Chapter 8 Understanding Measurement, Developing Questions, and Designing the
Questionnaire
1) Which of the following is defined as determining if and how much of a property is
possessed by an object?
A) scale level
B) attributes of properties
C) subjective and objective properties
D) measurement
E) intensity determination
Answer: D
2) Researchers measure:
A) properties of objects.
B) numbers of customers.
C) objects of measurements.
D) objects of properties.
E) types of products.
Answer: A
3) Age, income, gender, and interest in buying product X would all be considered ________
of the consumer, or object.
A) descriptions
B) properties
C) subjective descriptors
D) objectives descriptors
E) commonalities
Answer: B
4) If we were measuring age, income, height, number of bottles purchased, and so on, we
would be measuring:
A) objective properties.
B) subjective properties.
C) objective objects.
D) subjective objects.
E) objective subjects.
Answer: A
5) Which of the following refers to a scale having a true zero beginning point?
A) nominal
B) ordinal
C) interval
D) ratio
E) neutral
Answer: D
6) Which single characteristic is unique to a nominal type of measurement?
A) description
B) order
C) distance
D) origin
E) numbers
Answer: A
7) If the distance between 2 - 3 and 6 - 7 on a scale are equal, the scale would likely be at
least:
A) nominal.
B) ordinal.
C) interval.
D) ratio.
E) equal.
Answer: C
8) Which characteristic is associated only with ratio scales?
A) description
B) order
C) distance
D) origin
E) label
Answer: D
9) A question that asks how much you would be willing to pay in annual premium for a
$100,000 life insurance policy would be scaled as:
A) nominal.
B) ordinal.
C) interval.
D) ratio.
E) an origin.
Answer: D
10) A question that asks the age of a respondent in years would be scaled as:
A) nominal.
B) ordinal.
C) interval.
D) ratio.
E) rank-order.
Answer: D
11) Scale development is designing questions and response formats to measure:
A) objective properties.
B) subjective properties.
C) objective characteristics.
D) subjective objects.
E) rank order of properties.
Answer: B
12) When the intent is to measure psychological properties of consumers (such as attitudes,
opinions, and so on) which exist on a continuum in the mind of the respondent, ________ is
the most useful type of measure.
A) ordinal scale
B) nominal scale
C) interval scale
D) ratio scale
E) unassumed interval scale
Answer: C
13) Which of the following scale types best defines a scale measure in which respondents are
asked to indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement on a symmetric continuum for
each of a series of statements?
A) semantic differential scale
B) nominal scale
C) Likert scale
D) bipolar scale
E) lifestyle inventory
Answer: C
14) Which type of scale measure takes into account the values and personality traits of people
as reflected in their unique activities, interests, and opinions toward their work, leisure time,
and purchases?
A) intensity series scale
B) lifestyle inventory
C) semantic differential scale
D) AIO scale
E) graphic intensity scale
Answer: B
15) Which type of scale measure contains bipolar descriptors such as "hot-cold," "wet-dry,"
"convenient-inconvenient," and so on?
A) constant sum scale
B) lifestyle inventory
C) semantic differential scale
D) graphic intensity
E) agreement scale
Answer: C
16) The halo effect is best avoided by:
A) doing a couple of things wrong during the entire research project.
B) flipping favorable and unfavorable endpoints on different scale items.
C) flipping "bad" scales to the back of the survey to encourage a good response before the
respondents get to the bad questions.
D) using only percentage scales.
E) using only closed-ended questions.
Answer: B
17) Which of the following scale measures is good for assessing store, company, or brand
images because profiles may be generated to easily depict the image?
A) constant sum scale
B) lifestyle inventory
C) semantic differential scale
D) image analysis scale
E) image profile scale
Answer: C
18) Some researchers believe that a mid-point, or neutral position, should NOT be included in
a scale question because:
A) it violates the statistical assumption of symmetry.
B) it creates an odd number.
C) it allows respondents to dodge or hide their feelings.
D) it creates a problem in trying to code the scale items.
E) it creates a problem in terms of how you value the mid-point in the calculation of statistics.
Answer: C
19) Which of the following best illustrates the concept of reliability of measurement?
A) the tendency to respond in the same manner to different questions
B) the ability of the measurement to elicit an identical or very similar response from the same
person with successive administrations
C) the ability to repeat the same response time and again to different questions
D) a measure that is truthful
E) a measurement that is relative to what actually is
Answer: B
20) If a question is designed to measure a construct, for example, "intentions to buy a new
product," and the question appears to ask this in a straightforward manner, the measurement
would be said to have:
A) reliability.
B) validity.
C) face validity.
D) appearance value.
E) internal reliability.
Answer: C
21) Validity is best illustrated by which of the following?
A) accuracy or truthfulness of the measurement
B) the extent to which the reliability coefficient approaches 1.0
C) the ability to repeat measurements
D) tendency to respond in the same manner to different questions
E) tendency to respond in the same manner to the same questions
Answer: A
22) Which type of validity is concerned with the degree to which a measurement "looks like"
it is measuring that which it is intended?
A) face validity
B) predictive validity
C) convergent validity
D) discriminant validity
E) relative validity
Answer: A
23) Which one of the following is NOT a function of a questionnaire?
A) standardizes questions and response categories
B) translates the research objectives into specific questions
C) serves as a permanent record of the research
D) fosters cooperation with respondents
E) creates alpha levels to be used in conducting tests of statistical significance
Answer: E
24) Which of the following is the most accurate statement regarding the importance of the
questionnaire in the research process?
A) Relatively speaking, the questionnaire is unimportant in the marketing research process.
B) Not only is the questionnaire a very important ingredient, but its design affects the quality
of the data collected; even experienced interviewers cannot compensate for questionnaire
defects.
C) The questionnaire is tied with the written report as being the most important item in the
marketing research process.
D) Not only is the questionnaire a very important ingredient, but its design affects the quality
of the data collected, though experienced interviewers often compensate for questionnaire
defects.
E) Questionnaire design is the most important step in the marketing research process.
Answer: B
25) Which of the following statements is most accurate in terms of the questionnaire
development process?
A) There is no process; a questionnaire is simply prepared based upon the research
objectives.
B) The process is undertaken by the researcher, and the client does not view the questionnaire
until after the collection of data to avoid biased questions.
C) The process consists of several steps, but is an iterative process meaning that revisions
occur often during the process.
D) Once the process begins, there is no changing it.
E) none of the above
Answer: C
26) Which is the best interpretation of question bias?
A) the ability of a question's wording or format to influence respondents' answers
B) the ability of a question's wording to change a research project's objectives
C) questions being developed that have neither neutral nor positive positions
D) when a respondent is biased against a particular question
E) when a respondent is biased against a certain type of scale
Answer: A
27) What happens immediately prior to client approval during the questionnaire development
process?
A) Data is gathered.
B) Questions are formulated for the next section of the questionnaire.
C) The questionnaire is revised.
D) The questionnaire is finalized.
E) A pretest is conducted.
Answer: E
28) Which of the following statements is most accurate in terms of the questionnaire
development process?
A) Clients will not be involved until there has been considerable development and evaluation
by the researcher.
B) Clients typically work with researchers on the initial drafts.
C) Clients do not get involved with the questionnaire because it is the domain of the
professional researcher.
D) Clients typically devise questionnaires by themselves because they are closest to the
research problem.
E) Clients design each question, and then send it to the researcher for approval.
Answer: A
29) Regarding client approval of a questionnaire:
A) it serves to let the client understand the technical aspects of the research.
B) it serves as a check that the researcher is still in tune with the survey's objectives.
C) when signed by the client, it means that the questionnaire should not be changed for any
reason, even if it performs poorly in the pretest.
D) client approval of the questionnaire is carried out at the original signing of the agreement
to conduct research but it merely gives the researcher approval to use a questionnaire as
clients should not be involved in approving the final questionnaire developed by expert
researchers.
E) client approval is merely a legal requirement, and researchers do not encourage clients to
review a questionnaire prior to its approval.
Answer: B
30) Research questions do NOT measure which of the following?
A) attitudes
B) beliefs
C) behaviors
D) ideas
E) demographics
Answer: D
31) Which of the following is true and should be remembered when developing questions?
A) Once the client and researcher agree on what needs to be asked, wording a question is
easy.
B) As long as the question contains words we commonly use in speaking, there will be no
bias.
C) Respondents will not use literal interpretations to answer questions.
D) A single word can make a difference in how respondents respond to a question.
E) The word "anybody" is always safe to use in question development.
Answer: D
32) In terms of developing questions, your text identified several "shoulds" of question
wording. Which of the following is NOT a "should"?
A) The question should be focused on a single issue or topic.
B) The question should be brief.
C) The question should attempt to cover as many topics as possible in order to reduce the
questionnaire's length.
D) The question should be grammatically simple.
E) The questions should be crystal clear.
Answer: C
33) Which of the following questions shows poor wording?
A) Do you always buy audio products from Bose?
B) How often do you buy audio products from Bose?
C) To what extent is price a concern for you?
D) What other audio companies did you consider when you purchased your stereo?
E) How often do you consult Consumer Reports when considering a major purchase?
Answer: A
34) Which of the following is the wrong way to ask if someone has viewed an episode of
Lost?
A) Have you ever seen Lost?
B) Do you always watch Lost?
C) Have you never watched Lost?
D) Have you ever watched and recorded an episode of Lost?
E) All of the above should be avoided.
Answer: E
35) Which of the following answers represents the four guidelines of question wording?
A) focused, simple, complete, crystal clear
B) general, simple, brief, crystal clear
C) focused, simple, brief, crystal clear
D) focused, elaborate, brief, crystal clear
E) general, simple, complete, crystal clear
Answer: C
36) "What are the considerations that would come to your mind while you are confronted
with the decision to have some type of repair done on the automatic icemaker in your
refrigerator, assuming that you noticed it was not making ice cubes as well as it did when you
first bought it?" violates which question wording guideline?
A) focused
B) brief
C) general
D) elaborate
E) complete
Answer: B
37) Which of the following is NOT a leading question?
A) As a Cadillac owner, you are satisfied with your car, aren't you?
B) Have you heard about the satellite radio system everyone is talking about?
C) Don't you see any problems with using your credit card for online purchases?
D) Wouldn't you like to purchase one of the new video games?
E) Do you see any problems with carrying cash while on vacation?
Answer: E
38) A leading question is one that:
A) is used to begin the questionnaire and must be carefully worded for ease of response and
also for interest.
B) is used to begin the questionnaire and should address the key issue of the research project
in case respondents refuse to answer further questions.
C) is worded in such a way that gives the respondent a clue as to how to answer and should
be avoided.
D) is worded in such a way that gives the respondent a clue as to how to answer and should
be used to help the researcher achieve the desired results.
E) all of the above
Answer: C
39) The question "Don't you see any problem with using your credit card online?" is a:
A) clear and focused question.
B) loaded question.
C) leading question.
D) double-barreled question.
E) compound question.
Answer: C
40) A loaded question is a question that:
A) asks the same thing over and over.
B) places undue emphasis on some aspect of the topic.
C) is two different questions posed as one.
D) has buried word elements that make references to universal beliefs.
E) uses words that most respondents would not understand.
Answer: D
41) The question, "Because the Founding Fathers of the United States provided citizens the
right to keep and bear arms in the Bill of Rights, shouldn't you be against gun control
legislation?" is:
A) a loaded question.
B) a question that will trigger confusion.
C) a double-barreled question.
D) appropriate if you are "for" gun control legislation.
E) appropriate if you are "against" gun control legislation.
Answer: A
42) Which of the following is an overstated question?
A) How much would you pay for sunglasses that will protect your eyes?
B) How much would you pay for shoes with a cushioning gel in them?
C) How much would you pay for a child's swimsuit that has a built-in flotation device?
D) How much do you think you would pay for a car with features that would save your life
and possibly the lives of your family members, if you were in a car accident?
E) How much would you pay for a PDA that also provides Internet access?
Answer: D
43) An overstated question is one that:
A) asks the same thing over and over.
B) is two different questions posed as one.
C) places undue emphasis on some aspect of the topic.
D) cues the respondent how to answer.
E) uses words that most respondents would not understand.
Answer: C
44) A double-barreled question is one that:
A) achieves two objectives efficiently.
B) has two subjects and two verbs.
C) poses two different questions in one question and should be used whenever possible to
save space.
D) poses two different questions in one question and should be avoided.
E) feels like an attack on the respondent.
Answer: D
45) "Are you satisfied with the restaurant's food and service?" is an example of what kind of
question?
A) double-barreled
B) overstated
C) leading
D) loaded
E) focused
Answer: A
46) In question development, face validity means that:
A) the respondent can put a face on the interviewer.
B) the interviewer can see the respondent to determine if the respondent is telling the truth.
C) the respondent will answer the same way repeatedly.
D) other researchers believe the question looks right.
E) the question gives the respondent a bad feeling.
Answer: D
47) Questionnaire organization refers to:
A) the way questionnaires are organized in a filing system.
B) the sequence of statements and questions that make up a questionnaire.
C) organizations mainly existing to construct questionnaires.
D) determining if the question looks right.
E) the clarity of a question.
Answer: B
48) Questionnaire organization has the potential to:
A) affect the quality of the information gathered.
B) motivate respondents to be conscientious.
C) discourage respondents.
D) cause respondents to stop answering questions.
E) all of the above
Answer: E
49) The major reason to disguise a survey is:
A) to encourage response; if respondents don't think they are participating in a survey they
are more likely to participate.
B) dependent upon the research objectives; the identity of the sponsor may bias the results.
C) that it takes time and respondents do not care.
D) to violate the "Do not call" rule.
E) to avoid providing incentives.
Answer: B
50) Which of the following is NOT included in the introduction part of the questionnaire?
A) identification of the sponsor/researcher
B) the purpose of the survey
C) explanation of how the respondent was selected
D) demographic questions
E) request for participation
Answer: D
51) An incentive may be used to encourage respondent participation. This means that the
respondent's name is known by the researcher but will not be divulged to a third party,
namely the client:
A) respondent/client indemnity.
B) anonymity.
C) confidentiality.
D) "ghost respondent agreement."
E) respondent protection.
Answer: C
52) Screening questions are used to:
A) increase reliability by screening out respondents with inconsistent answers.
B) shield the true purpose of a question from a respondent.
C) determine whether or not a potential respondent qualifies to take part in a survey based on
certain selection criteria the researcher has deemed essential.
D) increase response rates by screening out unlikely respondents.
E) ensure that certain results will be achieved by choosing your respondents.
Answer: C
53) In terms of locating types of questions on the questionnaire, which of the following is
true?
A) Warm-ups come first, followed by screens, followed by classification questions.
B) Warm-ups are first, transitions are second, and classification questions are last.
C) Screens are first, warm-ups second, and classification questions are last.
D) Complicated and difficult to answer questions must be avoided altogether.
E) Demographic questions should be avoided because they might offend respondents.
Answer: C
54) "Now, for the next few questions, I want to ask about your family's TV viewing habits" is
an example of a:
A) screen.
B) transition.
C) demographic question.
D) warm-up.
E) complicated question.
Answer: B
55) Classification questions are:
A) usually put in the middle of the questionnaire and are used to classify respondents into
various groups for purposes of analysis.
B) usually put at the beginning of the questionnaire and are used to classify respondents into
various groups for purposes of analysis.
C) usually put at the end of the questionnaire and are used to classify respondents into various
groups for purposes of analysis.
D) usually put at the end of the questionnaire and are used to classify the questions
themselves, so that report writing is made easier after data collection and analysis are
complete.
E) usually put at the beginning of the questionnaire and are used to classify the questions
themselves, so that report writing is made easier after data collection and analysis are
complete.
Answer: C
56) Which is true regarding questionnaire design and computer technology?
A) There has been little progress toward integrating questionnaire design and new computer
technology; the only advance has been achieved through word processing programs.
B) The field is very advanced; no one designs questionnaires any longer without the aid of
computer software designed for this purpose.
C) Some companies have bridged the gap between basic word processing and the finished,
polished questionnaire; their products are referred to as computer-assisted questionnaire
design programs.
D) Very few computer-assisted questionnaire design programs allow for publication to the
Internet.
E) Computer-assisted questionnaire design is difficult and time consuming.
Answer: C
57) A typical computer-assisted questionnaire design program will assist the designer by
offering computerized menus for design issues such as:
A) the type of question format.
B) the number of response categories.
C) whether multiple responses are to be used.
D) if skip questions are to be used.
E) All of the above features are typically offered.
Answer: E
58) Coding questions refers to:
A) placing numbers on the questionnaire to facilitate data entry after the survey has been
conducted.
B) predetermining the responses; this makes report writing easier because the report may be
started early, although it is recognized that it will have to be modified once the true results are
reported.
C) coding is no longer used; it has been replaced totally by automated, computerized
interviewing software.
D) analysis methods for scaled-response questions only.
E) conducting a dry run of the survey to see which questions "work".
Answer: A
59) The only time coding is NOT fairly straightforward is when:
A) there are many questions on the questionnaire.
B) any time scaled-response questions are used.
C) there are questions for which there may be multiple responses.
D) closed-ended questions are used.
E) both open-ended and closed-ended questions are used.
Answer: C
60) "All that apply" questions are questions that:
A) ask respondents to pick more than one item from a list of possible responses.
B) allow respondents to respond in any way they wish.
C) ask respondents to apply ideas.
D) encourage respondents to find connections between concepts.
E) ask respondents to pick one item from a list of possible responses.
Answer: A
61) Which of the following is most accurate regarding the pretest of the questionnaire?
A) The client should always be present for the pretest.
B) At least five pretests should be conducted.
C) The pretest should be conducted on a small sample.
D) The pretest should be conducted on a small and representative sample.
E) As many respondents as possible should be used in a pretest.
Answer: D
62) We attempt to measure the properties — sometimes called attributes or qualities — of
objects.
Answer: True
63) Subjective properties are observable and tangible.
Answer: False
64) A scale that is simply "yes" or "no" is said to have origin.
Answer: False
65) The terms "greater than" or "less than" are most commonly used in ordinal scale
measurement techniques.
Answer: True
66) When the distances between scale descriptors are absolute and known, the scale is
referred to as an assumed interval scale.
Answer: False
67) Categorical scales represent scales that are either nominal or ordinal.
Answer: True
68) When a scale has a "true zero" point, it is a nominal scale.
Answer: False
69) Ratio scales are easy for respondents to understand as they are in dollars, times, years, or
some other familiar denomination.
Answer: True
70) Scale development is a process used by marketing researchers to adapt rating scale
formats which facilitate consistent translation of unobservable constructs.
Answer: True
71) Because every research project is different, it is wise to develop a new and novel scale
format to suit the particular needs of the existing situation.
Answer: False
72) A scale that asks consumers the extent to which they agree or disagree with the statement
that Levi's 501s are good looking is a modified Likert scale.
Answer: True
73) The lifestyle inventory is a special application of the modified Likert scale. It measures
activities, interests, and opinions using the Likert question form.
Answer: True
74) A consumer likes the restaurant Red Lobster and answers "Very Satisfied" to a survey
about many dimensions of the restaurant without really paying attention to each specific
dimension, such as price, product quality, atmosphere, and so on. This is an example of what
is known as the halo effect.
Answer: True
75) One of the appealing aspects of the semantic differential scale is that the researcher may
compute averages and plot them on the scale. This creates a "profile" of the object being
measured — store, brand, and so on.
Answer: True
76) Different cultures tend to respond differently to scales, and a scale developed in Western
culture may not be automatically transferred to other cultures.
Answer: True
77) All scale measures must have a middle, neutral response option.
Answer: False
78) A valuable byproduct of using the same scale in global marketing research is that cultural
response biases can be identified and adjustments can be made.
Answer: True
79) A valid measure is one in which a respondent answers in the same or in a very similar
manner to an identical or nearly identical question.
Answer: False
80) A reliable measure is one that is truthful.
Answer: False
81) A measure can be reliable but invalid.
Answer: True
82) A respondent has an income of less than $10,000 but states he earns more than $100,000
during an interview. This is an example of low-reliability.
Answer: False
83) Face validity simply means that the measurement "looks like" it's measuring what it is
intended to measure.
Answer: True
84) One of the functions of the questionnaire is that it serves as the tool for standardizing
questions and response choices so that every respondent responds to identical stimuli.
Answer: True
85) Research has demonstrated that questionnaire design is so important that it directly
affects the quality of the data collected.
Answer: True
86) Questionnaire design is really a process of several interrelated steps.
Answer: True
87) Question bias is defined as wording questions in such a way that they influence the
responses. Researchers should try to maximize question bias in order to achieve the results
desired by clients.
Answer: False
88) To maintain objectivity, clients should not be involved in the questionnaire design
process. Once the research objectives are defined, it is up to the researcher to next provide the
final research report.
Answer: False
89) Gaining the client's approval signature for the questionnaire design is not done until after
the pretest.
Answer: False
90) Question development refers to the practice of selecting appropriate response formats and
wording questions that are understandable, unambiguous, and unbiased.
Answer: True
91) Even a single word can alter the responses to a question on a survey.
Answer: True
92) Because there are many meanings for most words and phrases, questionnaire questions
should be very long to properly define the words contained in the question.
Answer: False
93) Using the word "always" in designing questions is helpful as it places a specific time
parameter around an event.
Answer: False
94) "Would you say you never think about the warranty when buying a major electronic
device?" is a properly worded question for a marketing research questionnaire.
Answer: False
95) To keep respondents from having to respond to long questionnaires and to reduce
respondent fatigue, it is okay to introduce several topics in one question.
Answer: False
96) There is nothing wrong with the following question: "As a BMW owner, you are satisfied
with your car, aren't you?"
Answer: False
97) There is nothing wrong with the following question: "Do you believe Nichols Seafood
Restaurant has good prices and service?"
Answer: False
98) There is nothing wrong with the following question: "Should people be allowed to protect
themselves from harm by using mace as a self-defense?"
Answer: False
99) There is nothing wrong with the following question: "How much do you think you would
pay for a pair of sunglasses that will protect your eyes from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays,
which are known to cause blindness?"
Answer: False
100) The organization of a questionnaire can cause respondents to stop answering questions.
Answer: True
101) In a mail survey, the introduction is normally provided in the "cover letter."
Answer: True
102) In a personal interview, the objective of the introduction should be to maximize the
chance of eliciting the respondents' cooperation to take part in the survey.
Answer: True
103) One reason to disguise the true sponsor of a survey is to prevent alerting competitors to
the survey.
Answer: True
104) Under conditions of anonymity, the researcher assures the respondent that his name will
never be associated with his responses.
Answer: True
105) Screening questions are used to screen out questions that are deemed to be too difficult
or ambiguous for respondents.
Answer: False
106) Warm-up questions are simple and easy-to-answer questions that may or may not
pertain to the research objectives.
Answer: True
107) Transition questions include "skip" questions that determine which question, or set of
questions, will be asked next.
Answer: True
108) Screening questions should be asked at the very end of the questionnaire.
Answer: False
109) Complicated and difficult-to-answer questions should be asked at the very beginning of
the questionnaire before the respondent becomes fatigued.
Answer: False
110) In determining approaches to question organization on a questionnaire, the most
important guiding principle to keep in mind is how researchers will later be able to analyze
the questions.
Answer: False
111) Computer-assisted questionnaire design programs try to ease the researcher's task in
designing questionnaires and often include "question libraries," which contain standard
questions for constructs often measured in marketing research studies (such as importance,
satisfaction, or usage).
Answer: True
112) Although computer-assisted questionnaire design programs allow for the development
of questionnaires, only data analysis-dedicated software programs allow for the data to be
analyzed.
Answer: False
113) With display logic, the questionnaire displays or asks questions that are appropriate
based on the respondent's prior answers.
Answer: True
114) Coding refers to placing numbers on the questionnaire to facilitate data entry after the
survey is completed.
Answer: True
115) If a question has multiple possible answers, such as a question that asks a respondent to
"indicate all that apply," it requires special consideration in terms of coding.
Answer: True
116) Pretests of questionnaires for a study on toy buying by young parents can be done on
colleagues in the research firm, as long as the colleagues are objective and have not been
involved in the development of the questionnaire.
Answer: False
117) Pretests should involve at least one hundred and preferably up to five hundred trial
interviews.
Answer: False
118) Pretests should include as many interviews as possible.
Answer: False
119) Rick Irizarry of Irizarry Insurance Company is conducting a survey of potential
customers. One of his questions asks how much customers would be willing to pay in annual
premium for a $100,000 life insurance policy. Respondents are asked to:
Check appropriate category:
___ $1 to $10 month
___ $11 to $20 month
___ $21 to $30 month
___ $31 to $40 month
___ $41 to $50 month
Rick should consider the type of measurement scale to be:
A) nominal.
B) ordinal.
C) interval.
D) ratio.
E) none of the above
Answer: C
120) Rick Irizarry of Irizarry Insurance Company is conducting a survey of potential
customers. Age is an important issue in determining life insurance premiums. Rick considers
asking for age by asking the respondents to:
Check appropriate category:
___ 16 to 19
___ 20 to 25
___ 26 to 35
___ 36 to 50
___ over 50
Rick should consider the type of the measurement scale to be:
A) nominal.
B) ordinal.
C) interval.
D) ratio.
E) age-related.
Answer: B
121) Rick Irizarry of Irizarry Insurance Company is conducting a survey of potential
customers. Age is an important issue in determining life insurance premiums. Rick considers
asking for age in the following way: How old are you? ___ years
Rick should consider the type of the measurement scale to be:
A) nominal.
B) ordinal.
C) interval.
D) ratio.
E) categorical.
Answer: D
122) Sandra Catrioni is a research analyst at Spellman Research Associates. She has just
completed a study of customers for Brennan's, a department store in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She
asked the question, "How much do you believe you spend on an average trip to a department
store?" She realizes that the type of measurement scale is ratio. However, for her client's
presentation, she wants to create categories of the answers and put them in a bar chart. The
categories will be of unequal amounts. The first category will be "Less than $10" and the
second category will be "$10 to $25," and so on. What effect will this have on the type of
measurement scale she will be using with the new variable for the categories she created?
A) Nothing; once a ratio scale, always a ratio scale.
B) The ratio scale will now become an ordinal scale.
C) The ratio scale will not become an interval scale.
D) The ratio scale will become a nominal scale.
E) The ratio scale will become a bar chart scale.
Answer: B
123) Agnes Montgomery is the director of marketing for Ideal Plastics, Inc. Ideal has
distributors all over the world. Last year, Agnes developed a system for measuring the
distributors' satisfaction levels with Ideal on 20 different dimensions. Each dimension of
company service, such as "Return Policy" and "Ease of Placing an Order," was evaluated by
the distributors on a semantic differential scale ranging from "Very Satisfied" to "Very
Dissatisfied." Now, several months after implementing the system, Agnes has data to
analyze. She noticed that the Asian countries seemed to have different means from the
countries in the UK, United States, and Western Europe. Agnes looked carefully at the actual
scores and saw that Asian distributors seemed to have much stronger feelings, either
positively or negatively. Agnes should:
A) immediately conduct some exploratory research within the Asian division to determine
why the mean scores are so different.
B) take aggressive action in the Asian division by changing the company's procedures on all
the service dimensions having lower means than the other divisions.
C) view the results between countries with major cultural differences cautiously because
different cultural influences affect how individuals respond to scales.
D) view the results among countries with similar cultures cautiously because differences in
means on service dimensions are likely due to reference group influences instead of real
differences in company performance.
E) all of the above
Answer: C
124) Erik Cartman just took a new position with Colorado Research, Inc. Erik's first
customer, the president of a local bank, wanted a bank image study to be conducted
measuring not only the client's bank's image, but that of his competitors as well. In designing
the research project, Erik talked to several of his friends one night about how they viewed
their banks. Erik charged the client for this and billed it as "Exploratory Research—Focus
Group." The next day Erik tried to remember most of what his friends had told him. Some of
the issues were "closeness to home" of branch locations, "cool online banking," and "friendly
tellers." Erik took these issues, made up some of his own and put them into a semantic
differential scale format. After the research study, Erik wrote a report and referred to the
semantic differential scale he devised as a "Standard Marketing Research Scale to Measure
the Construct of Bank Image." What Erik did was:
A) correct; he used exploratory research to generate most of the items for his measurement of
bank image.
B) correct; although he used some of his own opinions, they were based upon experience and
he did make use of a focus group.
C) incorrect; the measurement of bank image was incorrect as bank image should be
measured only by using Likert scales.
D) incorrect; we do not know if the scale Mr. Cartman devised was valid or reliable, but he
was unethical in presenting the measurement as "standard marketing research."
E) correct; Erik saved considerable time and money by creating his own measurement of the
construct.
Answer: D
125) Tommy Cole was reviewing a new employee's work at MAXIM Research. Tommy had
several years of experience in research and was regarded as the company expert in designing
questionnaires. As Tommy read the questionnaire proposed by the new employee, he found
the following question, which had been drafted to measure the occupational status of
respondents:
Check one of the following categories which describes your occupational status.
___ Full-time employment
___ Full-time student
___ Part-time student
___ Unemployed
___ Retired
Which of the following best describes the appropriate action Tommy should take regarding
this question?
A) Approve it; this is a perfectly good question.
B) Approve it; but break "retired" into categories such as "retired military," "retired
government employee," and so on.
C) Disapprove it; the question is "leading" in that it assumes all occupations are either fulltime or part-time.
D) Disapprove it; the question is "loaded" in that it assumes everyone should either be
employed or a student.
E) Disapprove it; the question is "double-barreled" in that someone could be retired and a
full-time student.
Answer: E
126) Patrick Donaldson is using a research firm to better understand a potential target market
for his company's new product, a pain medication. The research design proposed by the
research firm includes randomly surveying consumers who are likely to take the medication
(those older than 65 who have arthritis pains). Patrick views the questionnaire proposed by
the research firm. Two of the questions are: (1) Are you older than 65? If "yes," continue to
Question 2. (2) Do you experience pain from arthritis? If "yes," continue to Question 3.
Questions 1 and 2 are considered to be:
A) disguised questions.
B) skip questions.
C) screening questions.
D) undisguised questions.
E) classification questions.
Answer: C
127) James Strubel is a young attorney who is reviewing a proposed research survey to be
used in an upcoming trial. The case involves potential deceptive advertising claims made in a
TV commercial advertising over-the-counter (i.e., nonprescription) medicine by the
defendant firm. James is commissioning research to determine consumers' understanding of
the claims after they have watched the TV commercial. James wants to separate respondents
into two categories: (a) those who recall having actually seen the TV commercial and (b)
those who do not recall having seen it. For those who do not recall having seen the
commercial, they will be asked to view it before asking questions about their beliefs of the
claims made. James views the questionnaire proposed by the research firm. One of the
questions is: 3. Do you recall having watched a TV commercial featuring XYZ, a pain
reliever for arthritis? If "yes," continue. If "no," go to Question 12. This question would be
considered a(n):
A) disguised question.
B) skip question.
C) screening question.
D) undisguised question.
E) classification question.
Answer: B
128) Diane Dowdy is an assistant project director at ABC Research. Diane has completed
designing a questionnaire to be given to college students for a client and she is now in the
process of coding the questionnaire. Two of the questions are:
What is your classification? ___ Freshman ___ Sophomore ___ Junior ___ Senior
Which on-campus activities would you say are your 'favorites?' (Check all that apply) ___
Varsity sports ___ Greek life ___ Stand-up comedy ___ Campus concerts
How should Diane code the above two questions?
A) 0,1; 1-4
B) 1-4; and 0,1 for each activity
C) 1,2,3,4; and 1-4 for each activity
D) a,b,c,d; and v,g,s,c
E) None of the above, because coding should be done only AFTER data are collected.
Answer: B
Test Bank for Marketing Research
Alvin C. Burns, Ronald F. Bush
9780133074673, 9780134895406, 9780134167404
