Deck 12: Research and Business Proposals and Planning for Business Proposals

Question 1

The use of percentages, instead of counts, in tables makes it difficult for readers to make effective comparisons quickly.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Industry reports are generally expensive, ranging from several hundred dollars to thousands of dollars.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Clyde creates a survey question with the following range of choices: a) 1-10; b) 10-20; c) 20-30; d) 30-40. This set of choices is unambiguous.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Generally, charts are the least effective way of quickly demonstrating a key point or relationship.

Question 5

Maxim Industries has a very specific business problem related to the unique characteristics of its workforce. To obtain the necessary data to analyze this problem, the company should do primary research.

Question 6

The title should explain the primary point of the chart.

Question 7

Researchers should state their objectives in general, targeted, and achievable statements.

Question 8

In a pie chart, the largest slice should begin at 12 o'clock and go counterclockwise, and the second-largest slice should begin at 12 o'clock and go clockwise.

Question 9

As you collect, analyze, and present data to others, you should provide all the relevant facts, even if they do not fit into convenient conclusions.

Question 10

Kate creates a survey question with the following range of choices: a) 0-25%; b) 26-50%; c) 51-75%; d) 76-100%. This set of choices is exhaustive.

Question 11

Leo wants to provide a comprehensive set of data to allow for more precise analysis. He should use a table, not a chart.

Question 12

For business research, the information you can access through business databases and other sources at your library is generally the least reliable.

Question 13

Placing data labels on each slice of a pie chart makes it difficult to interpret.

Question 14

Each of a chart's focal points should support one main idea.

Question 15

Geoff creates a survey of 50 questions. Its comprehensive coverage will provide more accurate data.

Question 16

The relevance of data relates to how well it applies to your specific business.

Question 17

The bar chart, due to its limited forms, is less versatile than the pie chart or the line chart.

Question 18

The first step in developing research-based business reports is identifying what decision makers want to accomplish.

Question 19

Lata always tends to see business problems from the perspective of middle management. This is an example of a bias.

Question 20

When you analyze data in a group, you are less likely to inadvertently misinterpret the data.

Question 21

Walter, the senior sales analyst at Polka People Apparel, wants to compare the sales volume of the company's Manhattan, Sacramento, and Las Vegas branches. This comparison will best be illustrated through a

A) line chart.
B) pie chart.
C) bar chart.
D) flowchart.
E) cone chart.

Question 22

Which of the following is a disadvantage of conducting primary research into a business problem?

A) It is less pertinent to a business's particular problem.
B) It is less reliable than secondary research.
C) It cannot make use of open-ended questions.
D) It is more time consuming than secondary research.
E) It cannot be influenced by preexisting opinions.

Question 23

A leading question is one that

A) contains more than one idea.
B) is difficult for respondents to answer.
C) does not include all possible survey choices.
D) suggests an answer to the respondents.
E) has more than one appropriate answer.

Question 24

Generally, bar charts are best suited for

A) depicting a project's progress.
B) illustrating the pieces within a whole.
C) depicting events and trends over time.
D) comparing amounts or quantities.
E) representing organizational hierarchy.

Question 25

Which type of visual should you use to display stock prices over time?

A) a line chart
B) a pie chart
C) a bar chart
D) a clustered-column chart
E) a table

Question 26

Which of the following terms is used for the process that involves the analysis of data collected by others with no direction from you or members of your organization?

A) white papers
B) scholarly journals
C) primary research
D) secondary research
E) external blogs

Question 27

Sarah, the owner of Food Folks Diners, wants to know how effective the new dinner menu has been. Which of the following questions should she incorporate into her survey questionnaire?

A) Do you think that the new dinner menu has a better variety of foods than the old one?
B) How good is the new, improved dinner menu when compared to the previous one?
C) How do you feel about the new dinner menu compared to the old one?
D) How strongly do you agree that the new dinner menu is more interesting than the old one?
E) Do you think the new menu is better than the old one because it has better food choices?

Question 28

Which of the following statements about primary research is true?

A) Primary research refers to data collected by others outside an organization.
B) Primary research provides feedback directly related to an organization and its needs.
C) Primary research is less time-consuming and expensive to carry out than secondary research.
D) Primary research is always free from biases toward preexisting opinions and beliefs.
E) Primary research is generally less useful for your business problems than secondary research.

Question 29

Which of the following statements about leading questions is true?

A) In surveys, it is better to incorporate leading questions than non-leading questions.
B) Leading questions allow respondents to provide their genuine thoughts or impressions.
C) In surveys, leading questions produce unreliable and unusable information.
D) Leading questions do not have an exhaustive range of possible answers.
E) Leading questions are those that contain more than one idea.

Question 30

Which of the following chart types can be used to compare many types of data and is thus the most versatile?

A) line charts
B) pie charts
C) bar charts
D) clustered-column charts
E) flowcharts

Question 31

How can you make sure that your business report meets the needs of the target audience?

A) Consider updating them about progress and involving them in the process.
B) Find out their biases and tailor the primary research to support their preconceived ideas.
C) Save money by looking for already published reports that relate to the business problem.
D) Cherry-pick data to match what you know the decision makers want to hear.
E) Do the report as quickly as possible by using only information that already exists in databases.

Question 32

Which of the following is least important when analyzing data related to a business problem?

A) understanding statistical and quantitative analysis
B) understanding database design
C) using statistical software over spreadsheet software
D) analyzing data with colleagues in a group
E) focusing on tangential issues

Question 33

Which of the following statements about charts is true?

A) Charts are meant solely for conveying simple numerical information.
B) Important business ideas or relationships should not be explained through charts.
C) Charts should not require much mental effort for the reader.
D) The title of a chart should be at least ten words long.
E) Charts have fewer limits than tables in the amount of information they can provide.

Question 34

Who is the primary audience for most business reports?

A) people who own stock in the company
B) low-level workers within the company
C) customers of the company
D) decision makers within the company
E) suppliers of the company

Question 35

Samantha, the owner of Silver Butterflies Accessories, wants to know how her customers feel about shopping at her stores. One of the questions in her survey questionnaire reads, "On a scale of 1 to 5, where would you place the store's ambience, service, and jewelry collection?" This question is ineffective because it

A) is a leading question.
B) asks about multiple ideas.
C) is too short to be effective.
D) is an open-ended question.
E) uses a rating scale.

Question 36

Rachael, a marketing assistant at Blue Pearl Resort, is preparing a questionnaire to help her understand the resort's customers better. She wants to use only closed questions in her survey. Which of the following questions can Rachael use?

A) How would you describe your most recent experience at Blue Pearl Resort?
B) How would you suggest that we improve our customer service?
C) On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your level of satisfaction at Blue Pearl?
D) What would be your idea of a perfect holiday in a five-star resort?
E) What factors influence you while choosing a resort?

Question 37

Which of the following makes a chart ineffective?

A) giving a short title to the chart
B) adding a subtitle for the chart
C) highlighting the chart's focal points
D) keeping the chart title nondescriptive
E) placing a callout box on the chart

Question 38

In order to be effective, a consumer survey should contain

A) answers that appeal to respondents' biases.
B) questions that cover multiple ideas.
C) at least 15 questions.
D) exhaustive answer choices for each question.
E) leading questions that suggest a correct answer.

Question 39

Inga included this question on a customer survey: "Do you prefer restaurants like ours that have a wide variety of sandwiches?" The problem with that question is that it

A) is too short.
B) is simple to answer.
C) has exhaustive choices.
D) focuses on one idea.
E) is leading.

Question 40

Carl heads the in-house market research department at Cook Champion Foods. He is planning a study of the relationship between television commercials for a product and children's desire to buy the product after viewing the commercials. Which of the following is the best way for Carl to define his research problem?

A) determine how children are influenced by the media they watch
B) understand the psychology of children who watch television
C) understand what makes for effective television commercials
D) determine the effect of television commercials
E) determine how television commercials affect children's desires

Question 41

To ensure that the bar charts are formatted effectively, the bars should be about ______ the width of the space in between bars.

A) half
B) equal
C) twice
D) three times
E) four times

Question 42

Lenora is looking for research on ways to cut down on the amount of time employees use non-work-related social media during working hours. Which of the following sources is least likely to provide her with useful information?

A) scholarly journals
B) industry publications
C) external blogs
D) business periodicals
E) white papers

Question 43

Nathan's boss has asked him to present a business report on "consumer shopping habits" in three days. Due to the time constraint, his boss wants him to use secondary research. In this situation, which of the following should Nathan do?

A) arrange for focus group discussions and interviews
B) survey consumers through online questionnaires
C) interview consumers over the phone
D) use data published in business journals
E) hire a consultant to conduct survey research

Question 44

Galaxy Corp. has hired Jason to conduct business research on recent trends in the healthcare industry. Jason regularly uses word processing software to document the information sources he uses. This practice will increase the ______ of Jason's research.

A) bias
B) accessibility
C) relevance
D) credibility
E) adaptability

Question 45

Scholarly journals are biased toward

A) the mission of the editing team.
B) the mission of the publication team.
C) theoretical significance.
D) the writers' career objectives.
E) organizational mission and objectives.

Question 46

Daniel, the owner of D's Inn, wants to graphically represent a comparison of his restaurant's market share with those of the top competitors in the same city. His research findings suggest that D's Inn has the largest market share. In order to present this data most effectively, Daniel should

A) use a line chart instead of a pie chart.
B) use a legend instead of data labels.
C) make sure all segments of the pie chart have equal weight.
D) use a long, descriptive title with at least fifteen words.
E) highlight the focal point using color or labels.

Question 47

When you evaluate how well research can be revised to address your specific business problem, you are considering its

A) reliability.
B) relevance.
C) adaptability.
D) expertise.
E) biases.

Question 48

A drawback of online databases is that they

A) are more expensive than primary research.
B) provide outdated information.
C) take time to navigate.
D) contain sparse business-related information.
E) are not found in university libraries.

Question 49

In the context of quality of data obtained from secondary research, the ______ of the data relates to how well it applies to your specific business problem.

A) expertise
B) reliability
C) adaptability
D) relevance
E) biases

Question 50

Which of the following guidelines increases the effectiveness of a bar chart?

A) Bars should be about half the width of the space in between bars.
B) A legend should be used only if the chart has two or more data series.
C) The baseline for bar charts should always be the first increment of the scale you are using.
D) 3-D bar charts should be used to represent complicated numerical information.
E) Lighter colors should be used to represent your most important data series.

Question 51

Which of the following statements about pie charts is true?

A) In a pie chart, the largest slice should begin at 6 o'clock and go counterclockwise.
B) Exploding slices should be used extensively in pie charts.
C) Pie slices should complete a whole, that is, add up to 100% of a data series.
D) The slices of the pie charts should be free from data labels.
E) 3-D pie charts are used to represent complicated numerical data.

Question 52

Which of the following formatting methods increases the effectiveness of tables?

A) using a large number of grid lines
B) ensuring that each grid line serves a distinct purpose
C) presenting comparative data series horizontally rather than vertically
D) using grid lines on all borders
E) alternating background colors on rows

Question 53

Which of the following statements about scholarly journals is true?

A) Scholarly journals contain business research that is extremely reliable.
B) Scholarly business articles always provide useful information for common business problems.
C) Scholarly articles rarely focus on theoretical and abstract issues.
D) Scholarly journals generally include a level of theoretical background that is easy to understand.
E) Scholarly journals rely on anecdotal evidence rather than carefully controlled experiments and survey research.

Question 54

Reports or guides that are issued by the government and organizations and that generally describe research about solving a particular issue are referred to as

A) business books.
B) white papers.
C) scholarly journals.
D) business periodicals.
E) industry publications.

Question 55

Compared to charts, tables are better for

A) breaking a whole into parts.
B) showing change over time.
C) demonstrating a process with sub steps.
D) highlighting a key idea.
E) providing comprehensiveness and precision.

Question 56

You can usually better assess the usefulness of ______ than other secondary sources because of the many online reviews available.

A) business books
B) external blogs
C) scholarly journals
D) industry publications
E) white papers

Question 57

Industrial publications tend to be characterized by a low level of

A) reliability.
B) relevance.
C) adaptability.
D) expertise.
E) biases.

Question 58

When considering possible sources of research to use, Kari rejects one company database because it was compiled by a summer intern who had little experience or education related to the business problem Kari hopes to address. Which aspect of data quality did Kari use to make this judgment?

A) reliability
B) relevance
C) adaptability
D) expertise
E) biases

Question 59

Which of the following formatting methods decreases the effectiveness of pie charts?

A) placing the data series names and data labels together in the pie slices
B) using boldface printing on the largest pie slice
C) locating the smallest pie slice at 12 o'clock
D) using a subtitle to support the main title
E) using the darkest color for the largest pie slice

Question 60

Which of the following formatting guidelines increases the effectiveness of all types of charts?

A) using many bright colors as a way to highlight focal points
B) using darker colors to represent the most important data series
C) using unusual fonts or many special effects
D) using 3-D charts to attract attention
E) using white type on dark backgrounds

Question 61

Which of the following statements about online research is true?

A) The information found on the Internet tends to be of uniformly good quality.
B) None of the information sources on the web are informed and accurate.
C) It is not necessary to document information sources found on the web.
D) Speeches and presentations provided in video and audio format have no usefulness for business research.
E) Industry sites list a variety of sources that may be more current than the information in business databases.

Question 62

Differentiate primary research from secondary research. Explain how you would choose which to use.

Question 63

Which of the following is a deceptive research practice?

A) using charts and tables to communicate numerical information
B) asking a business librarian to help you identify online databases that match your needs
C) discussing a data relationship that you are unsure about with your colleagues
D) cherry-picking data and adjusting information in your favor
E) making numerical adjustments in the table by converting counts into percentages

Question 64

For most business research, the information you can access through ______ is generally the most reliable.

A) external blogs and wikis
B) white papers
C) business databases
D) business books
E) business periodicals

Question 65

When business professionals enter into primary research with preexisting assumptions or conclusions, they are likely to

A) avoid information that duplicates their conclusions.
B) interpret the data incorrectly.
C) increase the adaptability of the research.
D) look for information that contradicts their positions.
E) reduce the errors made in analyzing data relationships.

Question 66

What five criteria should you use to evaluate the data quality of secondary research sources? Explain each one.

Question 67

What are the various guidelines for creating effective survey questions?

Question 68

What are useful strategies for conducting online research?

Question 69

Discuss the pros and cons of any two important secondary research sources.

Question 70

Explain the guidelines that should be followed to format tables effectively.

Question 71

What is the relationship between documentation of research sources and credibility?

Question 72

How can the FAIR test be applied to research data and charts?

Question 73

How are closed questions different from open-ended questions?

Question 74

How do charts differ from tables?

Question 75

Luxuria Island Resort has hired Sharon to conduct business research for the company. Sharon's research findings suggest that, of the four, five-star resorts in the area, respondents rank Luxuria Island Resort last. How should Sharon present her findings to the company's board?

A) Make the information look more positive by adjusting the scale of charts.
B) Disclose the data fully to foster transparency in the organization.
C) Provide only the facts that will make the board feel good.
D) Point out how the board is responsible for the company's plight.
E) Tell the board the data is inconclusive and refuse to share it.