Question 1

Appropriate methods for conducting exploratory research would include:

Accepted Answer

A

Question 2

Experience surveys are used in which of the following ways?

Accepted Answer

Experience surveys are used to gather information from persons thought to be knowledgeable on the issues relevant to the research problem. They are not used to search for and interpret existing information, review available information about former situations, explore hidden consumer motives, or solely rely on past surveys conducted by researchers.

Question 3

What type of research design should a marketing researcher use to find out how many customers there are, what brands they buy and in what quantities, which advertisements they recall, what are their attitudes toward the company, and who is the competition?

Accepted Answer

This type of research design involves gathering and describing the characteristics of a population or phenomenon. In this case, the researcher wants to describe the customer base and their purchasing habits, attitudes, and recall of advertisements. Descriptive research can be done through methods such as surveys, observations, and secondary data analysis, which are all suitable for answering the given research questions. Exploratory research is more appropriate for generating hypotheses, while causal research is used to determine cause-and-effect relationships, neither of which are necessary for the given research objectives. Protocol analysis is a method for studying cognitive processes and is not relevant for this research design.

Question 4

Small groups of people brought together and guided by a moderator through an unstructured, spontaneous discussion for the purpose of gaining information relevant to the research problem can be categorized under which type of research design?

Accepted Answer

This type of research design is referred to as exploratory research, as it is aimed at exploring and gaining insights into a research problem. The focus is on generating ideas and hypotheses, rather than testing them, and it involves unstructured, spontaneous discussions to gain information.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a situation in which exploratory research should be used?

Accepted Answer

Exploratory research is typically conducted to gain preliminary insights and understanding of a research problem or phenomenon. It is not designed to measure relationships among variables or test hypotheses, which are the objectives of descriptive and causal research.

Question 6

Which of the following is a type of exploratory research that refers to a review of available information about a former situation(s) that has some similarities to the present research problem?

Accepted Answer

Case analysis involves reviewing past cases or situations that are similar to the current research problem to gain insights and understanding.

Question 7

Ray Kroc, a milkshake machine salesman, noticed that one restaurant in Ontario burned up many milkshake machines. He inferred that the restaurant was meeting the needs of the market better than other restaurants. His observation illustrates the use of:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Ray Kroc, a milkshake machine salesman, noticed...

Question 8

The various types of research design include:

Accepted Answer

The various types of research design are exploratory, descriptive, and causal. Exploratory research is to gain a deeper understanding of a problem or issue, descriptive research is to describe the characteristics of a population or phenomenon, and causal research is to investigate cause-and-effect relationships between variables. Experimental research may also be considered a type of research design, but it can fall under the umbrella of causal research. Hence, option E is the correct choice.

Question 9

At Momentum Market Intelligence (MMI) a client experiences a 15% decline in market share. Since MMI knows "they don't know what the problem is" the research design they should use is:

Accepted Answer

If the client is experiencing a decline in market share but the cause is not known, then the appropriate research design to use is exploratory. Exploratory research helps to identify possible causes and generate hypotheses for further testing.

Question 10

In which of the following situations should exploratory research be used?

Accepted Answer

Exploratory research is used to define terms and concepts when they are not clearly defined. It is often used at the beginning of a research project to gather preliminary information and to develop hypotheses. It is not used to measure relationships among variables or to determine causal relationships. Experimentation and clear definitions of concepts are more relevant to descriptive or causal research.

Question 11

What type of research is unstructured and informal?

Accepted Answer

Unstructured and informal research is typically used in exploratory research. This type of research is designed to investigate a problem or issue where little is known and the goal is to gain initial insights and understanding. It often involves non-standardized data collection methods such as interviews or observation, and may not have a clear hypothesis or research question.

Question 12

Which of the following is the best description of research design?

Accepted Answer

Research design refers to the overall plan or blueprint that outlines the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing data in order to answer the research question or problem. It involves a set of advance decisions that are made prior to data collection and serve as the master plan for the entire research process. Option A accurately describes this concept.

Question 13

Which of the following best illustrates the significance of research design?

Accepted Answer

Research design serves as a blueprint for the researcher because it outlines the specific steps and methods that will be used to answer the research question or problem. Different research designs may be more appropriate for different problems, so matching the design to the problem is important for creating a successful study.

Question 14

Which of the following is true about research design?

Accepted Answer

Research design should be selected after thoroughly considering the problem and research objectives. The selection of a research design should be based on a clear understanding of the problem, the research objectives, and the type of data that need to be collected. It is important to select a research design that is appropriate for the research questions and hypotheses, and that will yield reliable and valid results. Therefore, it is not ideal to select a research design before considering the problem and research objectives, during an initial meeting with a client, or after data analysis or collection.

Question 15

What is the general purpose of projective techniques?

Accepted Answer

Projective techniques are commonly used in market research to explore hidden consumer motives and attitudes towards a product, by asking respondents to project themselves into a hypothetical situation. This can provide valuable insights into consumer behavior that may not be revealed through more direct questioning.

Question 16

The process of searching for and interpreting existing information relevant to the research problem can be described as:

Accepted Answer

The process described in the given question involves searching for and interpreting existing information, which is usually available in the form of secondary data. Secondary data analysis involves collecting and analyzing information that has already been gathered and published by others. This can include data from sources like government statistics, industry reports, and previous research studies. Therefore, option E - secondary data analysis - is the most appropriate choice for the given question.

Question 17

If the research objective is to gain background information, it is likely that the most appropriate research design would be:

Accepted Answer

Exploratory research aims to gain preliminary insights, understanding, and background information about a research problem when it is not well-understood or defined. This type of research design is appropriate when the topic is new or not yet clearly defined, and the researcher wants to familiarize themselves with the topic before formulating hypotheses or collecting data. Therefore, option D) exploratory is the most appropriate choice for gaining background information.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT an objective of research?

Accepted Answer

Making "then-if" statements is not an objective of research. The other options listed (gaining background information, measuring states of variables of interest, testing hypotheses, and defining terms) are all common objectives of research.

Question 19

What type of research design does the text state should almost always be used in research studies?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What type of research design does the...

Question 20

Which of the following is true about the types of research designs?

Accepted Answer

Research is an iterative process, meaning that it is often necessary to repeat parts of the research process, adjust the design, or add additional research in order to refine and improve the results. It is not necessary for research designs to follow a step-by-step fashion or for one type of design to always follow another. The appropriateness of a specific design will depend on the research question and other factors such as the available resources. Exhaustive research may not always be necessary or practical, and not all research projects require causal designs.

Quiz 3: Research Design