Deck 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

Question 1

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 employers.
E)concerning the interpretation of the company's sales goals.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Problem location and definition is the first step towards 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.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

How can companies use information technology as a competitive advantage?

Answer 3

no answer

Question 4

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

A)analysing the data
B)collecting and preparing data
C)determining the scope for marketing reseach
D)transforming the analysis results into insights
E)Selecting the research design

Question 5

What is the purpose of marketing research?

Question 6

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

Question 7

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

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

Question 8

Beck is puzzled by the recent decrease in sales at one of the Auto Barn locations for which she is the regional manager.She 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 9

David was given the task of conducting a research project for his firm and proceeds with the following steps.He asks questions to determine the research topic, conducts a telephone survey, writes a report describing the survey results and gives that report to his boss.Which step of the marketing research process has David omitted?

A)Collecting and preparing data
B)Determining the scope for marketing research
C)Analysing the data
D)Select the research design
E)Transforming the analysis results into insights

Question 10

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 11

Why is ethics an important consideration in marketing research?

Question 12

Marketing research is best defined as:

A)the framework for the day-to-day management and structuring of information gathered by marketers.
B)a continuous gathering of data for an organisation to make marketing decisions.
C)the systematic design, collection, interpretation and reporting of information to help marketers solve specific marketing problems or take advantage of market opportunities.
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 13

Briefly discuss the marketing research process.

Question 14

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 15

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 16

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

Question 17

Explain the conditions that would favour an exploratory study over an experimental study.

Question 18

The first step in the marketing research process is:

A)determining the scope.
B)designing the research project.
C)collecting data.
D)interpreting research findings.
E)reporting research findings.

Question 19

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the four ways to collect a sample.

Question 20

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 businesses and non-profit organisations.
E)carefully monitored by each state's trade agencies.

Question 21

Marketing researchers at Millward Brown 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 22

If Philip Webb seeks information about trends in housing starts around the country and uses the Bureau of Statistics reports to get this information, it is using __________ data.

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

Question 23

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

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

Question 24

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

A)government and business
B)internal and external
C)formal and informal
D)collected and distributed

Question 25

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

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

Question 26

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 27

If Officeworks executives believe that most of the firm's sales are to businesses rather than consumers and that women are more likely to be making purchasing decisions, this would be a(n) __________ that Officeworks could test through marketing research.

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

Question 28

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 29

Data compiled both inside and outside an organisation for some purpose other than the current investigation is called __________ research.

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

Question 30

Students from a marketing research class are involved in a project about the level of sleep, exercise and stress that individuals experience.They have decided to collect data from three different student areas on campus.When they analyse their data, they find the responses are very similar across the three areas.The students feel comfortable they have achieved which of the following with regard to their data?

A)Reliability
B)Causal relationships
C)Validity
D)Sampling accuracy
E)Measurability

Question 31

__________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 32

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)sampling must be done in a completely random manner.

Question 33

ASOS executives want to target an older crowd to increase the firm's market share, so they survey men and women ages 40 to 60 about how often and for what type of activities they wear casual clothing.This is an example of:

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

Question 34

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

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

Question 35

Suppose that marketers at Woolworths are trying to determine whether distributing free samples of Cuddly fabric softener was the reason for a sales increase in a particular store.The type of research conducted to answer this question is__________ research.

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

Question 36

If Myer wants to learn about consumers' attitudes towards online 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 37

When working as a summer intern for a local retail store, Jennifer Meachem was sent to the library to look for data on population forecasts for the Gold Coast.The population information she found would be considered:

A)primary data.
B)secondary data.
C)information data from syndicated research services.
D)second-hand data.

Question 38

If Village Cinemas conducted a study with questions designed to measure participants' attitudes towards going to the cinema, as opposed to watching movies on DVD or Blu-Ray, the firm's concern with this issue would relate to the research technique's:

A)validity.
B)dependability.
C)ability.
D)reliability.
E)capacity.

Question 39

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 an organisation for some purpose other than the current investigation.

Question 40

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 41

Secondary data cannot be obtained from:

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

Question 42

Subscription services from firms such as the Nielsen Corporation provide marketing researchers with a good source of __________ data.

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

Question 43

Peter Demos, director of marketing at Holcomb, Inc., calls in Andrea Mandas, 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 44

The objective of sampling in marketing research is to:

A)elicit 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 45

The two basic types of sampling that marketing researchers use are:

A)random and non-random.
B)probability and non-probability.
C)stratified and quota.
D)planned and spontaneous.

Question 46

Assume that Colourista, a hair salon, is interested in studying the pricing expectations of its customers.If the study calls for a selection of a hundred people at random from three age groups, __________ sampling is being used.

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

Question 47

Compared to a telephone or personal survey, the major disadvantage of a mail survey is:

A)having to offer premiums.
B)the failure of respondents to return the questionnaire.
C)the elimination of interview bias.
D)the lack of open-ended questions.
E)the cost.

Question 48

Which of the following is a probability sampling technique that is used to reduce some of the error that can occur with random sampling?

A)Quota
B)Stratified
C)Non-probability
D)Cluster
E)Snowball

Question 49

Information from the Australian census is collected every five years.It is commonly used as __________by a variety of government departments, agencies and companies.

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

Question 50

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

Question 51

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

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

Question 52

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

A)Quota
B)Stratified
C)Random
D)Non-probability
E)Probability

Question 53

When a population is divided into distinct groups based on some particular characteristic and a probability sample is taken from each group, this exemplifies __________ sampling.

A)area
B)quota
C)stratified
D)cluster
E)simple random

Question 54

In what 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 55

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

A)Non-probability
B)Random
C)Quota
D)Stratified
E)Poll

Question 56

Prue Street is running for council in her electoral region.She is interested in knowing voters' intended choices.All the registered voters in her district would constitute the study's:

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

Question 57

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.

Question 58

The National Marketing Research Company 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 59

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 60

Kathleen is the new marketing manager for the lingerie division at David Jones.For next season's planning, she needs access to data about recent purchasing patterns in the whole industry.Which type of data could be used in this situation?

A)Sampling data
B)Secondary data
C)Quote data
D)Primary data
E)Survey data

Question 61

The main focus of a marketing information system is on:

A)the coordination of external information sources.
B)classifying data into the proper information categories.
C)data storage and retrieval.
D)the accurate maintenance of inventory levels.
E)gathering information on competitive activity.

Question 62

Marketers of Jolt Cola implemented a telephone survey to determine the effectiveness of a recent advertising campaign.One of the questions the interviewer asked was, 'Have you ever heard of a cola with twice the caffeine of regular colas?' This is an example of a(n) __________ question.

A)open-ended
B)dichotomous
C)multiple-choice
D)imperative
E)declarative

Question 63

Although telephone surveys can be conducted very quickly, a major limitation is:

A)the ability to gain rapport with respondents.
B)the difficulty in asking probing questions.
C)that few companies prefer this survey method.
D)that only a small portion of the population likes to participate in telephone surveys.
E)the expense compared to in-home interviews.

Question 64

In the process of conducting marketing research, marketers should allow for:

A)periodic review of data during the collection period.
B)continual evaluation of the data during the entire collection period.
C)no data review during collection and wait for later interpretation of research findings.
D)descriptive research to solve general problems.
E)statistical analysis during the collection period.

Question 65

The final step in the marketing research process is:

A)interpreting research findings.
B)making sure the marketing research was conducted in an ethical manner.
C)putting the results into a written document that is technical and written in formal language.
D)reporting the research findings.
E)deciding what the next research project should investigate.

Question 66

Which of the following survey methods has the potential to offer a quick response at a lower cost than traditional mail and telephone surveys?

A)Total population surveys
B)In-home (door-to-door) interviews
C)Focus group interviews
D)Personal interview surveys
E)Online surveys

Question 67

An item on the University Book Store's survey asks respondents to tell the store, in their own words, what they like least about textbook shopping.This item would be an example of a(n) __________ question.

A)open-ended
B)dichotomous
C)forced-sum-choice
D)multiple-choice
E)limited-choice

Question 68

A framework for gathering and managing information from sources both inside and outside an organisation is referred to as:

A)marketing research agencies.
B)a marketing information system.
C)the marketing mix.
D)a marketing research system.
E)a secondary data system.

Question 69

If marketing researchers are interested in observing group interactions during an informal, unstructured and open-ended data collection process, they should use:

A)observation.
B)a focus group interview.
C)an on-site computer interview.
D)a shopping-centre intercept interview.
E)a telephone survey.

Question 70

City Chic, a retail clothing store chain, wants to use observation methods to gather information about shopping behaviour.Which of the following should City Chic know about observation methods of data collection?

A)Observation uses secondary sources of data.
B)Observation depends on shopping-centre interviews.
C)Observation can indicate what is being done, but not why.
D)Observation focuses on open ended questions.
E)Observation works best for telephone surveys.

Question 71

Marketing researchers typically favour __________ because they are extremely flexible.

A)mail surveys
B)direct observation
C)experiments
D)personal interviews
E)telephone surveys

Question 72

If Earth Choice laundry liquid managers want to know what percentage of customers examines product labels before making a product selection in the supermarket, it can best gain this information through:

A)focus groups.
B)mail surveys.
C)personal interviews.
D)observation.
E)shopping-centre intercepts.

Question 73

Which of the following characterises a marketing information system (MIS)?

A)An MIS is an orderly gathering of information, such as sales reports and accounting data, that is not supplied through routine reporting systems.
B)An MIS provides a continuous flow of information about such things as distribution costs, prices, sales and advertising expenses.
C)An MIS is conducted on a special-project basis when needed.
D)An MIS involves internal information collection about employees and customers.

Question 74

Cameras and counting machines are used most often in:

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

Question 75

Corporate executives often prefer marketing research findings to be put into a report:

A)full of statistical analysis with details on methods employed by the researchers.
B)examining the ethical implications of implementing results from the research report.
C)that exposes no deficiencies or limitations of the research process.
D)that is clear, short and simply expressed.
E)expressing the views and beliefs of top management about the research problem.

Question 76

Which of the following basic survey methods is the least expensive method if there is an adequate response rate?

A)Mail surveys
B)Online surveys
C)Telephone surveys
D)Personal interview surveys
E)Focus groups

Question 77

When a market researcher uses ethnographic techniques, they are engaging in:

A)mail surveys.
B)personal interview surveys.
C)observation.
D)experimentation.
E)focus groups.

Question 78

The manager of an IGA is interested in asking consumers what they think about the store's new layout and expanded produce selection.If the manager would like to obtain a high response rate and have the study conducted as quickly as possible, which data collection method would you recommend?

A)Mail survey
B)Direct observation of consumers in the store
C)Telephone survey
D)Focus group interview
E)Shopping-centre intercept interview

Question 79

According to the text, __________ interpretation focuses on what is typical or what deviates from the average.

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

Question 80

Which step in the marketing research process involves the use of data analysis and statistical techniques to help draw conclusions?

A)Locating and defining problems or research issues
B)Developing hypotheses
C)Collecting data
D)Interpreting research findings
E)Reporting research findings