47) Constructs are the specific features or characteristics of an object that can be used to
distinguish it from another object.
48) Measurement underlies marketing research to a great extent because researchers are keenly
interested in describing marketing phenomena.
49) Researchers are often given the task of finding irrelevant similarities in the profiles of
various customer types, and measurement is a necessary first step in this task.
50) Measurement is not a simple process when measuring objective properties such as physically
verifiable characteristics like age, income, number of bottles purchased, store last visited, and so
on.
51) Measuring subjective properties is difficult; the marketing researcher must adapt or develop
rating scale formats that are very clear and used identically by respondents.
52) Scale development is designing questions and response formats to measure the subjective
properties of an object.
53) Answers that involve yes-no, agree-disagree, or any other instance in which the descriptors
cannot be differentiated except qualitatively, are examples of ordinal measures.
54) Ordinal scales indicate only relative size differences among objects: greater than, less than,
or equal to.
55) Scale measures are those in which the direction between each level is known.
56) Ratio scale measures are ones in which a true zero origin exists.
57) The ratio characteristic allows us to construct ratios when calculating results of the
measurement.
58) Interval scale measures are rating scales for subjective properties where, for adjacent levels,
the distance is normally defined as one scale unit.
59) Because most subjective, or psychological, properties exist on a continuum ranging from one
extreme to another in the mind of the respondent, it is common practice to use ratio scale
questions to measure them.
60) It is not good practice to invent a novel scale format with every questionnaire.
61) Marketing researchers use standard scales rather than inventing new ones for each research
project, which are often referred to as “workhorse scales.”
62) With the Likert scale, it is best to use “flat” or plain statements and let the respondent
indicate the intensity of his or her feelings by using the agree-disagree response continuum
position.
63) The drawbacks to the Likert five-point scale are that it is not flexible when it comes to
measuring constructs or concepts or amenables to sophisticated statistical analysis.
64) The focus of the semantic differential is on the measurement of the meaning of an object,
concept, person, or experience.
65) The construction of a semantic differential scale begins with the determination of a concept
or object to be rated, usually a brand or company with the researcher then selecting bipolar pairs
of words or phrases that could be used to describe the object’s salient properties.
66) The halo effect is a general feeling about a store or brand that can bias a respondent’s
impressions on its specific properties.
67) One of the most appealing aspects of the semantic differential scale is the ability of the
researcher to compute averages and then to plot a “profile” of the brand or company image.
68) A Stapel scale relies not on positive and negative numbers but on bipolar terms.
69) Those arguing for the inclusion of a neutral option on an interval scale believe that some
respondents do not have opinions formed on that item, and they must be given the opportunity to
indicate their ambivalence.
70) Using “tried and true” standardized scaled-response formats expedites the questionnaire
design process by saving time and money; however, it does not offer the opportunity to assess its
reliability or validity.
71) With a reliable measure, a respondent responds in the same or very similar manner to an
identical or near-identical question.
72) A valid measure is truthful; a response may be reliable but at the same time not valid.
73) Given that it serves all of these functions, the questionnaire is at the center of the research
process with questionnaire design directly affecting the quality of the data collected.
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74) Beginning with the research budget in mind, the researchers rely on “constructs,” or standard
marketing concepts, and develop a mental vision of how each construct will be measured.
75) With a custom-designed research study, the questions on the questionnaire, along with its
instructions, introduction, and general layout, are all systematically evaluated for potential errors
and revised accordingly.
76) Marketing researchers take great care in developing research questions that measure
attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and demographics because they desire reliable and valid responses.
77) While not documented by research, most researchers feel that a single word can make a
difference in how study participants respond to a question.
78) Words we use commonly in speaking to one another sometimes encourage biased answers
when they appear on a questionnaire because their literal interpretations are impossible to
answer.
79) It is common for a questionnaire designed by one employee of the research company to then
be given to a colleague who understands questionnaire design for a thorough inspection for
question bias as well as face validity.
80) The two most critical aspects of questionnaire organization are the actual flow of questions
in the questionnaire body and screening of the respondent.
81) The creation of the introduction should entail just as much care and effort as the development
of the questions on the questionnaire.
82) The decision about whether to use a disguised survey depends on the survey’s objectives,
possible undue influence with knowledge of the client, or desire not to alert competitors of the
survey.
83) Any self-administered survey qualifies for anonymity as long as the respondent does not
indicate his or her identity and provided the questionnaire does not have any covert identification
tracing mechanism.
84) Researchers normally avoid asking screening questions at the beginning of a survey since the
interview will begin with a negative tone, perhaps causing the person to think the questionnaire
will be asking any number of personal questions, and object to taking part.
85) Computer-assisted questionnaire design refers to software that allows users to use computer
technology to develop and disseminate questionnaires and to retrieve and analyze data gathered
by the questionnaire.
86) The submit signal within a computer-assisted questionnaire software program prompts the
program to write the respondent’s answers into a data file. However, the data file may not grow
in direct proportion to and at the same rate as respondents submit surveys.
87) Questionnaire design companies are cognizant of the public’s reluctance to take part in
surveys, so partner with panel companies and integrate panel sample access into their
questionnaire design websites
88) The data files from a computer-assisted questionnaire software program can be downloaded
at the researcher’s discretion; however, different formatting options, including SPSS-readable
files, may not be available.
89) It is unwise to take a questionnaire designed for online administration and simply let the
questionnaire design system present it in mobile device format.
90) Regardless of whether or not the questionnaire is designed for online administration, there
are two steps remaining: precoding and pretesting.
91) Because researchers can never completely replicate the respondent’s perspective, a pretest is
extremely valuable
92) Marketing research relies heavily on measurement. Define measurement. Discuss the
difference between objective measurement and subject measurement and an example of each
type.
93) Marketing researchers describe measures in several different ways. Describe the three
measures used by SPSS: nominal, ordinal, and scale. Give examples of each type of
measurement.
94) Marketing researchers use standard scales rather than inventing new ones for each research
project. Discuss and differentiate among the Likert scale, semantic differential scale, and the
Stapel scale. Why should the scale fit the construct?
95) Define reliability and validity. How can something be reliable yet not be valid?
96) A questionnaire is the vehicle used to present the questions the researcher desires
respondents to answer. Why is the questionnaire at the center of the research? Why does
questionnaire design directly affect the quality of the data collected?
97) Questionnaire organization is the sequence or “flow” of statements and questions that make
up a questionnaire. Why is questionnaire organization a critical concern? Discuss the issue of
question flow as an important part of the process.
98) What are the benefits to using computer-assisted questionnaire design?
99) Regardless of whether or not a questionnaire is designed for online administration, there are
two steps needed: precoding and pretesting. Discuss the function of and details for pretesting a
questionnaire.