Marketing Research, 8e (Burns/Bush)
Chapter 11 Dealing with Fieldwork and Data Quality
1) All errors in a survey except those attributable to the sample plan and sample size are termed:
A) Nonsampling error.
B) Sample risk.
C) Continuity error.
D) Transcript error.
2) Of the following, which is NOT an example of nonsampling error?
A) All types of nonresponse error
B) Size of the sample taken
C) Data gathering and handling error
D) Data interpretation error
3) Generally, there is great potential for large nonsampling error to occur during the:
A) Sampling data stage.
B) Planning stage.
C) data collection stage.
D) Data analysis stage.
4) Because nonsampling error cannot be measured by a formula as can sampling error, we
describe the various controls that can be imposed on the ________ to minimize the effects of
nonsampling error.
A) survey design process
B) survey analysis process
C) data collection process
D) planning stage
5) A wide variety of nonsampling errors can occur during data collection. The first type of
general error is:
A) Research coordinator error.
B) Research planner error.
C) Data coordinator error.
D) Fieldworker error.
6) Both fieldworkers and respondents make errors. These fall into two categories:
A) Intentional and unintentional errors.
B) Conscious and unconscious errors.
C) Voluntary and involuntary errors.
D) Purposeful and non-purposeful errors.
7) When trying to meet survey deadlines, Andrew verbally coaches respondents to obtain the
desired responses. What type of interviewer error is this?
A) Distracting the respondent
B) Pressuring the respondent
C) Leading the respondent
D) Misleading the respondent
8) There are three general sources of unintentional interviewer errors. Which of the following is
NOT a source of unintentional interviewer error?
A) Interviewer personal characteristics
B) Interviewer misunderstandings
C) Interviewer fatigue
D) Offering answers
9) There are several types of unintentional fieldworker errors. Which of the following would
NOT be considered one of those types of unintentional fieldworker errors?
A) Interviewer plagiarism
B) Unintentional interviewer errors
C) Interviewer misunderstanding
D) Interviewer fatigue
10) When a data collection person willfully violates the data collection requirements set forth by
the researcher, it is known as:
A) Unintentional fieldworker error.
B) Intentional fieldworker error.
C) Intentional respondent error.
D) Unintentional respondent error.
11) When a fieldworker believes he or she knows how to administer a survey but instead does it
incorrectly, it is known as:
A) Instinctive interviewer error.
B) Intentional respondent error.
C) Interviewer misunderstanding.
D) Unintentional respondent error.
12) Of the following, which is NOT an unintentional respondent error?
A) Misunderstanding
B) Fatigue
C) Distraction
D) Nonresponse
13) Situations in which a respondent gives an answer without comprehending the question and/or
the accompanying instructions are known as:
A) Respondent misunderstanding.
B) Respondent cheating.
C) Respondent guessing.
D) Fatigue-related mistakes.
14) An interviewer asks a respondent for his or her total monthly income. The respondent reports
only her own income and not that of her husband. What type of error would this be?
A) Respondent distraction
B) Respondent misunderstanding
C) Respondent guessing
D) Fatigue-related mistake
15) Precautions and procedures can be implemented to ________ the effects of the various data–
collection errors.
A) eliminate
B) exaggerate
C) minimize
D) erase
16) The strategy aimed at the falsification/cheating problem is:
A) Double-checking.
B) Re-checking.
C) Double-blind interviewing.
D) Validation.
17) There are several mechanisms routinely used by professional field data collection companies
to reduce unintentional fieldworker errors. Which of the following is NOT one of those
mechanisms?
A) Psychological screening
B) Selection and training
C) Orientation sessions
D) Role playing
18) To control ________, it is important to minimize falsehoods and non-response tendencies on
the part of respondents.
A) unintentional respondent error
B) intentional respondent error
C) interviewer behavior error
D) data analysis error
19) Methods useful in minimizing intentional respondent error include all of the following
EXCEPT:
A) Anonymity.
B) Confidentiality.
C) Use of contract respondents.
D) Validation checks.
20) Sometimes the opportunity arises to use the ________, in which, instead of directly quizzing
the respondent about a subject that might be embarrassing, the interviewer couches the question
in terms of another person who is similar to the respondent.
A) in-direct technique
B) anonymous person technique
C) confidentiality technique
D) third-person technique
21) The control of unintentional respondent error takes various forms including all of the
following EXCEPT:
A) Careful selection of respondents.
B) Well-drafted questionnaire instructions and examples.
C) Reversals of scale endpoints.
D) Use of prompters.
22) One of the most important ways to control a wide variety of nonsampling errors on the part
of both interviewers and respondents during the data collection stage of the marketing research
process is to:
A) Allocate sufficient amounts for survey administration.
B) Stress the importance of good questionnaire design in reducing these errors.
C) Stress the importance of thorough validation.
D) Focus on paying respondents and interviewers appropriately.
23) A failure on the part of a prospective respondent to take part in the survey, premature
termination of the interview, or refusals to answer specific questions on the questionnaire is:
A) Respondent cheating.
B) Respondent misunderstanding.
C) Respondent nonresponse.
D) Respondent fatigue.
24) There are different types of potential nonresponse errors in any survey. Which of the
following is NOT one of those potential nonresponse errors?
A) Refusal to participate in the survey
B) Break-offs during the interview
C) Item omission
D) Late completion
25) Factors such as people who are busy or have no interest in the survey, who are turned off by
the interviewer’s voice or approach, or who feel a topic may be overly sensitive result in:
A) Respondent refusals to participate.
B) Respondent break-offs.
C) Respondent omissions.
D) Respondent cheating.
26) Factors such as interviews taking longer than the respondent expected; the topic and specific
questions are distasteful, too personal, or boring; the instructions confusing; the survey may be
too complex; or a sudden interruption result in:
A) Respondent refusals to participate.
B) Respondent break-offs.
C) Respondent omissions.
D) Respondent cheating.
27) It is useful for a researcher to offer the “don’t know” option with questions that require
mental effort in order to reduce:
A) Item breakoffs.
B) Item cheating.
C) Item omissions.
D) Refusals to participate.
28) Because secondary questions are not the primary focus of the study, ________ may be
defined as one in which all the primary questions have been answered.
A) an incomplete interview
B) a partially completed interview
C) a non-valid interview
D) a completed interview
29) According to the CASRO report and the American Association for Public Opinion Research,
________ is defined as the ratio of the number of completed interviews to the number of eligible
units in the sample.
A) response rate
B) survey ratio
C) interviewer response
D) confidence interval
30) Skyrocketing nonresponse rates and the popularity of online surveys have prompted a
number of firms to use ________ -a company that accommodates surveyors by recruiting and
selling access to very large, diverse groups of consumers and businesses.
A) a data collection company
B) a panel company
C) social media
D) mall intercepts
31) Panel companies claim to provide representative samples of ________, including citizens of
foreign countries.
A) those with landlines
B) those inclined to complete surveys
C) diverse populations
D) those without Internet service
32) Panel companies claim to provide samples of very specific ________ by inviting only those
panel members who qualify on specific criteria to participate in any given survey.
A) non-consumer types
B) businesses
C) interviewers
D) consumer types
33) Many do-it-yourself (DIY) marketing researchers and others are not aware of the
shortcomings often found in the quality of data generated via:
A) Online panels.
B) Focus groups.
C) Mall intercepts.
D) Telephone surveys.
34) Practically every research association has some sort of formalized recommendations, best
practices, standards, or admonishments to guide researchers in identifying the highest-quality
________ when considering their services.
A) mall intercept companies
B) online panel companies
C) social media companies
D) secret shopper companies
35) For the vast majority of surveys, respondents’ answers are typically contained in an
electronic ________, a matrix arrangement of numbers (mainly) in rows and columns similar to
a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
A) data code
B) data analysis
C) dataset
D) data code book
36) ________ is the operation in which the identification of code values are associated with the
possible responses for each question on the questionnaire.
A) Data analysis
B) Data coding
C) Dataset entry
D) Data code entry
37) A data code book identifies all of the following EXCEPT:
A) The questions on the questionnaire.
B) The variable name or label that is associated with each question or question part.
C) The software analytic methodology.
D) The code numbers associated with each possible response to each question.
38) The advantage of a code book that describes the data file is that any ________ can work on
the dataset.
A) interviewer
B) marketer
C) software engineer
D) analyst
39) With online surveys, the data file “builds” or “grows” as respondents submit their completed
online questionnaires, which means ________ are programmed into the questionnaire file
automatically by the online questionnaire software or by the person who designs the online
questionnaire.
A) codes
B) answers
C) analytics
D) hidden data
40) When doing ________, it is far more convenient to have findings tables use the labels on the
questionnaire, such as “male” or “female,” rather than the code numbers, such as “1” and “2.”
A) data coding
B) data analysis
C) data validation
D) data booking
41) Nonresponses as well as answers with a suspicious pattern necessitate ________ in the
marketing research process that involves inspecting respondents’ answers in the dataset.
A) validating interviewers survey methods
B) a separate phase of the data preparation stage
C) validating respondents‘ answers
D) a separate type of software analysis
42) The purpose of ________ is to determine the presence of “bad” respondents and to throw out
the ones with severe problems.
A) examination of incorrect answers
B) valid data inspection
C) raw data inspection
D) examination of correct answers
43) When inspecting raw data, researchers look for “break-offs,” which is:
A) A non-response.
B) The signal of a complete response.
C) An omitted response.
D) An incomplete response.