Study

Assume you require a sample of 100 respondents, but you know that you will not be able to complete interviews with 60 percent of the individuals in your sample. Assuming this information, calculate your total sampling elements (TSE).

100/ 1-.6=150 TSE - sample size/[(1-BCI) (1-I) (1-R) (1-NC)] BCI - elements with bad contact info I - remaining elements who are ineligible R - elements who refuse NC - elements who cannot be contacted

What is a data matrix in marketing research? If there are 12 variables in a study and 150 respondents, describe the resulting data matrix

A data matrix is a matrix which stores data or A rectangular array of numbers (e.g., spreadsheet). Typically cases are stored as rows within the data matrix Eg. Unit of analysis, while the variables are stored as columns Eg Level of Superstitiousness. -12 variables (12 columns): 12 diff units of analysis and one column for titles -If you have 150 respondents, then you will have 151 rows because that would include the title row

What is a leading question? Give and explain an example of one.

A leading question is "a question asked in a way that is intended to produce a desired answer." Eg. Would you like to lose 10 lbs? Everybody likes the Civic Brand, do you?

What is the difference between a population and a sample? What is the difference between a parameter and a statistic?

A population is the entire group that you want to draw conclusions about. A sample is the select few that you will collect data from; You take the sample of the population as its far more practical, as it is very labor intensive and not as effective. A parameter is a number describing a whole population (e.g., population mean), while a statistic is a number describing a sample (e.g., sample mean). The goal of quantitative research is to understand characteristics of populations by finding parameters.

What is a sampling frame? Describe how a simple random sample can be drawn from a sampling frame.

A sampling frame is a list or database from which a sample can be used. In market research terms, a sampling frame is a database of potential respondents that can be drawn from to invite to take part in a given research project. It is a system that puts elements to every part of the population. A numbered list of population elements

What is coding in questionnaire research? Describe how the following question should be coded: What did you have for lunch today? (check all that apply) ___ Sandwich ___ Soda ____ Dessert

Coding is the procedural function of assigning concise and specific values (either alpha or numeric) to data elements collected through surveys or other forms of research so that these data may be quickly and easily counted or otherwise processed and subjected to statistical analyses, most often using a computer. This questionnaire can easily be coded as each item being assigned a number such as the sandwich being 1, soda being 2 and lastly dessert being 3. This is the most effective method because we know what they are consuming.

Give an example of the use of disguise in a questionnaire. When might disguise be appropriate?

Disguised questionnaire is the amount of knowledge hidden from the respondent of the study. Disguised is useful when: - knowledge of the purpose of the study would cause the respondent to change their answers. Disguise is useful when knowledge of the purpose of the study or its sponsor would cause respondents to change their answers. Disguise is also used to help recreate a more natural environment for those participating in research, especially experimental research

What is a nonresponse error? What are some things that can be done to reduce nonresponse error?

Error from failing to obtain information from some elements of the population that were selected and designated for the sample For example, consider an interview project that is being conducted on political participation

What is noncoverage error in a questionnaire study? Give an example of noncoverage error.

Error that arises because of failure to include qualified elements of the defined population in the sampling frame.

If the variance of the age variable in a population of individuals is 216, what would be the variance of the mean ages of 24-person probability samples from this population? Why is it important to know this?

It is important because you can use it to make predictions of the population as a whole. 216/24= 9. The variance is + or - 9 years of the samples. Then do square root of 9 to get 3, which means that which makes the standard deviation 3, Variance of the sample variance.

What is item nonresponse? What are the four possibilities of what to do about it?

Item nonresponse is defined as the failure to obtain information for a question in an interview or questionnaire, so data are missing. Design your survey carefully; use well-trained staff and proven techniques. Develop a relationship with respondents. Send reminders to respond. Offer incentives to respond. Keep surveys short.

Name the four levels of measurement and give an example of each.

Nominal: the data can only be categorized. Ex. genotype, tall or short, blood type, zip code, gender, race, eye color, political party (usually is a yes no question/has 2 choices) Ordinal: the data can be categorized and ranked. Ex. socio economic status, education level, income level, ​​satisfaction rating (usually these are ordered or ranked)(different types of cars, and asked to rank how much you like each car)(whats your 1st choice, 2nd choice) Interval: the data can be categorized and ranked, and evenly spaced. Ex. (ranking each choice of say soda flavors at an individual scale from 1-10) (The distances are about the same between the 1-10 scale for each flavor(Which doesn't apply for Ordinal))(We know how much more you like it rather than ordinal scale) Ratio: the data can be categorized, ranked, evenly spaced and has a natural zero Ex. ​​enzyme activity, dose amount, reaction rate, flow rate, concentration, pulse, weight, length, temperature in Kelvin (0.0 Kelvin really does mean "no heat"), survival time. Temperature works for ratio because temperature has a true zero, weight is included because the weight itself has a zero point)

What is a nonprobability sample? Describe two types of nonprobability sampling.

Non-probability sampling a way of selecting people (not random). is defined as a sampling technique in which the researcher selects samples based on the subjective judgment of the researcher rather than random selection. Accidental - a form of non-probability sampling that involves taking a population sample that is close at hand, rather than carefully determined and obtained. Purposive - a form of non-probability sampling in which researchers rely on their own judgment when choosing members of the population to participate in their surveys.

What is the difference between an open-ended question and a closed-ended (or fixed- alternative) question?

Open-ended questions are questions that allow someone to give a free-form answer. Closed-ended questions can be answered with "Yes" or "No," or they have a limited set of possible answers (such as: A, B, C, or All of the Above)

Describe a advantage and a disadvantage of the personal interview method of questionnaire administration

People are more likely to readily answer live questions about the subject (for instance, a product) simply because they can actually see, touch, feel or even taste the product.Highest response rate. And allows use of all types of questions.The process is more time consuming. The process is labor intensive. Interviewer bias and confidentiality are difficult to be assured. Interviewee may be reluctant to provide confidential information. And this way is very expensive + interview bias

Describe a advantage and a disadvantage of the telephone interview method of questionnaire administration

Personal touch: Telephonic surveys are more expressive than email surveys, thus adding a personal touch and capturing more responses. Cost-effective: CATIs (Computer Aided Tactical Information System.) are more profitable, considering the high response rate compared to web surveys. A significant disadvantage of telephone interviewing is that the respondent could unilaterally terminate the telephone interview without any warning or explanation by hanging up the phone (this could be for what seems like no apparent reason?). And its hard to schedule interviews since you can't talk long/ also can't show them anything

Describe a prominent advantage and a prominent disadvantage of the online method of questionnaire administration

Poorly chosen distribution channels can lead to biased data, low response rates and a host of other potential issues. Participants are less likely to stay fully engaged for a survey of more than 8-10 minutes than with other research methods. Repeated requests to complete the survey can be perceived by participants as annoying, and can therefore backfire against a business. Unless an identification verification tool is used, it is impossible to know if the sample providing answers is the right person (i.e. it could be a family member, friend, etc.) or if one person is submitting multiple responses. Difficulty reaching certain types of participants, such as those who do not have internet access or non-customer samples in niche industries. Lack of quality random sampling leads to questionable (if any) statistical confidence and margin of error. A topic that is a major challenge the market research industry faces right now.

What is questionnaire pretesting? Why is it important that the first pretests be done with a personal interview?

Pretesting (or pilot testing) is the stage in the development of a questionnaire that determines the potential effectiveness of the questionnaire. The pretest is conducted prior to the final distribution of the questionnaire to the target population.Pretesting provides an opportunity to make revisions to study materials and data collection procedures to ensure that appropriate questions are being asked and that questions do not make respondents uncomfortable and/or confused because they combine two or more important issues in a single question. It is important to see if the respondent is able and willing to answer your question (if they are confused looking or scratching their head for example)

Describe the difference between random error and systematic error, and give an example of each

Random Error: slightly differs from each measurements, which occurs as a result of the unpredictable changes during an experiment Example: Mislabeling a sample Systematic Error: Will always affect measurements the exact amount or its proportion (Given the reading is taken/following the same way each time which is predictable) Example: Improper Calibration;Leading Question;Scale with a slider at zero will cause respondents to stay near zero, so you have the slider set in the middle to not cause biases)

For which levels of the four levels of measurement would it be appropriate to use the mean as a summary measure? For the levels of measurement where the mean is not appropriate, which summary measures could be used?

Ratio or interval with mean. Ordinal scale doesn't work for mean because the difference between the two numbers (ratings) are too different. Ratio and interval = mean , ordinal =median , nominal = mode

What is the difference between reliability and validity?

Reliability - the degree to which a measurement is error-free and provides consistent results over time. Consistency. Random error is more common. Validity - Refers to the ability of a measurement scale to measure what it proposes to measure, and the degree to which it is free from systematic and random error. A measurement needs to be reliable to be valid, but not the opposite. Accuracy. Systematic error is more common. Reliability and validity are concepts used to evaluate the quality of research. They indicate how well a method, technique or test measures something. Reliability is about the consistency of a measure, and validity is about the accuracy of a measure.

What is a screening (or filter) question? What is the major reason that screening questions are used?

Screening questions (also known as "screeners") either qualify or disqualify respondents from taking your survey—depending on how they answer. They let you decide who takes your survey based on the target audience you want to hear from. Allows for a better result as the data is more refined

Describe the Likert scale and the semantic-differential scale in a way that illustrates an important similarity between the two and an important difference.

Semantic Scale vs. Likert Scale. With the Likert scale, people state how much they agree or disagree with a particular statement; with the semantic differential scale, people filling in the questionnaire decide how much of a trait or quality the item has; Ordinal scale= Likert Scale

What is the difference between stratified sampling and cluster sampling? Describe the procedure of area sampling.

Stratified sampling anytime you take the pop and put them into groups, and then picking random groups Cluster sampling divides a population into groups, then includes all members of some randomly chosen groups. Stratified sampling divides a population into groups, then includes some members of all of the groups. Area sampling is a method of sampling used when no complete frame of reference is available. The total area under investigation is divided into small sub-areas which are sampled at random or according to a restricted process

What is systematic sampling? If you want to use systematic sampling to draw 50 elements from a population of 600 elements, what would be your sampling interval?

Systematic sampling is a type of probability sampling method in which sample members from a larger population are selected according to a random starting point but with a fixed, periodic interval. This interval, called the sampling interval, is calculated by dividing the population size by the desired sample size. 600/50=12

What is the difference between target information and classification information? What are the implications of this distinction for the ordering of questions in a questionnaire?

Target is what you really care about, classification (usually asked towards the end) is the type of the respondent (their income level for example). One of the most important aspects in designing a market research (MR) questionnaire is the sequence of the questions. Each question that you ask poses a potential danger to sensitize or condition the respondent, and thereby bias the respondent in the subsequent questions

What is a double-barreled question? What are the words to watch out for in trying to avoid writing one?

The double-barreled question, also known as a double-direct question, is basically a trick question. When you ask two questions but allow for only one response,The problem with double-barreled questions is that they lead to confusion. Respondents are confused because they've been asked two questions, but aren't sure which one to answer. Then, when it comes time to analyze the responses, survey creators are confused by the results. And/or

If the population variance of a certain characteristic is 100 units and you want to have 95% confidence that the sampling error of sample means of that characteristic is ± 4 units, how large a sample should you draw? (Note: round off 1.96 to 2)

The sampling error is calculated by dividing the standard deviation of the population by the square root of the size of the sample, and then multiplying the resultant with the Z score value, which is based on the confidence interval. 2^2*100/4^2 = 25

What is meant when it is said that response alternatives should be "mutually exclusive and exhaustive?" What is response order bias?

When two events are mutually exclusive, it means they cannot both occur at the same time. But it doesn't necessarily imply that one of the two events has to happen. When two events are exhaustive, it means that one of them must occur (including every other choice available as well, yet can only choose one) Response order bias - a term used in market research which speaks to how respondents are influenced to perceive or select specific responses based on the order they are shown in the survey.

Describe a advantage and a disadvantage of the paper-based method of questionnaire administration

When using questionnaires, there is a chance that some questions will be ignored or left unanswered. If questions are not required, there is always that risk they won't be answered. Online questionnaires offer a simple solution to this issue: make answering the question required. Advantage It keeps the respondent anonymous (Very Important). Manually have ti enter data which is a disadvantage (making it more expensive, lower response rate, and long time to conduct

Fixed-alternative question

a test or survey item in which several possible responses are given and participants are asked to pick the correct response or the one that best matches their preference

What information about each variable should be included in the codebook?

although codebooks vary widely in quality and amount of information given, a typical codebook includes: Column locations and widths for each variable. Definitions of different record types. Response codes for each variable. Codes used to indicate nonresponse and missing data

What is the definition of a questionnaire study's response rate? If 500 individuals are sent a request to complete an online survey, 70 turn out to be ineligible, and 300 never respond to the request, then what is the eligibility percentage? What is the response rate?

response rate - the ratio of the number of participants in a study to the number of participants who were asked to participate Eligibility % - (500-70)/500= 86% Response Rate (130/500)*100=26%