Deck 23: Report Preparation and

Question 1

A can be used to present absolute and relative magnitudes, differences, and change.

A) line chart
B) pictograph
C) bar chart
D) histogram

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The section contains a clear statement of the management decision problem and the marketing research problem.

A) approach
B) limits and caveats
C) problem definition
D) research design

Answer 2

C

Question 3

As a general guideline, a pie chart should not require more than sections.

A) six
B) seven
C) eight
D) ten

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is a way in which the researcher might assist the client after the marketing research report has been presented?

A) further research projects
B) help the client firm make the information generated in the marketing research project a part of the firm's marketing (management) information system (MIS) and decision support system (DSS)
C) selection of a new product or advertising agency, development of a pricing policy, marketing segmentation, or other marketing actions
D) all of the above

Question 5

The authorizes the researcher to proceed with the project and specifies the scope and the terms of the contract.

A) title page
B) letter of transmittal
C) letter of authorization
D) executive summary

Question 6

The letter of transmittal does all of the following except .

A) identifies the need for further action on the part of the client
B) discusses the major results
C) summarizes the researcher's overall experiences with the project
D) all of the above

Question 7

The section of the marketing research report contains a description of the theoretical foundations that guided the research, any analytical models formulated, research questions, hypotheses, and the factors that influenced the research design.

A) problem definition
B) research design
C) approach to the problem
D) both A and B

Question 8

If managers evaluate the quality of the entire project based on the quality of the report and presentation, which reason for the importance of the report and presentation most applies?

A) Management decisions are guided by the report and the presentation. The researcher should assist the client in evaluating the research process in retrospect.
B) The report and presentation are the tangible products of the research effort.
C) Management's decision to undertake marketing research in the future or to use the particular research supplier again will be influenced by the perceived usefulness of the report and the presentation.
D) The involvement of many marketing managers in the project is limited to the written report and the oral presentation.

Question 9

If you are deliberating over whether to call the marketing research report "Practices Followed in Selecting Long- Distance Carriers" or "Long Distance Service Study," you are concerned with which elements of the marketing research report?

A) approach to the problem
B) title page
C) table of contents
D) problem definition

Question 10

Ethical issues arise when .

A) a client distorts the research findings to develop a biased advertising campaign that makes brand claims that have not been substantiated by marketing research
B) the marketing research problem is defined to suit hidden agendas
C) client firms such as tobacco companies, use marketing research findings to formulate questionable marketing programs
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 11

If you are trying to write about the budget, timeframe, and other organizational constraints pertaining to the marketing research project without eroding the client's confidence in the research or unduly minimizing the importance of those topics, you are working on the section of the marketing research report.

A) approach
B) limits and caveats
C) problem definition
D) research design

Question 12

If you are asking questions such as "Could this project have been conducted more effectively or efficiently?" or "Was the best research design used?" or "Were the conclusions and recommendations appropriate and useful to the client?" you are at the _ stage of _.

A) execution of the research procedures; reading the research report
B) assisting the client; research follow- up
C) evaluation of the project; research follow- up
D) research design; reading the research report

Question 13

can be used to display the steps or components of a process.

A) Pictographs
B) Pie charts
C) Schematic figures and flow charts
D) Geographic maps

Question 14

All of the following should be considered when writing the marketing research report except .

A) who the reader will be
B) how easy the report is to follow
C) how to present the information objectively
D) the arrangement of data items

Question 15

do not depict results precisely, hence, caution should be exercised when using them.

A) Line charts
B) Pictographs
C) Bar charts
D) Histograms

Question 16

are used to set off data items in the written report.

A) Leaders
B) Hyphens
C) Dots
D) White spaces

Question 17

The section of the marketing research report highlights the discussions with the decision makers and industry experts, and discusses the secondary data analysis, the qualitative research that was conducted, and the factors that were considered.

A) table of contents
B) title page
C) problem definition
D) approach to the problem

Question 18

Effective oral presentation techniques include all of the following except .

A) the presentation should be sponsored by a top- level manager in the client's organization
B) the speaker should terminate the presentation with a strong closing
C) the speaker should vary the volume, pitch, voice quality, articulation, and rate while speaking
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 19

Which statement is not true concerning the guidelines for reading the report and evaluating the marketing research project developed by the Advertising Research Foundation?

A) The report should assume that the reader has prior knowledge of the problem situation and all the relevant information.
B) Factors that limit the generalizability of the findings, such as the nature and representativeness of the sample, mode and time of data collection, and various sources of error should be clearly identified.
C) The interpretation of the basic results should be differentiated from the results per se.
D) The report should include a discussion of the information needs, data- collection methods, scaling techniques, questionnaire design and pre- testing, sampling techniques, and fieldwork.

Question 20

A marketing research report should do all of the following except .

A) take into account the reader's technical sophistication and interest in the project
B) take into account the circumstances under which the report will be read
C) be written for a specific reader or readers
D) use technical jargon

Question 21

Which statement is not true about the research design section of the marketing research report?

A) A description of the theoretical foundations that guided the research should be included.
B) This section of the report should justify the specific methods selected.
C) The technical detail should be included in an appendix.
D) The topics should be presented in a non- technical, easy to understand manner.

Question 22

In the United Airlines example given in your text, it was stated that all departments of the company used the results of its in- flight customer satisfaction survey. Which department used the customer satisfaction report to evaluate the performance of United, both internally in achieving its goals, and externally compared to the competition?

A) the marketing department
B) the finance department
C) the executive management
D) the airport department

Question 23

The marketing research report serves as a historical record of the project.

Question 24

can communicate relative location and other comparative information.

A) Pie charts
B) Geographic maps
C) Pictographs
D) Schematic figures and flow charts

Question 25

If you are trying to decide if something should be included or left out of the marketing research report, you are being mindful of the element of report writing.

A) comprehensive
B) concise
C) objective
D) none of the above

Question 26

Report formats are likely to vary based on all of the following except .

A) the client's method of payment
B) the nature of the project itself
C) the marketing research firm conducting the research
D) the client for whom the project is being conducted

Question 27

Information such as the title of the report, information about the researcher or organization conducting the research, the name of the client and the date of release should appear on/in the .

A) title page
B) letter of transmittal
C) letter of authorization
D) executive summary

Question 28

Effective oral presentation techniques include all of the following except .

A) allowing sufficient opportunity for questions, both during and after the presentation
B) the use of visual aids displayed with a variety of media
C) constant eye contact and interaction with the audience
D) not spending much time on the reason for the research and getting to the results quickly

Question 29

are an attractive way of illustrating trends and changes over time.

A) Line charts
B) Pictographs
C) Bar charts
D) Histograms

Question 30

The is often the only portion of the marketing research report that executives read.

A) title page
B) letter of transmittal
C) letter of authorization
D) executive summary

Question 31

If you are trying to determine the best way to present data in a table, you should refer to the for suggestions.

A) guidelines for oral presentations
B) guidelines for report writing
C) guidelines for tables
D) guidelines for graphs

Question 32

The executive summary should be the first part of the report written.

Question 33

The marketing research report could be distributed in a variety of formats including hard copy and electronic. However, it is not advisable that research reports be published or posted directly to the Web.

Question 34

When writing the final report, the researcher should draw conclusions but should not make recommendations.

Question 35

Which of the following is not a special concern for international research during report preparation and presentation?

A) The subjective experience and gut feelings of managers could vary widely across countries, necessitating that different recommendations be made for implementing the research findings in different countries.
B) whether clients should use the research results in an ethical manner
C) the need to prepare reports for management in different countries and in different languages
D) The presenter should be sensitive to cultural norms.

Question 36

When developing a table, the footnotes should come after the source notes.

Question 37

If the client was pleased with the research project and report, there is no need for the researcher to evaluate the research project.

Question 38

Which statement is not true about the report preparation and presentation process?

A) The researcher should assist the client in understanding the report.
B) The findings should be presented in such a way that they can be used directly as input into decision making.
C) The researcher should assist the client in evaluating the research process in retrospect.
D) Conclusions should be drawn but recommendations should not be made.

Question 39

A list of tables, list of graphs, list of appendices, and list of exhibits are found in which part of the marketing research report?

A) table of contents
B) executive summary
C) letter of transmittal
D) letter of authorization

Question 40

In order for the report to accurately present the methodology, results, and conclusions of the project, without slanting the findings to conform to the expectations of management, the research must be .

A) objective
B) concise
C) comprehensive
D) none of the above

Question 41

The key to an effective presentation is preparation.

Question 42

Often the researcher must cater to the needs of several audiences with different levels of technical sophistication and interest in the project. Such conflicting needs may be met by including different sections in the report for different readers. Under no circumstances should separate reports be written.

Question 43

The arrangement of data items in a table should emphasize the most significant aspect of the data.

Question 44

A letter of transmittal authorizes the researcher to proceed with the project.

Question 45

The research design section contains a description of the theoretical foundations that guided the research, any analytical models formulated, research questions, hypotheses, and the factors that influenced the research design.

Question 46

A useful form of schematic figures and flow charts is classification diagrams.

Question 47

As a follow- up to the marketing research report, the researcher might assist the client with implementing the findings.

Question 48

It is o.k. to include only the major headings and subheadings in the table of contents.

Question 49

Report preparation and presentation is the final step in the marketing research project.

Question 50

Variation in type size and skillful use of white space can take away from the appearance and readability of the marketing research report.

Question 51

A logical organization leads to a coherent marketing research report.

Question 52

The techniques used for analysis should be described in detailed non- technical terms.

Question 53

The oral presentation is not important because the executives are also given a written report with all the important information in it.

Question 54

The researcher should remember that the rule is, "Tell it like it is" when writing the objective section of the marketing research report.

Question 55

A pie chart is useful for displaying relationships over time or relationships among several variables.

Question 56

Every table should have a number.

Question 57

While each report is unique, report formats do not vary with the researcher or the marketing research firm conducting the project, the client for whom the project is being conducted or the nature of the project itself.

Question 58

The histogram is a horizontal bar chart in which the width of the bars represents the relative or cumulative frequency of occurrence of a specific variable.

Question 59

The results section is normally the longest part of the report and may comprise several chapters.

Question 60

It is unethical to draw conclusions if data analysis did not reveal anything new or significant.

Question 61

When it is said that a report should be concise, it is meant that it should be as brief as possible but not at the expense of completeness.

Question 62

Each report will have a unique character based on the personalities, responsibilities, etc. of the researcher and the decision maker to whom the report is addressed.

Question 63

Discuss why the report and its presentation are important parts of the marketing research project.

Question 64

To what length should the researcher go when writing the conclusions and recommendations section of the marketing research report?

Question 65

What are the steps in the report preparation process (Figure 22.1 in the text)?

Question 66

Discuss the results section of the marketing research report.

Question 67

The conclusions and recommendations section should only include a summary of the statistical results.

Question 68

Define the "Tell 'Em" principle and the "KISS 'Em" principle.

Question 69

What are the advantages to publishing marketing research reports on the Web?

Question 70

The researcher must make sure that management does not overly rely on the research results or use them for unintended purposes, such as projecting them to unintended populations.

Question 71

How can the marketing researcher make the report appropriate for audiences with different levels of technical sophistication and interest in the project?

Question 72

After the presentation, key executives in the client firm should be given time to read the report in detail.

Question 73

List some of the ethical issues faced by the researcher and the client in the report preparation and presentation stage of the marketing research project.