexible and rarely use detailed questionnaires.

True

If a company is going to consider and evaluate multiple research providers and select to work with, a request-for-proposal will often be issued to interested or qualified providers.

True

Managers should study marketing research so they can understand what they are asking of researchers when requesting marketing research.

True

One important measure of a focus group's success is whether the participants talk to each other rather than the moderator doing all the talking.

True

Problem formulation involves more art than science.

True

Projective methods help researchers overcome subjects' reluctance to discuss their feelings and/or provide truthful answers.

True

Secondary data make up most of the data held in data systems used in marketing research.

True

Successful marketing researchers tend to be reactive rather than proactive.

True

The ability to interact with the system to create customized information is the true value of a decision support system (DSS).

True

The basic function of marketing research is to gather information that is needed to help managers make better decisions.

True

The research request agreement helps ensure that the client and the researcher agree about the research problems to be addressed.

True

Trying to sell products after telling respondents you are conducting marketing research is an unethical approach known as "sugging."

True

What differentiates a decision problem from a research problem?

a. A research problem is a restatement of the decision problem, from the researcher's perspective. b. A research problem states specifically what research can be done to provide answers. c. A decision problem takes the manager's perspective. d. All of these statements are correct <---

Which of the following are not valid examples of marketing research?

a. A salesperson using research study results to help sell products b. A politician using polling data to plan campaign strategies c. A media company using research to better understand its audience so it can better sell advertising d. All of these are valid examples of marketing research <-----

A manager needing to investigate why market share for a product has slipped might use which of the following exploratory research approaches to identify a research problem?

a. Analysis of sales data in company databases b. A focus group with consumers c. A quick online survey of current product users d. All of these are appropriate exploratory research approaches in this example. <---

Which are the major categories of firms that conduct marketing research?

a. Companies that produce or sell products and services b. Advertising agencies c. Marketing research companies d. All of these are correct. <---

Knowledge management is an effort to collect and make accessible what kind of information an organization's people possess?

a. Customer information b. Product information c. Process information d. All of the above are correct. <---

Evidence that the research that collected secondary data was done properly involves understanding what details about the data collection process?

a. Definitions b. Data collection forms c. Method of sampling d. All of the above provide evidence that research was done properly. <---

Among the important reasons for studying marketing research are which of the following?

a. Marketing research can be rewarding and fun. b. To learn to be a smart consumer of marketing research results c. To gain an appreciation of the process, what it can and cannot do d. All of these are correct. <---

How can a company avoid the trap of researching the wrong problem?

a. Meet with the client to get as much information about the problem/opportunity. b. Delay research until the problem is properly defined. c. Conduct exploratory research to pin down the issues. d. All of the above are correct. <---

Which of the following statements are characteristics of depth interviews?

a. Participants are selected based their likely ability to provide useful information. b. It's important to include people with differing viewpoints and opinions. c. They don't require a random sample. d. All of these statements are characteristics of depth interviews. <---

Why is it important for business people, who are increasingly exposed to research results, to study marketing research?

a. So they won't take research results at face value b. So they will know how to ask the right questions about the research c. So they can determine the validity of the results d. All of the above <---

Which of the following is a limitation of the systems approach?

a. The cost and time required to build information systems b. Different managers have different data needs. c. Managers are limited to the data available in the system. d. All of these are limitations of the systems approach. <---

Which of the following are components of a decision support system (DSS)?

a. The data system b. The model system c. The dialog system d. All of these are components of a decision support system. <---

Marketing research should be avoided when

a. it is unethical. b. management bias cannot be overcome with valid research results. c. it wastes a company's resources. d. All of these statements about avoiding marketing research are true. <---

A well-stated decision problem

a. takes the manager's perspective. b. is as simple as possible. c. takes the form of a question. d. All of the above are correct. <---

Marketing research should be avoided when

a. the goal of the research is to support a particular position with pseudo-scientific results. b. attempting to sell products, services, or ideas under the guise of marketing research. c. when time, budget, or other resources are lacking to do the research properly. d. All of the above are correct. <----

The growth in the need for marketing research is creating demand for individuals who can

collect, analyze, and interpret information

Secondary data is typically more accurate when

it comes from the primary source that originated the data.

Researchers should be actively involved in problem formulation by

listening carefully as managers provide their perspective on the problem.

Data mining is an exploratory research technique that is defined as

searching for statistical patterns in datasets

A concern or pitfall about the use of focus groups for exploratory research is

that managers find it too easy to use focus group data to intentionally support their positions