Deck 9: Survey Research: an Overview

Question 1

The categories of response bias are mutually exclusive from one another.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The number of "no contacts" in survey research has been decreasing because of the increased use of technology that allows people to screen calls.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

When a respondent exaggerates his income and education in an interview in order to make a favorable impression on the interviewer, this is an example of auspices bias.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

When an interviewer is not able to write fast enough to record the respondent's answers verbatim, this is an example of interviewer error.

Question 5

Most survey research is descriptive research.

Question 6

The people who answer survey questions are called respondents.

Question 7

Some aspects of surveys may be qualitative.

Question 8

Survey research techniques and standards are still quite unscientific.

Question 9

Two general categories of systematic error are Type I errors and Type II errors.

Question 10

No contacts occur when people are unwilling to participate in the research.

Question 11

A respondent error exists when the results of a sample show a persistent tendency to deviate in one direction from the true value of the population parameter.

Question 12

Self-selection biases in survey research overrepresent indifferent responses and underrepresent extreme consumer positions.

Question 13

Unless sample size is increased, random sampling errors are unavoidable in survey research.

Question 14

Nonresponse is a type of interviewer error.

Question 15

The purpose of survey research is to collect secondary data.

Question 16

Two major sources of survey error are random sampling error and nonrandom sampling error.

Question 17

A response bias occurs when respondents tend to answer questions with a certain slant.

Question 18

Surveys may be classified based on the method of communication, the degrees of structure and disguise in the questionnaire, and the time frame in which the data are gathered.

Question 19

Systematic errors are also called sampling errors.

Question 20

Surveys provide accurate means of assessing information about a population, but they are expensive and an inefficient means of doing so.

Question 21

Which of the following can be the target of survey research techniques?

A) wholesalers
B) employees
C) consumers
D) all of these choices

Question 22

Systematic error is divided into which two general categories?

A) respondent error and administrative error
B) random sampling error and administrative error
C) response bias and interview error
D) primary error and secondary error

Question 23

When the same respondents are questioned several times over a period of months, this is an example of a structured study.

Question 24

People who are not contacted or who refuse to cooperate are called _____.

A) random errors
B) biased respondents
C) sample selection errors
D) nonrespondents

Question 25

A longitudinal study that gathers data from the same sample of individuals or households over time is called a repeated measures study.

Question 26

In a research study, a potential respondent who is not at home at either the first or second attempt to reach this person by phone is called a(n) _____.

A) sample bias
B) no contact
C) interviewee
D) random sampling error

Question 27

Total quality management is a business strategy that emphasizes market-driven quality as a top priority.

Question 28

When a respondent tells an interviewer that his annual income last year was $50,000 because he is embarrassed to admit that it was $25,000, this is an example of _____.

A) nonresponse error
B) auspices bias
C) interviewer cheating
D) deliberate falsification

Question 29

Two major sources of survey errors are _____.

A) Type I and Type II errors
B) random sampling error and systematic error
C) respondent error and systematic error
D) respondent error and interviewer error

Question 30

The people who answer survey questions are referred to as _____.

A) researchers
B) clients
C) respondents
D) users

Question 31

People who are unwilling to participate in a research project are referred to as _____.

A) refusals
B) deviations
C) no contacts
D) random errors

Question 32

When a hotel customer decides to fill out a customer satisfaction survey to complain about having to wait an hour for room service to deliver his dinner, this is an example of _____.

A) random sampling error
B) self-selection bias
C) auspices bias
D) social desirability bias

Question 33

Which of the following occurs when respondents tend to answer questions with a certain slant?

A) interviewer bias
B) self-selection bias
C) self-preservation bias
D) response bias

Question 34

Barbara received a phone call asking her to participate in a survey. She told the interviewer that she was too busy and could not participate. This is an example of a(n) _____.

A) random sampling error
B) administrative error
C) nonresponse error
D) interviewer error

Question 35

Implementing a total quality management program requires considerable survey research.

Question 36

When a research study is not conducted according to the plan in the proposal for the research study, what kind of error has occurred?

A) random sampling error
B) systematic error
C) respondent error
D) implementation error

Question 37

Systematic errors are _____ because they include all sources of error other than those introduced directly by the sampling procedure.

A) random sampling error
B) interviewer error
C) nonresponse error
D) nonsampling errors

Question 38

All of the following are advantages of survey research EXCEPT _____.

A) inexpensive
B) random
C) efficient
D) accurate

Question 39

An undisguised question limits the number of allowable responses.

Question 40

A survey can collect information using which of the following techniques?

A) telephone
B) face-to-face interviews
C) mail
D) all of these choices

Question 41

Straightforward questions that assume the respondent is willing to answer are called _____.

A) structured questions
B) undisguised questions
C) unstructured questions
D) obvious questions

Question 42

A researcher collecting data from households across the country at the same time is conducting a(n) _____ study.

A) spanning
B) longitudinal
C) cross-sectional
D) linked

Question 43

Which term is sometimes used to refer to interviewers filling in responses for respondents that do not really exist?

A) curbstoning
B) auspices bias
C) sugging
D) mere-measurement effect

Question 44

The tendency for respondents to agree with most questions in a survey is known as _____.

A) auspices bias
B) interviewer bias
C) extremity bias
D) acquiescence bias

Question 45

Which type of question imposes a limit on the number of allowable responses?

A) structured question
B) undisguised question
C) determinant question
D) bounded question

Question 46

All of the following are types of response bias EXCEPT _____.

A) acquiescence bias
B) extremity bias
C) self-selection bias
D) interviewer bias

Question 47

When a respondent tells the interviewer that he reads The Wall Street Journal on a daily basis so that he can impress the interviewer, this is an example of _____.

A) interviewer bias
B) auspices bias
C) administrative bias
D) acquiescence bias

Question 48

What type of question does not restrict the respondents' answers?

A) structured question
B) unstructured question
C) unbounded question
D) ambiguous question

Question 49

All of the following are types of administrative errors EXCEPT _____.

A) data-processing error
B) sample selection error
C) interviewer cheating
D) response error

Question 50

Surveys are classified based on all of the following EXCEPT _____.

A) number of questions
B) method of communication
C) degrees of structure and disguise in the questionnaire
D) time frame in which the data are gathered

Question 51

Alice is participating in a research study in which she completes a questionnaire every year. She has been doing this for the past five years, and the purpose of the research is to study how consumers' attitudes and preferences toward various food products change as they age. This type of study in which respondents are questioned at multiple points in time is called a _____.

A) cross-sectional study
B) longitudinal study
C) permanent study
D) structured study

Question 52

Data collected at a single point in time represent a _____.

A) longitudinal study
B) point study
C) static study
D) cross-sectional study

Question 53

Which of the following is a survey of respondents at different times, thus allowing analysis of response continuity and changes over time?

A) cross-sectional study
B) longitudinal study
C) time-based study
D) structured study

Question 54

What type of error is caused by the improper administration or execution of the research task?

A) bias error
B) administrative error
C) sampling error
D) structural error

Question 55

When an interviewer asks the respondent to state which of six salary categories represents his gross income the previous year, this is an example of a(n): _____.

A) unstructured question
B) social desirability question
C) structured question
D) disguised question

Question 56

When a research company pulls a random sample of people from a phone book and that sample does not include people with unlisted numbers or who do not have landline telephone service, we say that the sample contains _____.

A) sample selection error
B) acquiescence bias
C) social desirability error
D) auspices bias

Question 57

When an interviewer unintentionally and mistakenly checks the wrong response on a checklist during an interview, this is an example of _____.

A) interviewer cheating
B) auspices bias
C) interviewer error
D) social desirability bias

Question 58

Which type of bias occurs when a respondent wishes to create a favorable impression or save face in the presence of an interviewer?

A) random sampling bias
B) social desirability bias
C) administrative bias
D) interviewer cheating

Question 59

When an interviewer asks a respondent: "Why do you shop at Macy's department store?", this is an example of a(n) ____.

A) structured question
B) disguised question
C) unstructured question
D) curb-stone question

Question 60

Carl is an interviewer, and he is supposed to write down everything respondents say. However, he has difficulty getting everything down. This is an example of _____.

A) acquiescence error
B) interviewer error
C) auspices bias
D) interviewer cheating

Question 61

When the people who answer a mail survey are different in important ways (e.g. income level) from the people who did not answer the survey, the survey is said to have ______ error.

Question 62

Which dimension of quality is being studied for a Harley motorcycle when a survey asks them to record the number of years that they have owned that particular Harley?

A) serviceability
B) durability
C) reliability
D) features

Question 63

A person who hangs up the phone when he is asked to answer a few questions about his television viewing habits because he is not interested in participating in the study is called a(n) ______.

Question 64

Which of the following is a business strategy that emphasizes market-driven quality as a top priority?

A) inside-out management
B) outside-in management
C) total quality management
D) benchmark management

Question 65

Which dimension of quality is being studied for a Honda lawnmower when customers are asked to rate its ability to start on the first or second try?

A) aesthetic design
B) reliability
C) serviceability
D) competence

Question 66

What is the first stage of the total quality management process?

A) benchmarking stage
B) continuous quality improvement stage
C) initial quality improvement stage
D) commitment and exploration stage

Question 67

When primary data are collected by asking respondents questions, these data are generated by a(n) ______.

Question 68

In which stage of the total quality management process does research establish quantitative measures that can serve as points of comparison against which to evaluate future efforts?

A) exploration stage
B) initial quality improvement stage
C) benchmarking stage
D) continuous quality improvement stage

Question 69

Highly opinionated respondents may create _____ bias because they are more likely to respond to surveys.

Question 70

The United States Department of Defense is conducting a study in which it asks a group of veterans who were in the military during the 1980s to complete a survey every five years. The survey asks about health-related topics and examines how the health of this group of veterans changes as they age. This type of longitudinal study is referred to as a _____ study.

A) longitudinal
B) stepwise
C) segmented
D) progressive

Question 71

Longitudinal studies that survey several different samples at different times are called _____.

A) cohort studies
B) structured studies
C) segmented studies
D) linked studies

Question 72

Which of the following is a type of longitudinal study that gathers data from the same sample of individuals or households that record their purchases over time?

A) cross-sectional study
B) consistent sample
C) consumer panel
D) tracking study

Question 73

When the results of a sample deviate in a significant way from the true value of the population mean, we say that the study has _____ bias.

Question 74

One research firm uses successive samples the week following the Super Bowl each year to compare trends and identify changes in consumers' awareness of and attitudes towards Super Bowl advertising. This type of longitudinal study is called a _____.

A) consumer panel
B) progressive study
C) subsequent study
D) tracking study

Question 75

All of the following are stages in the total quality management process EXCEPT _____.

A) benchmarking stage
B) testing and revising stage
C) continuous quality improvement stage
D) commitment and exploration stage

Question 76

Chance variations in sampling due to the elements selected in the sample are called ______ error.

Question 77

When a mistake in the implementation of the design of a research study is made, we say that the study has ______ error.

Question 78

People who are not contacted or who refuse to cooperate are called ______.

Question 79

Carly was not at home when a researcher called to conduct a survey. Carly is called a(n) ______.

Question 80

The person who answers questions in a mail survey is called a(n) ______.