Deck 7: Experimental Research and Test Marketing

Question 1

In an experiment, the group of subjects exposed to the experimental treatment is known as the control group.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Randomisation of experimental units is the researcher's attempt to control all extraneous variables while manipulating a single factor, the treatment variable.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

External validity refers to the question of whether the experimental treatment was the sole cause of observed changes in the dependent variable.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

In the simplest type of experiment, only a value of the independent variable is administered to the control group.

Question 5

In an experiment, the researcher manipulates the dependent variable and measures its effect on the independent variable.

Question 6

Mortality effects may occur if many subjects drop from one experimental treatment group and not from other treatment or control groups.

Question 7

History effects are effects on the experimental results caused by changes in experimental subjects over time.

Question 8

In the static group design, each subject is measured before and after being exposed to the experimental treatment.

Question 9

In marketing experiments, the criterion by which the results are judged is called the independent variable.

Question 10

In experimental research, it is a requirement that the treatments in factorial designs have the same number of levels.

Question 11

A procedure in which the assignment of subjects and treatments to groups is based on chance is known as blinding.

Question 12

Factorial designs do not allow the researcher to measure interaction effects between the independent variables.

Question 13

The researcher's goal in conducting an experiment is to determine whether the experimental treatment is the cause of the effect being measured.

Question 14

The Solomon four-group design provides a means for controlling the interactive testing effect, as well as other sources of extraneous variation.

Question 15

In basic experimental designs, multiple independent variables are manipulated in order to observe their effects on a single dependent variable.

Question 16

Experimentation allows evaluation of causal relationships among variables while all other variables vary freely.

Question 17

In a field experiment, the researcher can control all extraneous variables in a natural environmental setting.

Question 18

A key advantage of a one-group pretest-posttest design is its ability to control for history and maturity effects.

Question 19

Problems of internal validity are greater than in more tightly controlled before-and-after designs for experiments of shorter duration.

Question 20

Unlike other forms of research designs, experimentation is not influenced by random sampling errors and sample selection errors.

Question 21

Electronic test markets enable researchers to measure the immediate impact of commercial television viewing of specific programs on unit sales volume.

Question 22

A test market is deemed to have failed if the new product being tested turns out to be a marketing failure.

Question 23

The larger the population of the test market city, the more reliable and projectable the results.

Question 24

Marketers typically do not rely on consumer survey data to project test market results.

Question 25

Test markets are popular because consumers always react in a manner similar to their norm.

Question 26

Research using student surrogates has high external validity due to the representativeness of the student population.

Question 27

It is not always possible to control every variable that should be controlled in order to have a perfect experiment.

Question 28

Test marketing is an experimental procedure that provides an opportunity to test a new product or a new marketing plan under artificial market conditions in order to measure sales or profit potential.

Question 29

Matching of test subjects to experimental groups is only conducted when randomisation is not possible.

Question 30

In a study examining the impact of price on product sales, the manipulation of the price variable is known as an experimental treatment.

Question 31

Test markets conducted online do not have issues with sample bias, due to the internet's global coverage.

Question 32

Which of the following is not considered a true experimental design?

A) One group pretest-posttest design
B) Pretest-posttest control group design
C) Solomon four-group design
D) Posttest-only control group design

Question 33

Which of the following statements regarding the nature of experiments is not true?

A) Experimental research allows the investigator to control the research situation, so that causal relationships among variables may be evaluated.
B) Experimental research allows the researcher to manipulate the extraneous variables while holding all other variables constant.
C) In experimentation, the researcher's goal is to determine whether the experimental treatment is the cause of the effect being measured.
D) Events may be controlled in an experiment to a degree not possible in a survey.

Question 34

Salespeople should be made aware that a test market is being conducted in their territory to ensure the product is more available and better displayed.

Question 35

A test market that is too short may underestimate sales of a new product.

Question 36

A dual-blinded experimental design is when neither the experimenter nor the test subject knows which are the controlled and experimental conditions.

Question 37

A major advantage of using the control method of test marketing is that the distribution and shelving of the test product can be guaranteed.

Question 38

All of the following are regarded as quasi-experimental designs, except:

A) after-only design.
B) after-only control group design.
C) static group design.
D) one group before-after design.

Question 39

All of the following are possible dependent variables in a marketing research study, except:

A) sales performance.
B) advertising expenditure.
C) advertising recall.
D) advertising awareness.

Question 40

When the initial measurement alerts subjects to the nature of the experiment, distorting future treatments and measurements, it is called the:

A) selection effect.
B) cohort effect.
C) maturation effect.
D) testing effect.

Question 41

Which experimental design has the following symbols? $\begin{array}{l|l|lll}\text { Experimental group: } & \mathrm{R} & \mathrm{O}_{1} & \mathrm{X} & \mathrm{O}_{2} \\\hline \text { Control group: }& \mathrm{R} & \mathrm{O}_{3} & \mathrm{O}_{4}\end{array}$

A) Posttest-only control group design
B) Solomon four-group design
C) Static group design
D) Pretest-posttest control group design

Question 42

Which experimental design is most appropriate to answer the question, 'What is the effect of varying the height of the display from the floor?'

A) One-shot design
B) Factorial design
C) Compromise design
D) Solomon four-group design

Question 43

When the level of advertising dollar expenditures is varied in two different test market cities to determine the effect of a new product on unit sales, unit sales is the ___________ variable and advertising dollar level is the ___________ variable.

A) dependent; independent
B) independent; dependent
C) dependent; dependent
D) independent; independent

Question 44

An experimental design in which a single measure is recorded after the treatment is administered is known as a:

A) one-group pretest-posttest design.
B) static group design.
C) one-shot design.
D) repeated measures design.

Question 45

An organisation increases its advertising expenditures in the test market city of its competitor in order to jeopardise the test market results of its competitor's new product. This is an example of a:

A) maturation effect.
B) history effect.
C) mortality effect.
D) cohort effect.

Question 46

Which experimental design has the following symbols: O1 X O2?

A) Static group design
B) One-shot design
C) Solomon four-group design
D) One-group pretest-posttest design

Question 47

Which of the following statements about repeated measures designs is not true?

A) They are less realistic when compared to other experimental designs.
B) They cause problems, such as demand characteristics.
C) They eliminate problems, due to subject differences.
D) They are more efficient than other experimental designs.

Question 48

A situation in which subjects in experimental groups are exposed to situations that are identical except for differing conditions of the independent variable is known as:

A) demand characteristics.
B) constancy in conditions.
C) matching.
D) randomisation.

Question 49

If subjects in the experimental group are always administered the treatment in the afternoon and subjects in the control group are always administered the treatment in the morning, then the study is said to experience:

A) matching.
B) repeated measures.
C) constant error.
D) demand characteristics.

Question 50

If a food company tests a new product by having one group of experimental subjects taste this product first, and then a competitor's product second, while a second group of experimental subjects tastes the two products in the reverse order, the experimental design has been:

A) counterbalanced.
B) conditioned.
C) pre-tested.
D) double-blinded.

Question 51

Which experimental design has the following symbols? $\begin{array}{l|l|lll}\text { Experimental group: } & \mathrm{O}_{1} & \mathrm{X} & \mathrm{O}_{1} \\\hline \text { Control group: }& \mathrm{R} & \mathrm{O}_{2}\end{array}$

A) One-shot design
B) Solomon four-group design
C) One-group pretest-posttest design
D) Posttest-only control group design

Question 52

In experimental research, when experimental design procedures unintentionally hint to subjects about the experimenter's hypothesis, it is known as:

A) constancy of conditions.
B) selection effect.
C) demand characteristics.
D) instrumentation effect.

Question 53

Which experimental design has the following symbols: O1 O2 O3 X O4 O5 O6?

A) Static group design
B) After-only design
C) Time series design
D) Pretest-posttest control group design

Question 54

The question of whether the independent variable was the sole cause of the change in the dependent variable is the basic issue in:

A) constancy in conditions.
B) internal validity.
C) demand characteristics.
D) external validity.

Question 55

The group of subjects not exposed to the experimental treatment is known as the:

A) control group.
B) experimental group.
C) blinding group.
D) extraneous group.

Question 56

Suppose that a soft-drink company performs an experiment with a new type of soft drink in which experimental subjects always taste this new product first, and then taste a competitor's product second. This study has an error in design that is termed a(n):

A) history effect.
B) maturation effect.
C) order effect.
D) guinea pig effect.

Question 57

To investigate whether attitudes towards imported cars are influenced by price, attitudes towards imported cars should be set as the ___________ variable and price as the ___________ variable.

A) independent; dependent
B) independent; independent
C) dependent; dependent
D) dependent; independent

Question 58

When subjects act differently because they are aware that they are in an experiment, it is called the:

A) history effect.
B) Hawthorne effect.
C) maturation effect.
D) cohort effect.

Question 59

A pretest-posttest design with a control group(s) that replicates or repeats the same treatment on different experimental units is an example of a:

A) compromise design.
B) time series design.
C) factorial design.
D) completely randomised design.

Question 60

When a researcher asks, 'Will a test market in Hobart, Tasmania, be representative for a nationwide launch of the product under study?', this is a basic question concerning:

A) internal validity.
B) demand characteristics.
C) external validity.
D) constancy of conditions.

Question 61

Beyoncé tests songs for her new album anonymously in a nightclub to observe how people dance to each song. What type of experiment is this?

A) Controlled experiment
B) Laboratory experiment
C) Environmental experiment
D) Field experiment

Question 62

Register4 is a panel of men and women who are interested in participating in cancer research. Once approved, researchers can advertise to the panel for people to participate in research experiments. Which of the following problems can occur with this method?

A) Random sampling error
B) Sample selection error
C) Self-selection bias
D) Randomisation error

Question 63

Experimental research allows the investigator to control the research situation so that ______ relationships among variables may be evaluated.

Question 64

An experimental design that combines the pretest-posttest with control group design, and the posttest-only with control group design, is known as the:

A) Latin square design.
B) compromise design.
C) factorial design.
D) Solomon four-group design.

Question 65

In an experiment, if there is brand awareness among 25 per cent of the subjects before an advertising treatment, and then, after exposure to the treatment, 30 per cent awareness in control group and 40 per cent awareness in the experimental group, then the treatment effect equals:

A) 20 per cent.
B) 10 per cent.
C) Three per cent.
D) 15 per cent.

Question 66

In which type of test marketing situation does a company use its own sales force to try to obtain distribution of the product?

A) Controlled
B) Standard
C) Electronic
D) Simulated

Question 67

Suppose that during an experimental study, a researcher splits the subjects into two groups. One group is exposed to the treatment, while the other is not. Measurement of the dependent variable for both groups is then taken. This is an example of a(n):

A) one-shot design.
B) static group design.
C) posttest-only control group design.
D) pretest-posttest control group design.

Question 68

Marketing experiments conducted in a natural setting are known as:

A) field experiments.
B) natural experiments.
C) environmental experiments.
D) laboratory experiments.

Question 69

During an experiment, subjects are randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group. The experimental group is tested before and after being exposed to the treatment, while the control group is tested at the same two times without the treatment. This is an example of which type of experimental design?

A) Posttest-only control group design
B) One-group pretest-posttest design
C) Pretest-posttest control group design
D) Compromise design

Question 70

To project potential market share for a new product from a test market, the researcher needs to know:

A) customer satisfaction and actual sales data.
B) repeat-purchase rate and market penetration.
C) repeat-purchase rate and consumer purchase intentions data.
D) market penetration and consumer purchase intentions data.

Question 71

Factors or variables that might interfere with the experimental results are known as __________ variables.

Question 72

A _____________ allows a researcher to control the amount of time a subject is exposed to a visual image.

Question 73

Suppose that in an experiment, all subjects are measured before and after the treatment is administered. This is an example of which type of experimental design?

A) Static group design
B) Pretest-posttest control group design
C) One-group pretest-posttest design
D) One-shot design

Question 74

All of the following factors should be considered when selecting a test market location, except:

A) consumer confidence.
B) ethnic composition.
C) population size.
D) media isolation.

Question 75

In an experiment, the group not exposed to the experimental treatment is the _______ group.

Question 76

When two price levels are used in a test market in Melbourne to determine the effect of price on the unit sales of a new product, price is the ____________ _________.

Question 77

Which of the following products would be suitable for a test market?

A) A washing machine with new colour-saving technology
B) A new Mazda sports car
C) A range of Pokémon-themed Swatch watches
D) A range of McDonalds pizzas

Question 78

Suppose a furniture retailer decides to experiment with a promotional scheme by giving away a bedside table for every queen- or king-size bed sold. The sales volume for beds is then measured after the promotion is administered. This is an example of a(n):

A) one-shot design.
B) static group design.
C) posttest-only control group design.
D) one-group pretest-posttest design.

Question 79

A marketing research company that specialises in test marketing performs the entire test marketing task. This includes obtaining initial distribution, which is known as:

A) sell-out.
B) sell-in.
C) buy-out.
D) buy-in.

Question 80

_____ experiments are generally used to fine-tune marketing strategies and determine sales volume.