Let’s assume we find in a study that the Pearson’s correlation coefficient between
number of years of education and cigarette smoking is -0.73. This means that as
education level increases
a. smoking tends to increase.
b. smoking tends to decrease.
c. smoking changes 73%.
d. Education and smoking are unrelated.
e. An educated person smokes 73 cigarettes a day.
Which of the following are ways to judge the accuracy of secondary data?
a. Consider the source of the data
b. Look at the sponsor of the research that yielded the secondary data
c. Look for evidence that the research was done properly
d. All of the above are correct
e. Only B and C are correct.
Focus groups are less susceptible to executive and researcher biases than most other
exploratory techniques.
a. True
b. False
Once a problem has been carefully defined, research projects should begin with:
a. A careful search for a marketing research agency.
b. A comprehensive primary data collection effort.
c. A careful search for existing secondary data.
d. All of the above are correct.
e. None of the above are correct.
The interchanging or switching of scale values among and between objects does not
affect the originally intended purpose of the scale when the scale is
a. nominal.
b. ordinal.
c. interval.
d. ratio.
e. the interchanging of scale values always affects the purpose.
A researcher had calculated the sample chiÂsquare test statistic to be equal to χ2= 7.71.
For an alpha level of 0.10 and 4 degrees of freedom, the critical value of the chi-square
statistic is 7.78. The appropriate conclusion is that the
a. Sample result is likely to be attributed to chance alone.
b. Null hypothesis should not be rejected.
c. Null hypothesis should be rejected.
d. Both a and b.
e. Alternative hypothesis is true.
A requirement for the use of structured reporting in observational studies is:
a. Specific hypotheses about the behaviors to be observed.
b. A laboratory setting for the research project.
c. A disguised observation method.
d. A natural setting for the research project.
e. An undisguised observation method.
Respondent error can occur when a subject is asked to remember and report past
behaviors. Which of the following helps eliminate this type of error?
a. Descriptive data
b. Causal data
c. Cross-sectional data
d. Panel data
e. Experimental data
Mail surveys provide little control in verifying that a response actually came from the
intended recipient.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following is true regarding the standarddeviatio?
a. It indicates the degree of variation in the values in such a way as to be translatable
into a normal curve.
b. One standard deviation above and below the midpoint in a normal distribution
includes approximately 68% of the area underneath the curve.
c. + or – 1.96 standard deviations above and below the midpoint in a normal distribution
includes 95% of the area underneath the curve.
d. The standard deviation can be approximated by dividing the range of the data by 6.
e. All of the above are correct.
An open-ended question can be used to
a. seek factual information from a respondent.
b. allow respondents to reply in their own words.
c. uncover motivations and rich descriptions of feelings and attitudes.
d. All of the above.
e. a and c
The only type of research that should be avoided is unethical research.
a. True
b. False
One of the major problems with mail surveys is nonresponse bias. In an effort to
minimize this, a researcher decides to limit the sample to his personal friends from
whom he is sure to get replies. This is an example of a
a. probability sample.
b. nonprobability sample.
c. random sample.
d. sequential sample.
e. quota sample.
Duplication in the list of sampling units results in sampling error.
a. True
b. False
The organization that produces television ratings designed to provide estimates of the
size and nature of audience for a particular television program is:
a. Arbitron
b. Nielsen
c. Dun & Bradstreet
d. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
e. GfK Group
The observation method
a. Cannot measure all consumer characteristics precisely but can give very good
estimates for awareness, intentions, motivations, and past behavior.
b. Is limited in that only behaviors can be observed.
c. Is considered to be more objective than the communication method.
d. Is a faster means of data collection than the communication method because a
detailed questionnaire does not have to be prepared, and observers can quickly record
many observations.
e. Requires development of sophisticated procedures to be effective.