Deck 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

Question 1

Compare reliability and validity. Why are they important considerations in marketing research?

Answer 1

Answer not provided.

Question 2

How can companies use information technology as a competitive advantage?

Answer 2

Answer not provided.

Question 3

How is it possible to increase the response rate of a mail survey?

Answer 3

Answer not provided.

Question 4

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of collecting a sample.

Question 5

Marketing research is best defined as

A)the systematic design, collection, interpretation, and reporting of information to help marketers solve specific marketing problems or take advantage of market opportunities.
B)a framework for the day-to-day management and structuring of information gathered by marketers.
C)a continuous gathering of data for an organization to make marketing decisions
D)the collecting of data from secondary sources and internal documents.
E)an intuitive process for making decisions based on personal knowledge and experience.

Question 6

All of the following are steps in the marketing research process except

A)collecting data.
B)interpreting research findings.
C)designing the research project.
D)reporting research findings.
E)understanding your customer.

Question 7

Wade is puzzled by the recent decrease in sales at one of the Auto Zone locations for which he is the regional manager. He knows the best way to approach this problem and obtain accurate information is to use

A)the marketing research process.
B)the opinions of store managers.
C)company sales' data.
D)hypothesis testing.
E)stratified sampling of customers.

Question 8

Why would a personal interview be favored over a mail or telephone survey?

Question 9

What pitfalls should a marketing researcher avoid in preparing a report for a company executive? Why?

Question 10

Explain the conditions that would favor an exploratory study over a conclusive study.

Question 11

Marketing research is a process designed to gather information

A)exclusively about a company's customers.
B)from the company's database.
C)not currently available to decision makers.
D)about the needs and desires of employees.
E)concerning the interpretation of the company's sales goals.

Question 12

The real value of marketing research to the organization can best be measured by

A)its immediate impact on profits.
B)the amount of time spent.
C)how much it costs.
D)improvements in the ability to make decisions.
E)the increase in sales volume or market share.

Question 13

Discuss the role of the marketing information system in helping marketing managers make better decisions.

Question 14

Pointing out any deficiencies and the possible reasons for them should be done in the ____ step of the marketing research process.

A)interpreting research findings
B)collecting data
C)defining the issue or problem
D)reporting research findings
E)designing the research project

Question 15

Problem location and definition is the first step toward finding a solution to a marketing problem or launching a research study. The first sign of a problem

A)involves an informed guess or assumption about a certain set of circumstances.
B)is usually accompanied by a cost/benefit analysis.
C)most often comes in the form of customer complaints.
D)is often mentioned in secondary data reports, such as trade journals.
E)is typically a departure from some normal function, such as a failure to attain objectives.

Question 16

How does marketing research differ when conducted in other countries?

Question 17

Why is ethics an important consideration in marketing research?

Question 18

Why is defining the problem the most important step in marketing research?

Question 19

The use of marketing research is

A)limited strictly to large corporations.
B)limited to for-profit businesses of all sizes.
C)controlled by the federal government.
D)widespread throughout business and nonprofit organizations.
E)carefully monitored by each state's trade agencies.

Question 20

Why is it essential that a questionnaire be carefully designed and prepared? What problems can arise when a survey has not been well thought out?

Question 21

A valid study

A)portrays the population being studied.
B)results in a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
C)uses random sampling.
D)verifies expected results.
E)measures what it is supposed to.

Question 22

Decreasing sales, increasing expenses, or decreasing profits

A)are to be expected during the marketing research process.
B)are examples of symptoms that point to larger problems.
C)usually have no effect on the marketing research process.
D)are important considerations in designing the research project.
E)should be carefully considered before collecting data.

Question 23

Marketing researchers at Essex Co. repeated a particular experiment several times and discovered that the results produced each time were nearly identical. This phenomenon would indicate that the results were

A)reliable.
B)valid.
C)unusable.
D)predictable.
E)compatible.

Question 24

Avon believes that sales of one of its lipstick lines have fallen due to the introduction of a new lipstick line, but it wants to make this tentative hypothesis more specific before proceeding. Avon should conduct

A)experimental research.
B)hypothesis testing.
C)exploratory research.
D)conclusive research.
E)descriptive research.

Question 25

If Little Caesars wants to determine the impact of different coupon offers on pizza unit sales, it needs to conduct

A)exploratory research.
B)hypothesis development.
C)survey research.
D)stratified sampling.
E)experimental research.

Question 26

To maintain the control needed to obtain accurate information, marketers approach marketing research as a process. Which of the following steps of that process focuses on uncovering the nature and boundaries of the marketing situation to be studied?

A)Locating and defining problems
B)Designing the project
C)Collecting data
D)Interpreting findings
E)Reporting findings

Question 27

The Gap wants to target an older crowd in order to increase its market share so it surveys men and women from ages 40 to 60 about how often and for what type of activities they wear casual clothing. This is an example of

A)reliability.
B)exploratory research.
C)probability sampling.
D)descriptive research.
E)experimental research.

Question 28

Jack Bateson knows his business has a problem because of an increasing number of consumer complaints received recently. He has decided how to make this problem a precise, researchable statement and should next move on to

A)calculating reliability and validity.
B)designing the research project.
C)collecting data.
D)interpreting research findings.
E)taking corrective action.

Question 29

Research that is conducted to clarify the characteristics of certain phenomena to solve a particular problem is called ____ research.

A)primary
B)experimental
C)descriptive
D)secondary
E)exploratory

Question 30

Research designed to verify insights through an objective procedure to help marketers to choose between several alternatives is called

A)primary.
B)secondary.
C)exploratory.
D)conclusive.
E)hypothetical.

Question 31

An informed guess or assumption about a certain problem or set of circumstances is known as

A)a description of the situation.
B)good research design.
C)a hypothesis.
D)a reliable guess.
E)managerial intuition.

Question 32

____ that are either accepted or rejected become the primary conclusions of a marketing research study.

A)Descriptions
B)Issues
C)Primary data
D)Samples
E)Hypotheses

Question 33

Students from marketing research class collect data from three areas on campus. When they analyze their data the responses are very similar. The students can state they achieved which of the following?

A)reliability
B)causal relationships
C)validity
D)sampling
E)measurability

Question 34

When marketing researchers try to manipulate an independent variable and measure the resulting changes in a dependent variable, they are engaging in

A)surveys.
B)secondary data gathering.
C)interviews.
D)observation.
E)experimentation.

Question 35

Suppose that marketers at Lever Bros. are trying to determine whether the use of free samples of Snuggle fabric softener was the reason for a sales increase in a particular store. The type of research conducted to answer this question is

A)exploratory.
B)descriptive.
C)experimental.
D)informal.
E)qualitative.

Question 36

Research that allows marketers to make causal inferences about relationships is called

A)variable research.
B)relationality.
C)exploratory research.
D)linkage research.
E)experimental research.

Question 37

An overall plan for obtaining the information needed to address a research problem or issue is called the

A)research design.
B)problem recognition.
C)hypothesis.
D)data collection method.
E)sampling procedure.

Question 38

Designing research procedures that produce reliable marketing data means that

A)others using the same procedure will get almost identical data.
B)the procedure must give results that support the hypothesis.
C)the procedure must not give results that contradict other research studies.
D)the procedure may give results that contradict other research studies.
E)sampling must be done in a completely random manner.

Question 39

If Staples believes that most of its sales are to businesses rather than consumers and that women are more likely to be making purchasing decisions, this would be a(n) ____ that Staples could test through marketing research.

A)description
B)hypothesis
C)explanation
D)sample
E)experiment

Question 40

When more information is needed about a problem and a tentative hypothesis needs to be made more specific, marketers usually conduct ____ research.

A)descriptive
B)experimental
C)exploratory
D)analytical statistical
E)conclusive

Question 41

AOL Time Warner uses its sales reports broken down by geographic regions as part of its marketing research to determine which markets are most rapidly adopting high-speed Internet connections. In this example, AOL Time Warner is using

A)internal sampling.
B)internal primary data.
C)external secondary data.
D)external primary data.
E)internal secondary data.

Question 42

If Georgia-Pacific seeks information about trends in housing starts around the country and uses U.S. Department of Commerce reports to get this information, it is using ____ data.

A)causal
B)exploratory
C)primary
D)laboratory
E)secondary

Question 43

Information from the U.S. Census Bureau is commonly used as ____ by a variety of agencies and organizations.

A)external secondary data
B)sampling systems
C)primary data
D)internal secondary data
E)hypotheses

Question 44

Patricia Robertson is running for Congress from the Sixth District in her state. She is interested in knowing the intended choices of the voters. All the registered voters in her district would constitute the study's

A)experiment.
B)dependent variable.
C)population.
D)independent variable.
E)sample.

Question 45

A study that is valid and reliable

A)is called a marketing research study.
B)measures what it is supposed to measure and produces almost identical results every time.
C)is expensive to implement and complete.
D)measures subtle differences in the population being studied.
E)is difficult to produce without expert researchers.

Question 46

If the University Bookstore wanted to understand the textbook and school supplies needs on the campus of the University of Michigan, the population of study would be

A)the faculty and staff of the University of Michigan.
B)all college-aged adults in the state of Michigan.
C)all the people who live in Ann Arbor and surrounding areas.
D)undergraduate students at the University of Michigan.
E)all students, faculty, supporters, and staff of the University of Michigan.

Question 47

If you were to choose a sample with which to study the market for preschool toys in Illinois, the population would logically be defined as all

A)children in Illinois.
B)families in Illinois that have or are expecting preschool children.
C)people in Illinois.
D)preschools in Illinois.
E)preschool children in Illinois.

Question 48

A firm has conducted market research and found that customer satisfaction with its product is quite high. Nonetheless, repurchase behavior is very low. The research design evidently has a problem with

A)secondary data.
B)reliability.
C)validity.
D)reporting findings.
E)generalizability.

Question 49

If Carrie wants to do some market research about the footwear industry that her company is a part of, but she has limited money and time, she would most likely collect

A)sampling units.
B)secondary data.
C)quota data.
D)primary data.
E)survey data.

Question 50

Palmetto Regional Hospital has designed an upcoming research project for determining the best methods for improving patient care. The next step the organization must take in the marketing research process is

A)interpreting research findings.
B)collecting data.
C)developing a testable hypothesis.
D)sampling the population.
E)reporting research findings.

Question 51

Subscription services from firms such as ACNielsen provide marketing researchers with a good source of ____ data.

A)census
B)statistical
C)internal secondary
D)external secondary
E)primary

Question 52

When working as a summer intern for a local retail store, Jan Halverson was sent to the library to look up data on population forecasts for the city of San Antonio. The population information she found would be considered

A)primary data.
B)secondary data.
C)information data from syndicated research services.
D)secondhand data.
E)a primary database.

Question 53

Data that are observed or collected directly from respondents are called

A)direct samples.
B)secondary data.
C)stratified data.
D)primary data.
E)firsthand information.

Question 54

One overlooked internal source of secondary marketing information discussed in the text is

A)sales receipts.
B)accounting records.
C)interviews with salespeople.
D)quality control data.
E)consumer surveys.

Question 55

Secondary data cannot be obtained from

A)trade journals.
B)the government.
C)international sources.
D)surveys.
E)computerized literature retrieval databases.

Question 56

Primary data are best described as the

A)first batch of data collected for a specific study.
B)data that are necessary for a correct decision.
C)data that are observed, recorded, or collected directly from subjects.
D)data that are compiled for some purpose other than the study in question.
E)data that are collected inside and outside the organization for some purpose other than the current investigation.

Question 57

If Bloomingdale's wants to learn about consumers' attitudes toward on-line purchases and conducts a study to acquire this information, this study would collect ____ data.

A)causal
B)experimental
C)primary
D)laboratory
E)secondary

Question 58

All the elements, individuals, or units of interest to researchers for a specific study are called the

A)data set.
B)sample.
C)population.
D)focus group.
E)target market.

Question 59

In marketing research, a sample is best described as

A)a small group that is a part of a larger group.
B)all the elements, units, or individuals of interest to researchers for a specific study.
C)a limited number of units chosen to represent the characteristics of a total population.
D)a group that shares a common attribute within a population.
E)a small portion of a product offered to customers to try a new product.

Question 60

Marketers often begin the data collection phase of a research project by gathering secondary data. This type of information may come from both ____ and ____ sources.

A)government; business
B)internal; external
C)primary; secondary
D)formal; informal
E)collected; distributed

Question 61

In ____ sampling, there is no way to calculate the likelihood that a specific element of the population being studied will be chosen.

A)population
B)random
C)stratified
D)probability
E)nonprobability

Question 62

In which type of sampling design is the final choice of respondents left up to the interviewer?

A)Stratified
B)Random
C)Cluster
D)Area
E)Quota

Question 63

Peter Demos, director of marketing at Holcomb, Inc., calls in Andrea Carter, the firm's marketing research director. Peter wants a study done to assess the company's image relative to a new competitor, Levitt Labs. He has a flexible time schedule, has very little money to devote to the research, and feels that a relatively low response rate will not be a major problem. Andrea will probably recommend using a ____ survey.

A)mail
B)telephone
C)random
D)personal interview
E)population

Question 64

Which sampling design gives every member of the population an equal chance of appearing in the sample?

A)Nonprobability
B)Random
C)Quota
D)Stratified
E)Poll

Question 65

Quota sampling is most commonly used in

A)descriptive research.
B)population research.
C)surveys.
D)collecting primary data.
E)exploratory studies.

Question 66

When researchers divide the population of interest in a study into groups and then arbitrarily choose participants from each group, they are using

A)quota sampling.
B)selective surveying.
C)random sampling.
D)stratified sampling.
E)researcher samples.

Question 67

The objective of sampling in marketing research is to

A)obtain responses from as many people as possible.
B)control independent variables that might influence research results.
C)select representative units from a total population.
D)ensure that measures in the study are reliable.
E)provide data that can be used to test the hypotheses being investigated.

Question 68

Maggie has limited funds for collecting data about a new pricing strategy, but she needs data from a wide geographic area. Under these circumstances, Maggie should use

A)telephone surveys.
B)in-home interviews.
C)mail surveys.
D)shopping mall intercept interviews.
E)focus-group interviews.

Question 69

Marriott wants to collect data about employee satisfaction within its organization. It decides to survey a sample of 50 employees by having a computer program automatically pick which employees will be in the sample. If every employee has an equal chance of being selected, Marriott is using

A)random sampling.
B)sampling populations.
C)stratified sampling.
D)nonprobability sampling.
E)quota sampling.

Question 70

Assume that Verizon Wireless is interested in studying the pricing expectations of its customers. If the study calls for selecting at random 100 people from each of three age groupings, ____ sampling is being used.

A)random
B)stratified
C)quota
D)area
E)experimental

Question 71

The two basic types of sampling that marketing researchers use are

A)random and nonrandom.
B)probability and nonprobability.
C)stratified and quota.
D)even and odd.
E)planned and spontaneous.

Question 72

Which of the following is a probability sampling technique used to reduce errors within random sampling?

A)Quota
B)Stratified
C)Nonprobability
D)Cluster
E)Snowball

Question 73

If Weight Watchers is interested in collecting information about Americans' perceptions of dieting programs, and the company believes that significant regional differences may exist, the best type of sampling would be

A)random.
B)quota.
C)population.
D)stratified.
E)nonquota.

Question 74

When marketing researchers consider sampling techniques, they are preparing to collect ____ data.

A)census
B)statistical
C)internal secondary
D)external secondary
E)primary

Question 75

In what type of sampling does every element have a known chance of being selected for study?

A)Quota
B)Stratified
C)Random
D)Nonprobability
E)Probability

Question 76

What is the primary factor contributing to the increasing difficulty associated with gathering primary data through surveys?

A)Most companies do not have any funding for survey research.
B)Fewer people are willing to participate in surveys.
C)Laws significantly limit firms' ability to conduct surveys.
D)Unreliable methods of distributing surveys make them difficult to conduct.
E)Very little useful information is ever gathered from survey results.

Question 77

Baskin Robbins is conducting research on possible new ice cream flavors and products. It is selecting at random 100 males and 100 females in order to collect data. This is an example of ____ sampling.

A)nonprobability
B)random
C)quota
D)stratified
E)selective

Question 78

Nelson Marketing Research is concerned about using surveys to conduct a marketing research project because

A)response rates are declining.
B)primary data are so much cheaper and easier to gather.
C)survey data collection is highly inaccurate.
D)survey data do not provide in-depth responses.
E)the survey method has been replaced by the Internet.

Question 79

In which of the following sampling designs do all members of a population have an equal chance of being selected?

A)Stratified
B)Nonprobability
C)Quota
D)Random
E)Judgment

Question 80

Which of the following is the least flexible survey method?

A)Telephone surveys
B)Focus-group interviews
C)Personal interview surveys
D)Mail surveys
E)Observation