Deck 11: Observation

Question 1

Mechanical observation best suits a situation or behavior that is not easily predictable in advance of the research.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Hidden, unobtrusive observation minimizes respondent error.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Observational studies often use complementary evidence concerning individuals' "true" feelings.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Observation allows for the interpretation of nonverbal behavior to supplement information from interviewers.

Question 5

One limitation of observation as a research method is that the observation period is generally short.

Question 6

Researchers can observe people or events with human observers or with machines.

Question 7

Direct observation is a straightforward attempt to observe and record what naturally occurs.

Question 8

Since the observer does not interact with the subject in observation studies, observation is an error-free method of data collection.

Question 9

In observation research, a distortion of measurement resulting from the cognitive behavior or actions of the witnessing observer is called selectivity bias.

Question 10

While mechanical observation is useful, it is never used as the only means of observation.

Question 11

Hidden observation studies must be alert to situations in which the subject's right to privacy must be protected.

Question 12

Response interval is the amount of time it takes to make a choice between two alternatives.

Question 13

It is typical in observation studies for the observer to ask questions of the person who is being observed.

Question 14

When the investigator intervenes to create an artificial environment to test a hypothesis, this approach is called artificial observation.

Question 15

Some might see contrived observation as unethical based on the notion of entrapment.

Question 16

Arbitron is the research company that estimates national television audiences.

Question 17

Attitudes can be observed.

Question 18

Researchers may observe physical phenomena as well as human behavior.

Question 19

In some instances, observation is the only method possible for collecting data.

Question 20

A source of error in observation studies is in the interpretation of the meaning of the observation data.

Question 21

When the subject is unaware that he is being observed, this represents what type of observation?

A) contrived
B) indirect
C) content analysis
D) unobtrusive

Question 22

All of the following cannot be observed EXCEPT _____.

A) intentions
B) attitudes
C) expressive behavior
D) feelings

Question 23

A situation in which an observer's presence, or the mechanical device doing the recording, is easily known to the subject involves _____.

A) obtrusive observation
B) visible observation
C) primary observation
D) first-order observation

Question 24

The most refined measure of website traffic is click-through rate (CTR).

Question 25

A researcher was observing how children play on playground equipment at a public park. The observers were out in the open and parents were told that their children were being observed. This type of observation is called _____ observation.

A) visible
B) primary
C) ethnographic
D) obtrusive

Question 26

Eye-tracking monitors measure pupil size to determine emotional arousal.

Question 27

Clara is a business researcher who records shoppers' movement through a grocery store. What method of research is Clara using?

A) survey
B) assessment
C) immersion
D) observation

Question 28

Measuring the distance visitors stand from a painting in a Van Gogh exhibit at the St. Louis Art Museum is an example of what type of observation?

A) verbal behavior
B) temporal patterns
C) expressive behavior
D) spatial relations

Question 29

A study of the recording of a Monday Night Football Game in the National Football League in which the observer counts the number of shots of cheerleaders on the sidelines is an example of camera surveillance.

Question 30

Customers going through the drive-thru at Starbucks were being watched to see how long they look at the menu before ordering. They are unaware that they are being observed. This type of observation is referred to as _____ observation.

A) unobtrusive
B) visible
C) invisible
D) indirect

Question 31

Using a stopwatch to determine the average waiting time for a customer checking out in a grocery store is an example of what type of observation?

A) verbal behavior
B) temporal pattern
C) physical action
D) physical objects

Question 32

All of the following are observable phenomena EXCEPT _____.

A) attitudes
B) verbal behavior
C) spatial relations and locations
D) neurological activity

Question 33

Observing the comments made by travelers waiting in a check-in line at the American Airlines ticket counter in Chicago is an example of what type of observation?

A) pictorial records
B) verbal behavior
C) expressive behavior
D) spatial relations

Question 34

Observing traffic patterns at a busy intersection with cameras is an example of what type of observation?

A) spatial relations and locations
B) verbal records
C) verbal behavior
D) expressive behavior

Question 35

Having observers record the brand names of items found in a kitchen pantry of a consumer panel is an example of what type of observation?

A) physical actions
B) verbal behavior
C) physical objects
D) pictorial records

Question 36

Observing a person's television viewing habits is an example of which type of observation?

A) verbal records
B) expressive behavior
C) physical actions
D) physical objects

Question 37

_____ is the systematic process of recording actual behavioral patterns of people, objects, and events as they happen.

A) Observation
B) Descriptive research
C) Real-time research
D) Interaction

Question 38

Observing the movement of workers packing shipment boxes is an example of what type of observation?

A) mall interception
B) verbal behavior
C) physical actions
D) expressive behavior

Question 39

A psychogalvanometer measures galvanic skin response and is based on the assumption that physiological changes, such as increased perspiration, accompany emotional reactions.

Question 40

Physiological observation techniques, such as pupilometers, psychogalvanometers, and voice-pitch analysis, precisely measure levels of arousal.

Question 41

When Walgreen's uses cables across the road as "traffic counters" to determine the density of traffic near a possible retail store location, this is an example of what type of observation?

A) contrived observation
B) mechanical observation
C) human observation
D) content analysis

Question 42

_____ is the amount of time it takes to make a choice between two alternatives and is used as a measure of the strength of preference.

A) Response latency
B) Decision interval
C) Temporal analysis
D) Temporal pattern

Question 43

Observation in which the investigator creates an artificial environment in order to test a hypothesis is called _____.

A) contrived observation
B) biased observation
C) secondary observation
D) pseudo observation

Question 44

Which website traffic monitoring metric may be used to track the path or sequence of pages that each visitor follows?

A) click-through
B) hits
C) page views
D) unique pages

Question 45

Which of the following obtains data by observing and analyzing the contents of advertisements, newspaper articles, television programs, websites, and the like?

A) contrived analysis
B) content analysis
C) indirect analysis
D) response latency analysis

Question 46

When the manager of a shopping mall records the counties listed on the license plates on cars parked at the mall in order to determine where the shoppers come from, this is an example of _____.

A) direct observation
B) indirect observation
C) contrived observation
D) response latency

Question 47

All of the following are examples of nonverbal behavior EXCEPT _____.

A) smiling
B) nodding
C) raised eyebrows
D) talking

Question 48

Observation in which the subject is unaware that observation is taking place is called _____ observation.

A) ethnographic
B) hidden
C) indirect
D) invisible

Question 49

Which of the following companies use a television monitoring system for estimating national television audiences?

A) Nielsen
B) Mediamark
C) Infoscan
D) TVtrack

Question 50

John is measuring the amount of time it takes for people to make a choice between two options regarding what to select for lunch to infer the strength of their preferences for one alternative over the other. The recorded choice time is referred to as _____.

A) response lag
B) response interval
C) response latency
D) response bias

Question 51

A researcher was observing consumers' facial expressions as they looked over the menu at a restaurant. One consumer forgot her reading glasses, so she was having trouble reading the menu and had to squint her eyes, causing her to look mad. The researcher interpreted this to mean she didn't like what she was seeing on the menu because he didn't know she couldn't see the words. The researcher's misreading the consumer's facial expression as dissatisfaction is an example of _____.

A) response latency
B) contrived observation
C) response bias
D) observer bias

Question 52

Which of the following is a question that can be asked to help address the question of whether or not a subject's privacy is violated?

A) Has the person been adequately notified that their behavior is being observed?
B) Is the behavior being observed commonly performed in public where it is expected that others can observe the behavior?
C) Is the behavior performed in a setting in which the anonymity of the person being observed is assured?
D) all of these choices

Question 53

When a researcher analyzes the content of advertisements appearing in cartoons on a Saturday morning in terms of the types of characters that appear in the ads, this is an example of what type of observation?

A) contrived analysis
B) content analysis
C) indirect analysis
D) entrapment

Question 54

_____ is the systematic observation and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication.

A) Descriptive analysis
B) Schemata analysis
C) Hermeneutic analysis
D) Content analysis

Question 55

When an airline passenger (who is really an employee of the airline) complains loudly about his not being served a vegetarian meal so that he can note the behavior of the flight attendant in this type of situation, this is an example of what type of observation?

A) content analysis
B) indirect
C) contrived
D) response latency

Question 56

A distortion of measurement resulting form the cognitive behavior or actions of a witnessing observer is called _____.

A) response latency
B) researcher error
C) observer bias
D) entrapment

Question 57

_____ is a straightforward attempt to observe and record what naturally occurs.

A) Visible observation
B) Primary observation
C) Reflective observation
D) Direct observation

Question 58

All of the following are errors associated with direct observation EXCEPT _____.

A) subjectively
B) entrapment
C) accuracy
D) interpretation

Question 59

With respect to website traffic monitoring, a hit represents _____.

A) a single, discrete click to load individual pages of a website
B) mouse clicks on a single page of a website
C) the proportion of people exposed to an Internet ad who actually click on its hyperlink to enter the website
D) a count of the initial access to the site but not multiple visits to the site

Question 60

When a researcher counts the percentage of African Americans who have appeared on the cover of Newsweekduring the past decade, this is an example of what type of observation?

A) contrived analysis
B) ethnic analysis
C) indirect analysis
D) content analysis

Question 61

_____ means no communication with a respondent takes place.

Question 62

_____ gauges emotional reactions as reflected in physiological changes in a person's voice.

A) Voice-pitch analysis
B) Vocal cord vibration
C) Vocal spectrum analysis
D) Reverberation analysis

Question 63

Observation that requires the observer to record events subjectively may result in _____ bias.

Question 64

Which of the following measures physiological reactions?

A) pupilometer
B) at-home scanning systems
C) click-through counter
D) all of these choices

Question 65

When an observer observes a subject in a natural setting, this is an example of ______ observation.

Question 66

Which of the following represents the percentage of people who are exposed to an Internet advertisement who actually click on the corresponding hyperlink which takes them to a company's website?

A) conversion transaction rate (CTR)
B) page views
C) cost per click (CPC)
D) click-through rate (CTR)

Question 67

All of the following measure physiological reactions EXCEPT _____.

A) eye-tracking monitor
B) pupilometer
C) scanning systems
D) voce-pitch analysis

Question 68

All of the following are improvements of scanner data over standard mail diary panel data EXCEPT _____.

A) scanner data measure observed (actual) purchase behavior rather than reported behavior
B) scanner measures are obtrusive
C) more extensive purchase data can be collected with scanner data
D) scanner data are collected mechanically, resulting in improved accuracy over mail diary panel data

Question 69

A researcher gave Janis and her husband a bar-coded card, like a frequent-shopper card, that they give to the checkout clerk at the grocery store. Their code number is coupled with the purchase information recorded by the scanner. This family is participating is a(n) _____.

A) scanner-based consumer panel
B) obtrusive observation study
C) phenomenological study
D) ethnographic study

Question 70

When a researcher creates an artificial situation in order to observe the reactions of a subject in that type of situation, this is an example of ______ observation.

Question 71

The systematic process of recording the behaviors of people as they occur is called ______.

Question 72

Which of the following measures involuntary changes in the electrical resistance of the skin?

A) eye-tracking monitor
B) psychogalvanometer
C) epidermal monitor
D) voice-pitch analysis

Question 73

A website designer is interested in how people look at a website. He wants to know where they look first when a page comes up. Which mechanical device would be appropriate for finding this out?

A) pupilometer
B) eye scanner
C) eye-tracking monitor
D) psychogalvanometer

Question 74

When the presence of an observer is known to the subject, this is called ______ observation.

Question 75

A _____ is the proportion of people who are exposed to an Internet advertisement who actually click on the corresponding hyperlink which takes them to the company's website.

Question 76

All of the following are flaws with using click-through rate as a measure of the amount of interest or attention a website is receiving EXCEPT _____.

A) does not differentiate between a lot of activity by a few visitors and a little activity by many visitors
B) some hits are likely made by mistake
C) researcher lacks information about the meaning behind the numbers
D) does not adequately measure the number of times an ad is clicked on

Question 77

_____ is the systematic observation and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication.

Question 78

Some people see contrived observation as _____, which means deceitful or tricky.

Question 79

The time it takes a subject to make a choice between the appeal of two advertisements is a type of ______.

Question 80

All of the following are problems with physiological reaction measures EXCEPT _____.

A) subjects are usually placed in artificial settings
B) calibration of measuring devices
C) devices are expensive
D) they are not effective in measuring physiological reactions