Chapter 8—Observation
TRUE/FALSE
1. It is typical in observation studies for the observer to ask questions of the person who is being
observed.
2. Attitudes can be observed.
3. One limitation of observation as a research method is that the observation period is generally short.
4. Researchers can observe people or events with human observers or with machines.
5. Mechanical observation best suits a situation or behavior that is not easily predictable in advance of
the research.
6. Hidden, unobtrusive observation minimizes respondent error.
7. Observation allows for the interpretation of nonverbal behavior to supplement information from
interviewers.
8. Response interval is the amount of time it takes to make a choice between two alternatives.
9. In a phenomenological approach, the researcher does not interact with those he or she is observing.
10. Direct observation is a straightforward attempt to observe and record what naturally occurs.
11. In some instances, observation is the only method possible for collecting data.
12. Since the observer does not interact with the subject in observation studies, observation is an error-free
method of data collection.
13. In observation research, a distortion of measurement resulting from the cognitive behavior or actions
of the witnessing observer is called selectivity bias.
14. A source of error in observation studies is in the interpretation of the meaning of the observation data.
15. When the investigator intervenes to create an artificial environment to test a hypothesis, this approach
is called contrived observation.
16. Hidden observation studies must be alert to situations in which the subject’s right to privacy must be
protected.
17. Some might see contrived observation as unethical based on the notion of entrapment.
18. Researchers may observe physical phenomena as well as human behavior.
19. A beer bottle left at a sporting event is an example of an artifact.
20. A study of the recording of a Monday Night Football Game in the National Football League in which
the observer counts the number of shots of cheerleaders on the sidelines is an example of camera
surveillance.
21. Arbitron is the research company that estimates national television audiences.
22. The most refined measure of Web site traffic is click-through rate (CTR).
23. Chatter represents a measure of the amount of Internet postings that involve a specific name or term,
such as a company or brand name.
24. Users’ smartphones can provide marketers with considerable information.
25. Physiological observation techniques, such as pupilometers, psychogalvanometers, and voice-pitch
analysis, precisely measure levels of arousal.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. _____ is the systematic process of recording actual behavioral patterns of people, objects, and events
as they happen.
a.
Observation
b.
Descriptive research
c.
Real-time research
d.
Interaction
2. Clara is a market researcher who records shoppers’ movement through a grocery store. What method
of research is Clara using?
a.
survey
b.
assessment
c.
immersion
d.
observation
3. All of the following are observable phenomena EXCEPT _____.
a.
attitudes
b.
verbal behavior
c.
spatial relations and locations
d.
neurological activity
4. Observing a person’s television viewing habits is an example of which type of observation?
a.
verbal records
b.
expressive behavior
c.
physical actions
d.
physical objects
5. Observing traffic patterns at a busy intersection with cameras is an example of what type of
observation?
a.
spatial relations and locations
b.
verbal records
c.
verbal behavior
d.
expressive behavior
6. Angie is participating in a research study in which she has electrodes connected to her head while she
is reading a magazine. Researchers are examining her brain wave activity as she encounters
advertisements in the magazine. What type of phenomenon is being observed with this physiological
device?
a.
verbal behavior
b.
temporal patterns
c.
spatial tensions
d.
neurological activities
7. All of the following cannot be observed EXCEPT _____.
a.
intentions
b.
attitudes
c.
expressive behavior
d.
feelings
8. Observing the movement of a shopper in a supermarket is an example of what type of observation?
a.
mall interception
b.
verbal behavior
c.
physical actions
d.
expressive behavior
9. Observing the comments made by travelers waiting in a check-in line at the American Airlines ticket
counter in Chicago is an example of what type of observation?
a.
pictorial records
b.
verbal behavior
c.
expressive behavior
d.
spatial relations
10. Measuring the distance visitors stand from a painting in a Van Gogh exhibit at the St. Louis Art
Museum is an example of what type of observation?
a.
verbal behavior
b.
temporal patterns
c.
expressive behavior
d.
spatial relations
11. Using a stopwatch to determine the average waiting time for a customer at a drive-through location at
McDonald’s is an example of what type of observation?
a.
verbal behavior
b.
temporal pattern
c.
physical action
d.
physical objects
12. Having observers record the brand names of items found in a kitchen pantry of a consumer panel is an
example of what type of observation?
a.
physical actions
b.
verbal behavior
c.
physical objects
d.
pictorial records
13. Which of the following is a term referring to the study of human movements within an environment?
a.
tracking
b.
stalking
c.
meandering
d.
way-finding
14. When the subject is unaware that he is being observed, this represents what type of observation?
a.
contrived
b.
indirect
c.
content analysis
d.
unobtrusive
15. Customers going through the drive-thru at Starbucks were being watched to see how long they look at
the menu before ordering. They are unaware that they are being observed. This type of observation
is referred to as _____ observation.
a.
unobtrusive
b.
visible
c.
invisible
d.
indirect
16. A situation in which an observer’s presence, or the mechanical device doing the recording, is easily
known to the subject involves _____.
a.
obtrusive observation
b.
visible observation
c.
primary observation
d.
first-order observation
17. A researcher was observing how children play on playground equipment at a public park. The
observers were out in the open and parents were told that their children were being observed. This
type of observation is called _____ observation.
a.
visible
b.
primary
c.
ethnographic
d.
obtrusive
18. Observation in which the subject is unaware that observation is taking place is called _____
observation.
a.
ethnographic
b.
hidden
c.
indirect
d.
invisible
19. All of the following are examples of nonverbal behavior EXCEPT _____.
a.
smiling
b.
nodding
c.
raised eyebrows
d.
talking
20. _____ is the amount of time it takes to make a choice between two alternatives and is used as a
measure of the strength of preference.
a.
Response latency
b.
Decision interval
c.
Temporal analysis
d.
Temporal pattern
21. John is measuring the amount of time it takes for people to make a choice between two options
regarding what to select for lunch to infer the strength of their preferences for one alternative over the
other. The recorded choice time is referred to as _____.
a.
response lag
b.
response interval
c.
response latency
d.
response bias
22. _____ is a straightforward attempt to observe and record what naturally occurs.
a.
Visible observation
b.
Primary observation
c.
Reflective observation
d.
Direct observation
23. When the manager of a shopping mall records the counties listed on the license plates on cars parked
at the mall in order to determine where the shoppers come from, this is an example of _____.
a.
direct observation
b.
indirect observation
c.
contrived observation
d.
response latency
24. A distortion of measurement resulting form the cognitive behavior or actions of a witnessing observer
is called _____.
a.
response latency
b.
researcher error
c.
observer bias
d.
entrapment
25. A researcher was observing consumers’ facial expressions as they looked over the menu at a
restaurant. One consumer forgot her reading glasses, so she was having trouble reading the menu and
had to squint her eyes, causing her to look mad. The researcher interpreted this to mean she didn’t
like what she was seeing on the menu because he didn’t know she couldn’t see the words. The
researcher’s misreading the consumer’s facial expression as dissatisfaction is an example of _____.
a.
response latency
b.
contrived observation
c.
response bias
d.
observer bias
26. All of the following are errors associated with direct observation EXCEPT _____.
a.
subjectively
b.
entrapment
c.
accuracy
d.
interpretation
27. Observation in which the investigator creates an artificial environment in order to test a hypothesis is
called _____.
a.
contrived observation
b.
biased observation
c.
secondary observation
d.
pseudo observation
28. When an airline passenger (who is really an employee of the airline) complains loudly about his not
being served a vegetarian meal so that he can note the behavior of the flight attendant in this type of
situation, this is an example of what type of observation?
a.
content analysis
b.
indirect
c.
contrived
d.
response latency
29. When an employee who works at McDonald’s headquarters outside Chicago travels around the U.S.
and observes franchises to see if they are acting in the best interests of McDonald’s good name in
terms of friendly service, cleanliness, and quality of food, this observer is acting as a(n) _____.
a.
mystery shopper
b.
indirect observer
c.
mechanical observer
d.
scanner-based consumer panel
30. Which of the following is a question that can be asked to help address the question of whether or not a
subject’s privacy is violated?
a.
Has the person been adequately notified that their behavior is being observed?
b.
Is the behavior being observed commonly performed in public where it is expected that
others can observe the behavior?
c.
Is the behavior performed in a setting in which the anonymity of the person being
observed is assured?
d.
all of these choices
31. _____ are things that people made and consumed within a culture that signal something meaningful
about the behavior taking place at the time of consumption.
a.
Trace elements
b.
Artifacts
c.
Inventories
d.
Physiological responses
32. _____ is the systematic observation and quantitative description of the manifest content of
communication.
a.
Descriptive analysis
b.
Schemata analysis
c.
Hermeneutic analysis
d.
Content analysis
33. Which of the following obtains data by observing and analyzing the contents of advertisements,
newspaper articles, television programs, websites, and the like?
a.
contrived analysis
b.
content analysis
c.
indirect analysis
d.
response latency analysis
34. When a researcher analyzes the content of advertisements appearing in cartoons on a Saturday
morning in terms of the types of characters that appear in the ads, this is an example of what type of
observation?
a.
contrived analysis
b.
content analysis
c.
indirect analysis
d.
entrapment
35. When a researcher counts the percentage of African Americans who have appeared on the cover of
Newsweek during the past decade, this is an example of what type of observation?
a.
contrived analysis
b.
ethnic analysis
c.
indirect analysis
d.
content analysis
36. When Walgreen’s uses cables across the road as “traffic counters” to determine the density of traffic
near a possible retail store location, this is an example of what type of observation?
a.
contrived observation
b.
mechanical observation
c.
human observation
d.
content analysis
37. Which of the following companies use a television monitoring system for estimating national
television audiences?
a.
ACNielsen
b.
Mediamark
c.
Infoscan
d.
TVtrack
38. With respect to website traffic monitoring, a hit represents _____.
a.
a single, discrete click to load individual pages of a website
b.
mouse clicks on a single page of a website
c.
the proportion of people exposed to an Internet ad who actually click on its hyperlink to
enter the website
d.
a count of the initial access to the site but not multiple visits to the site
39. Which website traffic monitoring metric may be used to track the path or sequence of pages that each
visitor follows?
a.
click-through
b.
hits
c.
page views
d.
unique pages
40. Which of the following represents the percentage of people who are exposed to an Internet
advertisement who actually click on the corresponding hyperlink which takes them to a company’s
website?
a.
conversion transaction rate (CTR)
b.
page views
c.
cost per click (CPC)
d.
click-through rate (CTR)
41. All of the following are flaws with using click-through rate as a measure of the amount of interest or
attention a website is receiving EXCEPT _____.
a.
does not differentiate between a lot of activity by a few visitors and a little activity by
many visitors
b.
some hits are likely made by mistake
c.
researcher lacks information about the meaning behind the numbers
d.
does not adequately measure the number of times an ad is clicked on
42. A researcher who measures the amount of Internet postings that involve a client’s company name is
measuring _____.
a.
page views
b.
click-through rate
c.
conversation volume
d.
buzz factor
43. A researcher gave Janis and her husband a bar-coded card, like a frequent-shopper card, that they give
to the checkout clerk at the grocery store. Their code number is coupled with the purchase
information recorded by the scanner. This family is participating is a(n) _____.
a.
scanner-based consumer panel
b.
obtrusive observation study
c.
phenomenological study
d.
ethnographic study
44. All of the following are improvements of scanner data over standard mail diary panel data EXCEPT
_____.
a.
scanner data measure observed (actual) purchase behavior rather than reported behavior
b.
scanner measures are obtrusive
c.
more extensive purchase data can be collected with scanner data
d.
scanner data are collected mechanically, resulting in improved accuracy over mail diary
panel data
45. Which of the following measures physiological reactions?
a.
pupilometer
b.
at-home scanning systems
c.
click-through counter
d.
all of these choices
46. All of the following measure physiological reactions EXCEPT _____.
a.
eye-tracking monitor
b.
pupilometer
c.
scanning systems
d.
voce-pitch analysis
47. A website designer is interested in how people look at a website. He wants to know where they look
first when a page comes up. Which mechanical device would be appropriate for finding this out?
a.
pupilometer
b.
eye scanner
c.
eye-tracking monitor
d.
psychogalvanometer
48. Which of the following measures involuntary changes in the electrical resistance of the skin?
a.
eye-tracking monitor
b.
psychogalvanometer
c.
epidermal monitor
d.
voice-pitch analysis
49. Which of the following allows a researcher to measure what portions of the brain are active at a given
time?
a.
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
b.
psychogalvanometer
c.
pupilometer
d.
wave tracking monitor
50. All of the following are problems with physiological reaction measures EXCEPT _____.
a.
subjects are usually placed in artificial settings
b.
calibration of measuring devices
c.
devices are expensive
d.
they are not effective in measuring physiological reactions
COMPLETION
1. The systematic process of recording the behaviors of people as they occur is called ______.
2. When the presence of an observer is known to the subject, this is called ______ observation.
3. The time it takes a subject to make a choice between the appeal of two advertisements is a type of
______.
4. When an observer observes a subject in a natural setting, this is an example of ______ observation.
5. Observation that requires the observer to record events subjectively may result in _____ bias.
6. When a researcher creates an artificial situation in order to observe the reactions of a subject in that
type of situation, this is an example of ______ observation.
7. Objects that consumers throw away in the trash are examples of ______.
8. A _____ is the percentage of people who are exposed to an Internet advertisement who actually click
on the corresponding hyperlink which takes them to the company’s website.
9. ____ is a measure of Internet postings that involve a specific name or term.
10. A panel of consumers using a special ID card whenever they purchase items from their local
supermarket so that purchase behavior is matched with the demographic dimensions of each household
is participating in a(n) ______ panel.
11. A mechanical device that is used to track eye-movements during television commercials is called a(n)
______ monitor.
12. A mechanical device that is used to record changes in the diameter of a pupil in a subject is called a(n)
______.
13. A mechanical device that measures a subject’s galvanic skin response (GSR) is called a(n) ______.
14. Measuring voice frequency as a measure of emotional reactions is called ______ analysis.
15. A machine that allows one to measure what portions of the brain are active at a given time is called
a(n) _____ device.
ESSAY
1. Discuss the role of observation as a marketing research method and discuss four of the many types of
observable phenomena, giving an example of each.
ANS:
2. Explain why a researcher might want to use contrived observation instead of direct observation.
3. Discuss the ethical issues particular to research using observation. What should a researcher
consider when collecting observational data?
4. Explain how a researcher might use observation to determine the favorableness or unfavorableness
consumers might exhibit toward a brand?
5. Name and describe the way researchers observe online behavior.
6. Name and define the techniques for measuring physiological reactions.