Deck 21: Multidimensional Scaling and Conjoint Analysis

Question 1

In MDS, when the number of dimensions increases, the stress value increases

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Multidimensional scaling addresses the general problem of positioning objects in a perceptual space.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The product "widget" is marketed by ten companies under at least 14 brand names. It is generally agreed that consumers perceive and evaluate the widgets as a whole.Under the circumstances, the results of an attribute-based MDS solution will be more valid than a non-attribute-based MDS solution.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A source of error results with an attribute-based MDS if the list of attributes is not accurate and complete.

Question 5

If the input to MDS is binary data, the determination of whether an attribute is associated with a brand or an object is done through correspondence analysis

Question 6

If there are 10 brands of a certain product on which the researcher wants similarity judgments from a respondent, as many as 45 paired judgments can be required.This maximum is determined by the formula nn - 1) / 2.

Question 7

A few respondents who are unfamiliar with the objects to be mapped should be included in generating a perceptual map to ensure adequate representation of the population.

Question 8

MDS Incorporated has sent out questionnaires to respondents to rank five brands of toothpaste on their ability to clean and whiten, to prevent decay, and to freshen the mouth.MDS Incorporated is using an attribute-based approach.

Question 9

The greater the number of objects to be mapped, the smaller the chance of a possibly unique mapping solution.

Question 10

Non-attribute-based similarity MDS solutions have the advantage of producing dimensions that are easy to interpret.

Question 11

Two objects could be very different in a similarity-based perceptual map, but could be regarded as very similar in a preference-based perceptual map.

Question 12

When preferences for various attributes are in conflict, conjoint analysis cannot be used.

Question 13

In the economic theory of consumer behavior, a basic underlying assumption is that of non-satiation the consumer would always like to have more).Under this assumption, the ideal object would be represented by an ideal vector or direction rather than an ideal point in the space.

Question 14

When there is a need to reduce the number of attributes in a study, factor analysis has an advantage over discriminant analysis in that a significance test can be done of the output of factor analysis.

Question 15

Conjoint analysis provides a qualitative measurement of the relative importance of one attribute as compared with another.

Question 16

Two of the approaches used to reduce the number of attributes on which brands of a product are ranked are discriminant analysis and multiple regression analysis.

Question 17

In a scaling solution, the most frequent trade-off is between minimizing the number of dimensions in the solution and maximizing the degree of fit.

Question 18

An ideal object is one the customer would prefer over all other objects included in the space.An ideal object need not actually exist.

Question 19

Before introducing a new product, Innovators Incorporated conducted a preference study.The data were analyzed by using an ideal-point MDS solution.The company then designed and introduced a product which was extremely "close" to the target market's ideal point. However, since a new product has been introduced into the space, another study should be done since the ideal point may have been relocated.

Question 20

Multidimensional scaling involves two steps.First, objects need to be positioned.Second, the dimensions upon which customers perceive or evaluate objects must be determined.

Question 21

When utilities are summed for each of the concepts being judged, the rank order of these sums should match the respondent's rank ordering of preference as closely as possible.

Question 22

The pair-wise trade-off approach produces concepts that are more realistic than those of the full profile approach.

Question 23

If all of the possible levels of an attribute have the same utility, the attribute is not important in influencing overall attitude.

Question 24

The output of MDS is the location of the objects on the dimensions, termed as perceptual map

Question 25

Respondents who are overwhelmed by a ranking task will tend to ignore variations in the less important attributes.

Question 26

In the full profile approach, respondents may be asked to rank order cards with complete product or service configurations.

Question 27

The independent variable in conjoint analysis is the preference judgment that a respondent makes about a new concept.

Question 28

When each attribute is considered independently, respondents tend to indicate that only a few attributes are important.

Question 29

Conjoint analysis assumes interaction between attributes.

Question 30

Conjoint analysis, although intuitively appealing, has been slow to gain acceptance in the marketing research community.

Question 31

The greater the difference between the highest and lowest valued levels of an attribute, the less important the attribute.

Question 32

In conjoint analysis, respondents are given product concepts on cards and asked to describe the attributes they attach to each concept.

Question 33

In theory, before respondents can knowledgeably make trade-offs, they must compare different attributes and evaluate the desirability of the various levels of each attribute.

Question 34

Conjoint analysis has been found to have reliability problems in that different implications tend to arise if the full profile method is used instead of the trade-off approach.

Question 35

Discriminant analysis does not provide a test of statistical significance

Question 36

One of the applications of conjoint analysis is to the creation of new products with significant consumer appeal relative to competitive alternatives.

Question 37

Utility measurements from conjoint analysis can be used to develop marketing simulations.

Question 38

A limitation in the use of conjoint analysis is the necessity of dividing each attribute level into discrete levels.

Question 39

A basic assumption of conjoint analysis is that people evaluate a concept by adding up their evaluations of the individual attribute levels of that concept.

Question 40

A trade-off is made by giving up some amount of a less important attribute to get more of a more important attribute.

Question 41

Which of the following statements is not true?

A)Conjoint analysis is termed an analysis of interdependence technique.
B)Conjoint analysis requires a respondent to evaluate a concept in terms of overall liking, intention to buy, or rank order of preference compared to other concepts.
C)Using conjoint analysis, a researcher can identify optimal levels of attributes for new products.
D)Conjoint analysis decomposes the consumer's overall judgment into utilities that represent the worth of each level of each attribute relative to the other levels.

Question 42

Discriminant analysis identifies clusters of attributes on which objects differ, similar to factor analysis

Question 43

An approach in which the respondents are given cards that describe complete product or service configurations is called

A)Trade off approach
B)Full profile approach
C)Conjoint analysis
D)Direct approach

Question 44

Which of the following statements concerning the full profile approach is not true?

A)It yields a somewhat higher predictive validity than does the trade-off approach.
B)The concept evaluation task can employed either a ranking or a rating scale.
C)Fewer judgments have to be made by the respondent than if a two-attribute, trade-off approach were used.
D)All of these are true.

Question 45

Working with MDS includes all the following problems except:

A)when more than two or three dimensions are needed, the usefulness is reduced.
B)perceptual mapping has not been proven to be reliable across different methods.
C)the interpretation of dimensions is difficult since several attributes are involved.
D)maps are not usually based on groups that are aggregated with respect to their familiarity with products, usage levels and attitudes.

Question 46

The objective of multidimensional scaling is a) predict buying or usage of product that may still be in concept stage b) to address the general problem of positioning objects in perceptual space c) group individuals or objects into groups d) none of the above

Question 47

Number of dimensions in an MDS cannot be decided using a) ease of use b) external validity of solution c) interpretability of data d) none of the above