Deck 5: Information Gathering: Unobtrusive Methods

Question 1

Which of these recording techniques has a decision maker who is observed in the left column and all of their actions in the right-hand column?

A)adjective pairs
B)categories
C)scales
D)analyst's playscript

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which is not a guideline that can help analysts to take a systematic approach to analysis?

A)Examine documents for key or guiding metaphors.
B)Look for insiders versus outsiders or "we against them" mentality in documents.
C)List terms that characterize good or evil which almost never appear in documents.
D)Recognize a sense of humor, if present.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The overriding variable that determines how many people the systems analyst should interview in depth is:

A)the number of analysts interviewing.
B)the number of users in an organization.
C)the number of departments and the number of users in an organization.
D)the time an interview takes.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which is not an approach for complex random samples?

A)random sampling
B)systematic sampling
C)stratified sampling
D)cluster sampling

Question 5

Which is not a quality of a convenience sample?

A)unrestricted samples
B)non-probability samples
C)the most difficult samples to arrange
D)the most unreliable samples

Question 6

Which is not a quantitative document available for interpretation in any business?

A)records
B)reports used for decision making
C)performance reports
D)data capture records

Question 7

Which is the most common information flow in an organization?

A)upward and horizontally
B)downward and horizontally
C)upward and vertically
D)downward and vertically

Question 8

If a decision maker has trade journals and newspaper clippings about other companies, they tend to work with:

A)external information.
B)internal information.
C)detailed corporate information.
D)summarized corporate information.

Question 9

What provides periodic updates of what is occurring in the business?

A)performance reports
B)records
C)reports used for decision making
D)data capture forms

Question 10

Which is the formula of the necessary sample size (n), where p is the proportion of the population having the attribute and p is the standard error of the proportion?

Question 11

Which is not a key question on which the systems analyst must make a decision?

A)Which should the systems analyst pay attention to, among many reports, forms, output documents, and memos?
B)Which should the systems analyst ignore?
C)Which people should the systems analyst interview?
D)Which people should the systems analyst seek information from via questionnaires?
E)Which people should the systems analyst observe in the process of carrying out their mission?

Question 12

Which of the following is a reason why a systems analyst would want perform sampling?

A)thorough collection of data
B)increasing user involvement
C)accuracy is not a project requirement
D)reducing bias

Question 13

Which determines the sample size?

A)cluster itself
B)what we know about the sample itself
C)population
D)systems analyst

Question 14

Which of these is not an organizational element of interest with the STROBE technique?

A)decision maker's body language
B)decision maker's office placement
C)decision maker's clothing
D)office lighting and color

Question 15

Which is not a way that the analyst can inspect a record?

A)checking for consistency in report font types and logo placement
B)looking for opportunities for improving the recording form design
C)observing the number and type of transactions
D)watching for instances where the computer can simplify the work

Question 16

Which sampling technique is usually the most important to the systems analyst?

A)random sampling
B)systematic sampling
C)stratified sampling
D)cluster sampling

Question 17

A good rule of thumb is to interview:

A)at least three people on every level of the organization and at least one from each functional area directly involved in the system.
B)at least one person on every level of the organization and at least three from each functional area directly involved in the system.
C)at least one person on every level of the organization and at least one from each functional area directly involved in the system.
D)at least one person on every level of the organization and at least two from each functional area directly involved in the system.

Question 18

Which is not a way to proceed when creating a catalog of forms to help you understand the information flow currently in use in business?

A)Collect examples of all of the forms in use.
B)Note the type of form.
C)Document the intended distribution pattern.
D)Compare the intended distribution pattern with who actually analyzes the form.

Question 19

Which is not a main type of sample?

A)objectiveness
B)convenience
C)purposive
D)simple
E)complex

Question 20

Which is not one of four steps that a systems analyst must follow to design a good sample?

A)Determine the data to be collected or described.
B)Determine the population to be sampled.
C)Choose the type of population.
D)Describe the sample size.

Question 21

Which of the following is not an element observed in STROBE?

A)office location
B)desk placement
C)office lighting
D)desk chair fabric

Question 22

Quantitative documents include memos, ________ on bulletin boards and in work areas, procedure manuals, and policy handbooks.

A)signs
B)pictures
C)flags
D)banners

Question 23

The duties and responsibilities of the systems analyst are to identify the ________, the attributes, and even the associated attributes that need to be gathered in the sample.

A)sample size
B)constants
C)variables
D)leaders

Question 24

A good rule of thumb is to interview at least ________ people on every level of the organization.

A)three
B)two
C)four
D)five

Question 25

Data-gathering bias can be reduced by sampling.

Question 26

Stratification is the process of identifying subpopulations (or strata)and then selecting objects or people for sampling within these subpopulations.

Question 27

Observing ________, their physical environment, and their interaction with their physical, ergonomic environment is an important unobtrusive method for a systems analyst.

A)software developers
B)administrative assistants
C)decision makers
D)receptionists

Question 28

________ provide periodic updates of what is occurring in the business.

A)Performance reports
B)Records
C)Data capture reports
D)Blank forms

Question 29

Sampling helps accelerate the process by gathering selected data rather than all data for the entire population.

Question 30

The absolute number is more important in sampling than the percentage of the ________.

A)sample size
B)standard deviation
C)population
D)average

Question 31

Typically, most information flows ________.

A)downward and horizontally
B)upward and vertically
C)Both A and B.
D)Neither A nor B.

Question 32

An office lighted with warm, incandescent lighting indicates a tendency toward:

A)formal communication.
B)gathering information from memos.
C)casual communication.
D)a person that is interested in external information.

Question 33

The simplest method of probability sampling is called ________ sampling.

A)convenience
B)systematic
C)simple random
D)purposive

Question 34

When the systems analyst asks an opinion of a permanent feature of the installed information system, the executive interviewed may provide an unbiased evaluation since there is little possibility of changing it.

Question 35

________ is the process of systematically selecting representative elements of a population.

A)Questioning
B)Calling
C)Sampling
D)Learning

Question 36

Assessing use of ________ provides a quick and accurate barometer of many HCI, interpersonal, and organizational variables.

A)humor
B)anger
C)rage
D)indifference

Question 37

It is necessary to set a sample size greater than one but less than the size of the population itself.

Question 38

When the systems analyst selects a group of documents or people to study, it is an example of ________ sampling.

A)cluster
B)simple random
C)purposive
D)systematic

Question 39

Qualitative documents include:

A)email messages.
B)memos.
C)signs on bulletin boards.
D)All of the above.

Question 40

Most ________ reports take on the general form of actual versus intended performance.

A)performance
B)sales
C)production
D)data capture

Question 41

Executives in warmly lit offices tend to gather information more informally than other executives do.

Question 42

Corporate Web sites are not useful as an indication of organizational culture.

Question 43

A policy handbook is an organized and systematic approach that demands that analysts understand and articulate the action taken by decision makers being observed.

Question 44

Observation is an information gathering technique that allows the analyst to see firsthand how managers process and use information.

Question 45

Playscript is an organized and systematic approach that demands that the analyst understand and articulate the action taken by the decision maker.

Question 46

An anecdotal list uses five shorthand symbols to evaluate the elements of STROBE.

Question 47

Examining documents for key or guiding metaphors is done because behavior shapes language.

Question 48

Accessible offices tend to indicate that decision makers share information easily with others.

Question 49

The absolute number is less important in sampling than the percentage of the population.

Question 50

Trade journals and newspaper clippings observed in an office indicate that the manager has an interest in external information.

Question 51

Signs serve as subtle reinforcements of values of those who read them.

Question 52

Examining policies allows the systems analyst to gain an awareness of the values, attitudes, and beliefs that are guiding the corporation.

Question 53

Analysis of memo content will provide you with a clear idea of the values, attitudes, and beliefs of organizational members.

Question 54

One way of analyzing qualitative documents is to notice the graphics, animation, and hyperlinks displayed on Web pages.

Question 55

A form of structured observation having roots in film criticism is known as ROBE.

Question 56

If the stratified sample is done properly, a small number of people will adequately represent the entire organization.

Question 57

A good rule of thumb is to interview at least five people on every level of the organization.

Question 58

When using the analyst's playscript, activities are recorded using nouns that describe the outcome.

Question 59

There are two dimensions used to analyze a Web site: technical and aesthetic.

Question 60

More people should be interviewed in larger organizations.

Question 61

A systems analyst needs a realistic plan about what will be done with the data once they are collected.

Question 62

The systems analyst can gain an understanding of the credibility exhibited by managers in the organization by observing their clothing.

Question 63

A systems analyst can use one of four main types of samples: convenience, purposive, simple random, and complex random.

Question 64

Stratification is the process of identifying subpopulations, or strata, and then selecting objects or people for sampling in these subpopulations.

Question 65

List three of the four reasons why the systems analyst would want to sample data or select representative people to interview.

Question 66

Company A has 500 employees. Company B has 800 employees. Would the analyst working with company B need to interview more employees than the analyst working with Company A? Why or why not?

Question 67

What are the four steps to follow to design a good sample?

Question 68

When using the STROBE technique, small equipment used to process information, e.g., pens, calculators, etc., is referred to as props.

Question 69

If an office contains trade journals and newspaper clippings about other companies, the decision maker is likely to be interested in external information.

Question 70

The shorthand symbol used in conjunction with STROBE to indicate that narrative is modified is a square.

Question 71

One important function of performance reports is to assess the size of the gap between actual and intended performance.

Question 72

What effect on sample size does using a greater confidence level have when sampling attribute data?

Question 73

An office lighted with warm, incandescent lighting indicates a tendency toward more casual communication.

Question 74

List five of the seven concrete elements of the decision maker's physical environment that can be observed by the systems analyst using STROBE.

Question 75

There is one single formula to help a systems analyst set the sample size for interviewing.

Question 76

In the simplest method of probability sampling, stratified sampling, the systems analyst would, for example, choose to interview every nth person on a list of company employees.

Question 77

STROBE is short for STRuctured OBservation of the Environment.

Question 78

Sometimes a systems analyst must select a group of people or documents to study.This process is referred to as cluster sampling.

Question 79

Placement of a desk in the office can provide clues to the exercise of ________ by the decision maker

Question 80

As a systems analyst works to understand users, their organization, and its information requirements, it becomes important to examine different types of hard data that offer information unavailable through any other method of data gathering.