Deck 4: Decision Support Systems and Marketing Research

Question 1

Marketing research has three functional roles.What are they?

A)normative,descriptive,and explanatory
B)predictive,normative,and persuasive
C)descriptive,diagnostic,and predictive
D)flexible,interactive,and discovery oriented

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What could a bowling alley operator use to determine why customers do not seem to like his bowling alley's new location?

A)transactional marketing
B)public relations
C)marketing research
D)market synergy

Answer 2

C
Marketing research can be used by management to trace problems and their causes.

Question 3

Which of the following is an interactive,flexible information system that enables managers to obtain and manipulate information as they are making decisions?

A)an expert system
B)a marketing information system
C)an artificial intelligence system
D)a marketing decision support system

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The publisher of a Canadian business magazine wanted to make several major changes in the magazine's content and format.To determine what changes would be supported by its subscribers and what changes would not be welcomed,what should the publisher engage in?

A)advertising
B)database marketing
C)marketing research
D)a data retrieval system

Question 5

What is the process of planning,collecting,and analyzing data relevant to marketing decision making when the results of this analysis are then communicated to management?

A)data collection
B)artificial intelligence
C)decision support
D)marketing research

Question 6

What is the term for the creation of a large computerized file of customers' and potential customers' names,profiles,and purchase patterns?

A)electronic targeting
B)sampling procedure specification
C)database marketing
D)competitive data mining

Question 7

Volkswagen lost more than $1 billion in its North American operations in both 2004 and 2005.In which step of the marketing research project would the Volkswagen engineers (who were raised in the no-nonsense cockpits of German cars)realize the issue was that they were not designing cars for North Americans who use their cars like a second office?

A)research design
B)data collection
C)data analysis
D)problem formulation

Question 8

Why would marketing managers typically use marketing research?

A)to eliminate any guesswork in decision making
B)to implement a sales promotion
C)to handle an individual customer's complaint
D)to determine why a new product failed

Question 9

Through marketing research,the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO)learned it has an older market and is not attracting younger concertgoers.It next conducted marketing research to determine if an integrated advertising campaign targeted to the younger market would be successful.In its second use of research,which type of marketing research did TSO use?

A)historical
B)descriptive
C)predictive
D)objective

Question 10

According to your text,what should a true marketing decision support system (DSS)be?

A)reactive
B)customer oriented
C)interactive
D)rigorous

Question 11

Volkswagen developed an 18-month-long project to gain a better understanding of the North American culture so it could develop cars more appealing to this market.The research project was called Moonraker.Which type of role was Moonraker intended to play in Volkswagen's marketing research?

A)diagnostic
B)descriptive
C)predictive
D)demonstrative

Question 12

Research by Wood Gundy revealed that 72 percent of North American residents are willing to try flavoured colas.
Refer to Wood Gundy.Since the cola industry is stagnant in most areas of the country,this is important information.What will marketing research on how best to use this information begin with?

A)collection of the data
B)specification of the sampling plan
C)implementation of employee empowerment
D)recognition of the marketing opportunity

Question 13

There are five Major League Baseball markets with more than one team.So far this season,the average combined attendance for the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox ranks the lowest.Before conducting any marketing research to explain low attendance figures,what will the teams need to do?

A)determine who will be most likely to respond to a survey
B)select a market sample from everyone in the population
C)define the problem to be researched
D)develop a survey to find out exactly what's wrong

Question 14

Soon after the regional museum expanded its hours and began charging a small fee to pay for the extra help needed to keep it open longer,attendance decreased.What could the museum staff rely on to determine why this decrease in attendance occurred?

A)a production audit
B)database marketing
C)marketing research
D)secondary data

Question 15

What is the first step in the marketing research process?

A)specify the sampling plan
B)collect the data
C)identify and formulate the problem/opportunity to be studied
D)plan the research design

Question 16

A manufacturer of an all-natural fruit and veggie bar targeted to people who want nutritious snacks has asked for marketing research to explain the reasons for the recent failure of its Apple-Broccoli bar.How is this type of research described?

A)as descriptive
B)as predictive
C)as diagnostic
D)as normative

Question 17

The marketing research problem is best described by which of the following?

A)It is information oriented.
B)It involves determining what resources will be used in research efforts.
C)It is action driven.
D)It does not rely on managerial experience.

Question 18

To help understand why attendance at the team's games was so poor,the Toronto Blue Jays used marketing research to gather factual information.The organization used in-game surveys and end-of-season surveys of ticket holders.The gathering of factual statements is an example of marketing research in which of its roles?

A)historical
B)descriptive
C)predictive
D)normative

Question 19

Research by Wood Gundy revealed that 72 percent of North American residents are willing to try flavoured colas.
Refer to Wood Gundy.The research also showed which flavours were most desired.Cola producers using this information provided to them by Wood Gundy would be using which type of data?

A)primary
B)secondary
C)dichotomous
D)convenience

Question 20

Managers must combine specific pieces of information needed to identify the marketing research problem.To provide insightful decision-making information best describes which of the following?.

A)company-correlated goal
B)autonomous task
C)dichotomous goal
D)marketing research objective

Question 21

An engineer from Volkswagen's European headquarters spent three and a half hours on a Greyhound bus to experience the vast distances North Americans travel in their automobiles and to try to understand why North Americans treat their automobiles as rolling extensions of their living rooms.
Refer to Volkswagen.What kind of data did the engineer collect?

A)heuristic
B)primary
C)cohesive
D)secondary

Question 22

An engineer from Volkswagen's European headquarters spent three and a half hours on a Greyhound bus to experience the vast distances North Americans travel in their automobiles and to try to understand why North Americans treat their automobiles as rolling extensions of their living rooms.
Refer to Volkswagen.What kind of research methods did the German automobile manufacturer use?

A)observation
B)consumer intercept
C)visualization
D)survey

Question 23

Refer to Sun-Rype Products.What were the focus groups a type of?

A)executive interviewing
B)survey research
C)ethnographic study
D)personal interviewing

Question 24

So far this season,the average combined attendance for the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles ranks fourth of the five major league markets with more than one team.Research done by the Washington Post shows attendance in the Baltimore-Washington region trails Los Angeles,New York,and San Francisco-Oakland,but is slightly ahead of Chicago.Which type of data would Major League Baseball be using if it used this research to determine how competition affects attendance figures?

A)convenience
B)primary
C)observation
D)secondary

Question 25

Which of the following is a company that acquires,catalogues,reformats,segments,and resells reports already published by marketing research firms?

A)an information vendor
B)a subject directory
C)a market research aggregator
D)a search engine

Question 26

What is the term for information collected for the first time for the purpose of solving a particular problem under investigation?

A)primary data
B)secondary data
C)dichotomous data
D)observation data

Question 27

Data previously collected for purposes other than the one at hand are an important source of information as the researcher defines the problem.What are these data called?

A)single-source data
B)secondary data
C)primary data
D)consensual data

Question 28

Pulte Homes,a national home builder,needs to control costs.Research done by Pulte Homes determined that 80 percent of its homebuyers selected the same countertops,floors,carpets,and toilets.Pulte Homes cut its costs by reducing the variety of options offered without having any effect on the majority of its buyers.Which type of data did it use to do this?

A)primary
B)secondary
C)dichotomous
D)convenience

Question 29

Which of the following specifies the research questions to be answered,how and when the data will be gathered,and how the data will be analyzed?

A)a secondary data use plan
B)the sampling plan
C)an autonomous director
D)the research design

Question 30

Refer to Sun-Rype Products.Which type of data was the company gathering?

A)secondary
B)primary
C)consensual
D)random

Question 31

Post Properties is a company that manages apartments in various communities.It is concerned with a glut of apartments in Toronto,Hamilton,and Kitchener-Waterloo.Its market researcher begins by examining the rental markets in southern Ontario,the history of apartment buildings,local economies,competitive rents,and ownership-all information that was on hand and did not require any new research to locate.What did the market researcher look at?

A)a regression analysis
B)secondary data
C)primary data
D)a statistical analysis

Question 32

When assessing the quality of secondary data,which of the following is most important?

A)to know who the first collectors of the data were
B)to be able to have easy access to the data
C)to know the purpose for which the data were originally collected
D)to know where the data is stored

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT an example of secondary data?

A)a physical count of the number of cars passing through an intersection to determine the need for a traffic signal
B)a census report on the number of people who are native to a community
C)the creation of a customer database
D)a collection of trade journal articles about the future of a particular industry

Question 34

A small confectionary company has noticed a 20 percent decrease in the sale of its milk chocolate over the last three years.The company's owner wants to determine why the decline has occurred and how to reverse the trend.Once the owner has identified the problem as a consumer perception that dark chocolate provides more health benefits,what should its next step in the marketing research process be?

A)collect the data
B)recognize the marketing problem
C)analyze the marketplace
D)plan the research design

Question 35

Stair Specialist,Inc.builds customized circular staircases for homes in Vancouver.Its sales have plateaued.Nothing it does seems to change its sales picture.Its owner has asked you to advise the company on what it should do to increase its sales.Which of the following is an example of primary data that could be used for examining this marketing research problem?

A)a survey of new home buyers in southern British Columbia
B)an article in a construction trade journal predicting fewer housing starts during the next decade
C)industry predictions that the number of new homes built in the West will increase by 15 percent
D)information from the Vancouver Yellow Pages showing the number of building contractors has declined over the past five years

Question 36

Mel and Mimi is the name of an upscale boutique that has outgrown the building it has been located in for the last two decades.Its owners want to know how its customers will react to a move and if the addition of new product lines will make the new location more attractive to its loyal customers.The store's owners have surveyed several of their customers to gauge their reaction to various potential locations and changes in product lines.The survey results are an example of which type of data?

A)primary
B)secondary
C)dichotomous
D)observation

Question 37

In contrast to marketing research problems,management decision problems are best described as which of the following?

A)action oriented
B)pervasive
C)narrower in scope
D)synergistic

Question 38

A Calgary television station wants to determine how its viewership has changed since it has changed its programming focus.It has decided to use secondary data to determine whether its viewers' demographics have changed.What is a potential disadvantage of this research plan?

A)the information not fitting the needs of the research problem
B)the high cost of collecting secondary data
C)the length of time it takes to collect secondary data
D)interviewer bias during the collection process

Question 39

What does the research design specify?

A)follow-up procedures for the research
B)the information that will be found
C)how the final report will be written
D)the research questions to be answered

Question 40

Market research firms,commercial publications,and government data are best used as sources of which of the following?

A)secondary data
B)consensual information
C)primary data
D)marketing information

Question 41

What is the chief advantage of primary data?

A)low cost compared to secondary data
B)relevance to the problem at hand
C)availability to any interested party for use
D)accessibility through computerized databases

Question 42

Which of the following is the best example of an effective question on a mail survey?

A)Do you believe the synergy of the indigenous population has created a precursor to ecological disaster?
B)Why do you think dogs make good pets and cats make poor pets?
C)Have you ever put food out for wild birds?
D)What is the economy of scale achieved by the transference of heat through solar cells?

Question 43

Computer-assisted personal interviewing and computer-assisted self-interviewing are two computerized methods for conducting which of the following?

A)CLT interviews
B)mall intercept interviews
C)e-mail interviews
D)in-home interviews

Question 44

Adidas,the athletic shoe manufacturer,wants to collect data on consumer receptivity to its newest product line extension-Adidas perfume,a perfume with a floral scent.The marketing research director has recommended using a mail panel operated by NPD Research.What can Adidas expect from a mail panel?

A)a very high response rate
B)the response rate will be low,as it is for all self-administered surveys
C)the participants are not usually compensated for their assistance,so it will be inexpensive
D)data collection is more rapid than telephone interviews

Question 45

The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team.The team plans on using the same questionnaire to determine how its fans would feel about moving the stadium to a new location and how they like the team's newly designed uniforms.What is this research an example of?

A)a dual-purpose analysis
B)a single-source study
C)a multi-purpose analysis
D)a piggyback study

Question 46

Which of the following statements best describes the mall intercept interview?

A)Mall intercept interviews cannot use open-ended questions.
B)Mall intercept interviews are the least expensive method to conduct surveys.
C)It is difficult to get a representative sample of the population with a mall intercept interview.
D)Mall intercept interviews must be brief.

Question 47

As the Winnipeg Jets planned its first marketing research project,why would its marketing director recommend it use primary data?

A)This is information that is available free to all interested parties.
B)Their value is unrelated to sample size.
C)They will fit the Jets' information needs exactly since they will be collected specifically for this study.
D)They can be collected quickly and at a low cost.

Question 48

Which of the following collect data on two different projects using one questionnaire?

A)piggyback studies
B)single-source studies
C)Siamese-twin projects
D)dichotomous projects

Question 49

What is a major limitation of the mall intercept interview?

A)the difficulty of measuring attitudes and opinions
B)interviewing a diverse sample is difficult
C)its high cost relative to in-home interviews
D)the difficulty of obtaining a representative sample of the population of interest

Question 50

Which of the following best characterizes in-home personal interviews?

A)They offer high-quality data at high cost.
B)They offer the ability to obtain high-quality data at low cost.
C)They are becoming increasingly expensive
D)They are less expensive than mall intercepts.

Question 51

Which of the following best describes what telephone interviews can offer?

A)speed in gathering data
B)a potential for reaching all households
C)few nonresponses
D)the ability to collect large amounts of complex data

Question 52

What is the most popular method for gathering primary data,in which a researcher interacts with people to obtain facts,opinions,and attitudes?

A)heuristic oriented
B)survey research
C)experiment oriented
D)observation research

Question 53

Low response rate is a problem commonly associated with which of the following?

A)exit interviews
B)executive interviews
C)mail surveys
D)mall intercept questions

Question 54

Your supervisor has instructed you to conduct a marketing research effort that will determine how your company's business customer demographics have changed.You have also been instructed to use primary data.Which of the following is a way of gathering primary data?

A)gather data from Standard & Poor's General Information File.
B)develop a mail survey to study your primary market.
C)employ studies done by Industry Canada.
D)make sure you locate Internet information by using a search engine.

Question 55

When the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra wanted to determine how to make classical music appeal to younger concertgoers,it hired AMN to conduct a survey.It was important that the survey have a relatively low cost and offer anonymity to respondents to ensure candid answers.Which form of survey research should AMN have used?

A)mail survey
B)mall survey
C)in-home personal interview
D)mall intercept interviews

Question 56

You must conduct research to find out a great deal of information about the motives and desires of potential customers for a home delivery grocery service.You need a sample of at least 300 people who spend at least $100 weekly at the supermarket,and you don't have a lot of money to conduct the research.What should you use?

A)mall intercept surveys
B)in-home personal interviews
C)focus group interviews
D)mail surveys

Question 57

Mail surveys can provide more thoughtful replies than other research methods can,but they often produce low response rates.Why is this an important consideration?

A)Thoughtful replies are harder to quantify and are,therefore,of less value.
B)The respondents may elaborate too much on their responses.
C)Prodding the respondents to elaborate on their answers is time consuming.
D)Certain members of the population are more likely to respond to mail surveys than others.

Question 58

A Canadian furniture manufacturer wants to test how consumers will respond to furniture upholstered in fabric made from recycled plastic by having consumers feel and respond to the fabric.Which form of survey would allow it to do this?

A)telephone interview
B)mail questionnaire
C)mall intercept
D)observation study

Question 59

You need to collect information quickly using a complex questionnaire that probes for feelings behind why people purchase your products.You also want each interviewer to conduct the survey in the same manner.Fortunately,you have access to a computerized questioning system.Which of the following is your best option?

A)in-home personal interviews
B)mall intercept interviews
C)mail panel interviews
D)central-location telephone (CLT)interviews

Question 60

What is the term for a specially designed phone room used to conduct telephone interviewing?

A)controlled-feedback facility (CFF)
B)telephone outsourcing centre (TOC)
C)multi-interviewer location site
D)central-location telephone (CLT)facility

Question 61

In the survey used by an organization of mothers who swap toys,respondents were asked,"Would you be willing to pay a small fee in order to take advantage of this service? Circle YES or NO." What type of question is this?

A)open ended
B)sampling frame
C)scaled response
D)dichotomous

Question 62

Loic Bizel has a unique job.His mission is to walk the streets of Japan and locate fads.According to Bizel,"Japan is advanced.What will happen ten years from now is already happening in Japan." What kind of research is Bizel conducting?

A)experiment
B)dichotomous
C)observation
D)open-ended

Question 63

In which of the following situations would a marketing researcher be most likely to use executive interviews?

A)A manufacturer of extruded plastic wants to determine where there are other markets for its products.
B)A manufacturer of frozen dinners wants to research the eating habits of its target market.
C)The producers of children's programming on public television want to learn more about the viewing habits of an audience composed of 5- to 12-year-old males.
D)A shampoo manufacturer wants to test which smells consumers perceive as relaxing and exhilarating.

Question 64

If Canadian Blood Services sent out a questionnaire that included the question,"Why are so many people reluctant to donate blood?" what would it be an example of?

A)a dichotomous response
B)an open-ended question
C)a scaled-response question
D)a closed-ended response

Question 65

Health providers have voiced concerns about the use of pesticides and the negative effects they possibly have on our health.A large insurance company is willing to sponsor a meeting of the nation's largest organic growers,pesticide producers,and retailers of organic foods if there is an interest in a cooperative effort to improve customers' perception of eating healthy.What type of survey technique would be most appropriate for determining if there is any real interest in such a meeting?

A)cyber focus groups
B)executive interviews
C)mall focus groups
D)in-home interviews

Question 66

Representatives of the Alberta Tourism Board visited provincial welcome centres and asked visitors to the province,"What is your reason for coming to Alberta?" What type of question would this be?

A)scaled response
B)Likert scale
C)open ended
D)dichotomous

Question 67

In a survey of consumer buying habits,Visa asked Canadian shoppers,"Do you ever buy holiday gifts for your pets?" What type of question is this?

A)scaled response
B)Likert scale
C)open ended
D)dichotomous

Question 68

Dryel is a Procter & Gamble product that allows consumers to dry-clean their clothes in a dryer.Before launching the product,P&G researchers visited consumers' homes and watched as people sorted laundry,creating piles of darks,whites,delicates,and items that would go to the dry cleaner because the people were unsure how to clean them.What type of research was this?

A)observation
B)mall intercept
C)visualization
D)experiment

Question 69

You have been given the task of creating a questionnaire that requires each respondent to provide a rich array of information based on his or her own frame of reference.Which of the following types of questions would best deliver such information?

A)true-false questions
B)mix-and-match questions
C)open-ended questions
D)scaled-response questions

Question 70

When marketing researchers for Mars Candy wanted to know whether consumers would recommend a new sugar-free chocolate to friends,they used a question with five possible answers ranging from "Most Likely" to "Least Likely" and asked that the respondent choose one.This is an example of which of the following type of question?

A)open-ended
B)dichotomous response
C)sampling frame
D)scaled-response

Question 71

Which of the following have essentially the same advantages and disadvantages as in-home interviews?

A)mall intercept interviews
B)telephone surveys
C)mail panel surveys
D)executive interviews

Question 72

A survey by Nelson asked consumers to check where they were most likely to look for information about a new book.Possible answers were book club catalogues,book reviews in newspapers,book reviews in magazines,television programs,friends,radio programs,local reading groups,or the Internet.What type of question was used in this survey?

A)multiple choice
B)dichotomous
C)scaled response
D)open ended

Question 73

What is the term for a form of personal interviewing that uses a group of seven to ten people who have been recruited because of certain desired consumer characteristics?

A)passive people meter
B)primary data group
C)focus group
D)CLT interview

Question 74

What is one of the two most expensive types of survey research?

A)mall intercept interviews
B)M all surveys
C)mail panel surveys
D)executive interviews

Question 75

Which type of research depends on watching what people do?

A)anonymous viewership
B)observation
C)interactive
D)personal scanner

Question 76

In a survey about new washing machine features,survey respondents were asked,"How often do you wash clothes? Check one: once a month,twice a month,every week,twice a week,more than twice a week." This is an example of which type of question?

A)scaled response
B)double barrelled
C)dichotomous
D)sampling frame

Question 77

The owner of a chain of Mexican restaurants wanted to know how his employees interacted with restaurant patrons.Which of the following research methods is most appropriate for learning this information?

A)employee focus-group interview
B)mail questionnaire of a sample of current customers
C)telephone survey of current and potential customers
D)mystery shopper

Question 78

When people are hired to record traffic patterns in a shopping mall,what type of research are they engaging in?

A)focus group
B)observation
C)experimental
D)survey sampling

Question 79

Which type of research is the study of human behaviour in its natural condition and often proves that consumers do not do what they say they do,such as how they use a computer or what they watch on television?

A)ethnographic
B)action based
C)experiment
D)survey

Question 80

What do mystery shoppers engage in?

A)a form of mall intercept study
B)a form of experiential study
C)a form of marketing audit
D)a form of observation research