Deck 4: Marketing Research and Information Systems

Question 1

The purpose of marketing research is to inform an organization about customers' needs and desires, marketing opportunities for particular goods and services, and changing attitudes and purchase patterns of customers.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

If a research method measures what it is supposed to measure, it is said to be reliable.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

One of the most overlooked sources of secondary data is the organization's own accounting records.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Descriptive research can be used to better understand the characteristics of certain phenomena to solve a particular problem.

Question 5

The key to locating and defining problems is to probe beneath the superficial symptoms.

Question 6

Customer advisory groups are often used as a type of exploratory research.

Question 7

A hypothesis is a fact about the problem or topic under investigation.

Question 8

The first step in launching a research study is problem or issue definition. The first sign of a problem is usually a departure from some normal function, such as a failure to attain objectives.

Question 9

Secondary data are data collected from inside the organization; primary data are those collected from outside the organization.

Question 10

The technique of sampling in marketing research is the process of selecting representative units from a total population (a sample) and being able to project the characteristics of the total population from the sample considered.

Question 11

Data regarding attitudes toward a particular product are collected. To test a hypothesis, the data are used and then stored. If these data are used again in a future research study, they will be considered primary data.

Question 12

Stratified sampling may reduce some of the error that could occur in a simple random sample.

Question 13

Experimental research is used to make tentative hypotheses more specific.

Question 14

Marketing research can be used to test a hypothesis.

Question 15

Exploratory research is concerned with identifying the characteristics of markets or categorizing market activities.

Question 16

Customer advisory boards are small groups of actual customers who serve as sounding boards for new product ideas and offer insights into their feelings and attitudes toward a firm's products, promotion, pricing, and other elements of marketing strategy.

Question 17

Survey and observation are considered secondary data collection techniques.

Question 18

A research technique is said to be reliable if it produces almost identical results in successive repeated trials.

Question 19

Focus-group interviews are useful if the researcher is interested in observing group interaction.

Question 20

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

Question 21

The potential advantages of traditional mail surveys are quick response and lower cost than online surveys, but this advantage has yet to be achieved.

Question 22

Observation may be used in combination with interviewing.

Question 23

The four fundamental survey methods used to obtain data in marketing research are telephone surveys, mail surveys, online surveys, and personal interviews.

Question 24

The final step in the marketing research process is to assess the ethicality of the data collection phase.

Question 25

The first step in drawing conclusions from most research is to rank the data according to importance.

Question 26

A telephone survey is a good example of a completely random sample for the entire population.

Question 27

In quota sampling, all elements in a population have an equal chance of appearing in the sample.

Question 28

Results of a mail survey can be misleading if there is a high nonresponse rate.

Question 29

Telephone surveys allow an interviewer to gain rapport with respondents and to ask probing questions.

Question 30

A database is a collection of information arranged for easy access and retrieval.

Question 31

A marketing information system provides an irregular and unstructured flow of information from internal sources within the organization.

Question 32

The observation method of research systematically examines and records secondary data information about the physical conditions, events, and overt behavior of respondents.

Question 33

Crowdsourcing refers to the process of taking tasks usually performed by a marketer or researcher and outsourcing them to a crowd, or potential market, through an open call.

Question 34

An on-site computer interview is a variation of the shopping mall intercept interview.

Question 35

The main difference between marketing research and a marketing information system is that the MIS is an information-gathering process for specific situations whereas marketing research provides continuous data input.

Question 36

In general, corporate executives prefer research reports that are short, clear, and simply expressed.

Question 37

Three types of objective questions that can be designed for questionnaires are closed questions, linkage questions, and multiple-choice questions.

Question 38

Statistical interpretation focuses on what is typical or what deviates from the average.

Question 39

Marketing researchers should allow for continual evaluation of the data during the entire data collection period.

Question 40

The in-home (door-to-door) interview is an example of a focus-group interview.

Question 41

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 42

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 43

A research method in which a number of people are exposed to an idea or concept and the interaction of the people is observed is called a(n)

A)in-home interview.
B)mail survey.
C)focus-group interview.
D)shopping mall intercept interview.
E)chat room interview.

Question 44

Laurel Dudley and seven other people were paid to get together and discuss a new product idea proposed by Johnson & Johnson. Researchers observed the interaction of the group. During the discussion, Laurel was annoyed that Seth, another participant, seemed to "hog" the discussion and didn't give others a chance to speak. This is an example of a problem when using

A)focus-group interviews.
B)group surveys.
C)personal interview surveys.
D)sampling teams.
E)group think.

Question 45

Research designed to verify insights through an objective procedure to help marketers make decisions is called ____ research.

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

Question 46

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 47

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 48

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 49

Suppose that marketers at Procter & Gamble are trying to determine whether the use of free samples of Downy 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 50

If Papa John'swants 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 51

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 52

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 53

The second phase of international marketing research should involve a detailed search for and analysis of secondary data.

Question 54

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 55

Marketing analytics can help marketers identify how to develop better-targeted marketing campaigns.

Question 56

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 57

If a marketing researcher is interested in observing group interaction during an informal, unstructured, and open-ended data collection process, he or she should use

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

Question 58

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)the use of tools and methods to measure and interpret the effectiveness of a firm's marketing activities.
D)the collecting of data from secondary sources and internal documents.
E)an intuitive process for making decisions based on personal knowledge and experience to take advantage of market opportunities.

Question 59

_____ data yields information that can be communicated through numbers or metrics.

A)Exploratory
B)Qualitative
C)Quantitative
D)Conclusive
E)Experimental

Question 60

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 61

Bloomingdale's wants to learn about its consumers' attitudes toward online purchases. There are numerous studies that are available about consumers and online buying, but Bloomingdale's believes its customers might be different from the usual online consumer profile, so they decide to conduct their own study. If Bloomingdale's were to use the available data about consumer attitudes, it would be using ___ data; however, if Bloomingdale's does its own study it would collect ______ data.

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

Question 62

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

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

Question 63

When working as a summer intern for a local retail store, Tiffany Lynn was sent to the library to look up data on population forecasts for the city of Dallas. 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 64

____ 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 65

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 66

Secondary data cannot be obtained from

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

Question 67

Tiana knows her business has a problem because of an increasing number of consumer complaints received recently. She 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 68

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 69

The International Company needs information about trends in housing starts and remodeling around the country. Since it will be difficult to collect _______ from the numerous locations, it decides to use _____ data from the U.S. Department of Commerce reports to get this information.

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

Question 70

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 71

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 student-center areas on campus. When they analyze 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 72

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 73

AT&T 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, AT&T is using

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

Question 74

Sam's Club believes that most of its sales are to small businesses rather than consumers, and that women are more likely to be making the purchasing decisions. This is an example of a(n) ____ that Sam's Club could test through marketing research.

A)descriptive sample
B)hypothesis
C)experimental question
D)sampling error
E)conceptual error

Question 75

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 76

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 77

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 78

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 79

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 in repeated trials.
C)is expensive to implement and complete.
D)measures subtle differences in the population being studied and produces almost identical results in repeated trials.
E)is difficult to produce without expert researchers.

Question 80

North Hills General 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.

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