Exam 3: A: Problem Definition and the Research Process

What is a plan for addressing the research objectives or hypotheses? In essence,the researcher develops a structure or framework to answer a specific research problem/opportunity.

Large amounts of money,time,and effort are wasted because requests for marketing information were poorly formulated.The preceding could have been avoided if the researcher had:

Suppose a sales manager makes the statement,"The problem with this company is declining sales." Why is such a statement shortsighted?

Which of the following is a problem associated with laboratory experiments?

Two variables must be correlated in order to be causally related.

Causality is relatively easy to prove in most marketing research studies.

A pilot study is more rigorous than other types of quantitative studies.

Spurious association implies that the relationship between two variables is related to some explainable cause.

Suppose you are wanting to contract with a marketing research firm for a specific project.What criteria would you use in your selection process?

The President of a small state college commissions a marketing research firm to determine why the college's enrollment has been declining.The President contends that the college is under funded by the state,compared with other colleges of the same size.The research firm does a study and finds the main reason that enrollment is declining is the lack of relationships between faculty and students.Why might the President not be motivated to use the results of the marketing research study?

The first step in the problem-definition process is:

Which of the following is a key question at the problem-definition stage?

Ideally,who should define the problem in the marketing research process?

In analyzing the effects of shelf placement on sales,shelf placement of the product is the _______.

A laboratory experiment would be better than a field experiment in helping a researcher eliminate _______.

You are part of a consulting team that is doing a marketing research project for a businessman in a small community.The proposal is in the final stages as it is being written and prepared for presentation.You hear one of the consultants remark "the proposal should be written in as much detail,especially statistical detail,and as eloquently as possible.The thicker the proposal;the better.We want them to know they are getting their money's worth." How would you respond to your colleague's statement?

Most clients tend to prefer what type of reports?

The United Way agency in your town has contacted you because it has been experiencing declining donations.You tell the agency that your basic plan to determine why donations are declining will be exploratory,then descriptive.Explain what the research firm means.

Who puts together a request for proposal (RFP)?

In a causal study of the effect of shelf placement on sales of a brand of cereal,which is the dependent variable?