Chapter 4

Research Design, Exploratory Research, and Qualitative Data

2.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Which of the following is FALSE?

A research design is the framework for a study that serves as a basis for the
collection and analysis of data in such a way that the study will be relevant to the
problem and will use economical procedures.
It is impossible to do research without a research design.
A research design ensures that a study will be relevant to the decision problem at
hand.
The crucial tenet of research is that the research design should stem from the
problem at hand.
They are all true.

3.

Which of the following is FALSE?

a. In exploratory research the major concern is with the discovery of ideas and insights.
b. Exploratory research is often used to clarify concepts and to establish priorities for
further research.
c. Exploratory research investigates hypotheses.
d. Exploratory research is used to develop hypotheses.
e. Exploratory studies do not lend themselves very well to the use of structured
questionnaires.

4.

The descriptive study

a. usually takes the form of an experiment.
b. has its major emphasis on the discovery of insights and ideas.
c. is concerned with determining the frequency with which something occurs.
d. is concerned with the determination of a cause-and-effect relationship.
e. has as its main objective the establishment of priorities for future research.

5.

A causal research design is typically concerned with

a. the frequency with which something occurs.
b. the discovery of ideas and insights.
c. how two variables vary together.
d. the determination of cause-and-effect relationships.
e. establishing priorities when studying competing explanations of phenomenon.

6.

Which of the following is capable of providing more convincing evidence of causal

relationships?
a. an exploratory design
b. an experiment
c. turnover analysis
d. cross-sectional analysis
e. a descriptive design

7.

Research designs
a. should be strictly limited to the three classifications of exploratory, descriptive and
causal because a given study should serve only one purpose.
b. should stem from the problem.
c. are productive in a given problem setting no matter how the principles are applied.
d. should not be modified to suit specific purposes.
e. are specific in that they instruct the researcher in terms of the single, best way to
proceed in a given study.

8.

Which of the following is TRUE?

a. In exploratory research, the major emphasis is on determining the frequency with
which the phenomenon occur together, e.g. age of driver with frequency of
accidents.
b. A study aimed at making predictions such as the number of college students who are
likely to go on to graduate school is an exploratory study.
c. It is generally true that in an exploratory study, cases that provide sharp contrasts or
have striking features are most useful.
d. The estimation of the proportion of people who behave in a certain way, e.g.
proportion of college students who work out daily, is an example of an exploratory
study.
e. They are all true.

9.

The manager of Capitol Brewing Inc. states that he is very concerned with the continuing
decline in sales of the companys major product, a dark lager. The manager has asked for
your assistance in finding the reasons for the sales decline. The most appropriate way to
begin would be with
a. exploratory research.
b. descriptive research.
c. causal research.
d. an experiment.
e. a consumer study.

10. Which research design(s) is (are) typically guided by an initial hypothesis?

a. causal
b. descriptive
c. exploratory
d. exploratory and causal
e. descriptive and causal

11. Which of the following statements is FALSE?

a. Marketing research studies employing the exploratory strategy generally have as a
starting point a hypothesis specifying relationships between variables.
b. Exploratory research may generally be considered the step that defines the problem.
c. Exploratory research is characterized by lack of a pre-specified formal design.
d. Descriptive studies involve the examination of one or more hypotheses.
e. Descriptive studies are rather demanding in terms of the decisions that must be made
before data collection begins.
12. The three basic designs can be looked at as stages in a continuous process. This process
a. represents the investigation of a more detailed statement of the problem at each stage
of the problem.
b. always moves in sequence from exploratory to descriptive to causal.
c. always begins with an exploratory study.
d. always starts with an hypothesis.
e. contains only one study of each type.
13. Exploratory research begins with
a. vague topics of interest.
b. specific hypotheses.
c. tentative hypotheses.
d. cause-and-effect hypotheses.
e. b and d.
14. The major emphasis in exploratory research is on
a. determining the frequency with which something occurs.
b determining cause-and-effect relationships.
c. the relationship between two variables.
d. the discovery of ideas and insights.
e. all of the above are emphasized in exploratory research.
15. A hypothesis
a. is a conjectural statement about the relationship between two variables that are
measurable or potentially measurable.
b. is a broad, vague problem statement.
c. cannot be discovered during research.
d. does not have clear implications for testing the relationship between variables.
e. is only found in the causal type of research.
16. Exploratory research can be used to
a. increase the analysts familiarity with the problem.
b. clarify concepts.
c. establish priorities in dealing with explanations of problems.
d. a and b.
e. a, b, and c.

17. An exploratory study is not productively used to

a. establish priorities for further research.
b. clarify concepts.
c. describe the characteristics of certain groups.
d. increase the analysts familiarity with the problem.
e. formulate a problem for more precise investigation.
18. A literature search most closely resembles which type of research?
a. causal
b. exploratory
c. experimental
d. descriptive
e. b and c
19. One of the quickest and most economical ways to discover hypotheses is
a. through a sample survey.
b. through the use of a panel.
c. through the analysis of selected cases.
d. through an experience survey.
e. through a literature search.
20. An experience survey
a. tries to get an accurate picture of current practice.
b. should contact all people who possess some knowledge of the general subject.
c. should use a probability sample.
d. should use a selected sample of people who might be familiar with the industry or
problem.
e. should sample selectively from the same homogeneous group.
21. An experience survey
a. should contact all people who possess some knowledge of the general subject.
b. should emphasize developing tentative explanations.
c. should sample selectively from the same homogenous group.
d. should be conducted in an informal, unstructured manner.
e. b and d.
22. In an experience survey
a. the respondents are able to choose the factors to be discussed.
b. the emphasis is on developing tentative explanations.
c. the emphasis is not on demonstrating that an explanation is the primary explanation.
d. the interviews are unstructured and informal.
e. all of the above are true.

23. The experience survey is a procedure most appropriate for

a. exploratory studies.
b. descriptive studies.
c. laboratory experimentation.
d. field experimentation.
e. computer simulation.
24. An experience survey
a. requires interviewing only those people with a great amount of experience or
knowledge.
b. is designed to obtain an accurate picture of current practices.
c. requires the researcher to contact all possible sources of information.
d. should be conducted in a formal, structure manner.
e. should emphasize developing tentative explanations.
25. A focus group
a. consists of an interviewer and a subject discussing a single topic of interest to the
interviewer.
b. is not useful for testing hypotheses.
c. typically consists of four to six members.
d. requires selecting members so that they form relatively heterogeneous groups in
order to get perspectives from those with different socioeconomic backgrounds.
e. involves having subjects fill out a survey on one topic.
26. Focus groups are useful for which of the following purposes
a. generating hypotheses.
b. generating information helpful in structuring questionnaires.
c. gathering background information on a product category.
d. a and c.
e. a, b, and c.
27. Which of the following is FALSE?
a. Individuals who have previously participated in a focus group are particularly
valuable to researchers because they will have a more relaxed attitude than first-time
members.
b. Focus group moderators typically attempt to cover all the objectives of the research
in a single meeting while ensuring that group interaction is promoted.
c. Product and service ideas can drop out of the blue in focus group sessions.
d. Ideas from one focus group member can stimulate responses and ideas from other
group members.
e. They are all false.
28. Focus groups are useful for all of the following purposes EXCEPT
a. generating hypotheses.
b. gaining new insights into product usage.
c. testing cause-effect relationships.
d. a and c.
e. b and c.

29. Which of the following statements is TRUE of focus groups?

a. The sessions are easy to moderate.
b. It is difficult to support a preconceived position because focus group members have
different attitudes on most subjects.
c. The results of sessions are representative of the general population.
d. Coding, tabulation, and analysis of responses is difficult in comparison to a written
survey.
e. They are all true.
30. Focus groups consist of eight to twelve members because
a. moderators typically cannot control larger groups.
b. smaller groups are often dominated by one or two members.
c. in larger groups, individuals have to wait to speak.
d. a and c.
e. b and c.
31. Firms conducting a focus group
a. attempt to develop relatively homogeneous groups.
b. attempt to develop relatively heterogeneous groups.
c. heavily recruit previous focus group members.
d. a and c.
e. b and c.
32. Focus group moderators need to possess all the following characteristics EXCEPT
a. friendly personality.
b. being an expert on the topic.
c. excellent memory.
d. good writer.
e. a facilitator.
33. Benefits of focus groups include
a. ideas can drop out of the blue.
b. snowballing of ideas.
c. more spontaneous responses than in one-on-one interviews.
d. easy interpretation of responses.
e. a, b, and c.
34. Focus group weaknesses include
a. difficult to moderate the session.
b. responses are not representative of general population.
c. ideas never thought of before may be discovered during the session.
d. a and b.
e. a and c.

35. Benchmarking is an example of what kind of research?

a. a literature search
b. focus group
c. analysis of selected cases
d. descriptive research
e. causal research
36. Using different ads in different geographic areas and investigating which ad generated the
highest sales is an example of
research.
a. causal
b. exploratory
c. experimental
d. descriptive
e. none of the above
37. You are product manager for Brand X coffee, a nationally distributed brand. Brand X has
been declining in absolute level of sales for the last four consecutive months. You ask the
marketing research department to do a study to determine why sales have declined. The
most appropriate research strategy would be
a. an experimental study.
b. a field experiment followed by an exploratory study.
c. an experimental study followed by a descriptive study.
d. an exploratory study.
e. a descriptive study involving a field survey of actual and potential customers.
38. Exploratory studies
a. usually involve probability sampling plans.
b. usually use structured questionnaires.
c. use a formal design.
d. are characterized by flexibility.
e. require a clear, precise statement of the research problem.
39. Which of the following is not an advantage of individual depth interviews?
a. The interviewer can delve deep into a topic.
b. They allow more candid discussion on the part of the interviewee.
c. They are essential for certain situations where competitors would otherwise be
placed in the same room.
d. They eliminate the negatives that group influences have in a focus group.
e. All the above are advantages of individual depth interviews.
40. Which of the following is a limitation of individual depth interviews?
a. They are typically much more expensive than groups.
b. They generally do not get the same degree of client involvement as focus groups.
c. They are physically exhausting for the moderator, so it is difficult to cover as much
ground in one day as it is with groups.
d. a and b.
e. a, b, and c.

41. Insight-stimulating example research exhibits which of the following features?

a. The investigator has a receptive attitude to new explanations of a phenomena.
b. The investigator needs to possess good integrative abilities.
c. The investigator attempts to explain both the unique and common features of each
case.
d. Cases reflecting extremes of behavior are particularly productive.
e. All of the above are features of the analysis of selected cases.
42. In the analysis of selected cases, it is generally true that cases that are most useful are
cases that
a. reflect abrupt changes.
b. reflect extremes of behavior.
c. reflect the order in which events occurred over time.
d. reflect striking features.
e. all of the above are useful types of cases.
43.

Which of the following is NOT true of depth interviews as opposed to fixed-alternative

questions?
a. take longer to complete
b. will require more interviewers
c. will allow more respondents to be interviewed
d. b and c
e. all of the above are true