Marketing research homework #4
Chapter: 6 Traditional Survey Research
Refer to Questions for Review & Critical Thinking at the end of the chapter. When writing your
answers, be specific and detailed; use complete sentences, and proofread and check spelling
and grammar.
**only the following two questions**
1. The owner of a hardware store in Eureka, California, is interested in determining the
demographic characteristics of people who shop at his store versus those of people who
shop at competing stores. He also wants to know what his image is relative to the
competition. He would like to have the information within three weeks and is working on
a limited budget. Which survey method would you recommend? Why?
● Further instructions for Q1:
○ Note that there are tradeoffs between sampling precision, budget (cost),
requirements for respondent reactions, and quality of data, to name a
few: see the section Determination of the Survey Method (p. 141).
○ Given his constraints, what do you think is the best survey method to
serve his goal? No method excels in every consideration. If so, such a
method will prevail always, and we do not need to think about other
methods).
○ You need to be explicit about the definition of the population under study.
Consider which sampling frames are available or can be used. Given the
definition of the population, which sampling frame would enable him to
actually reach such population units?
1. What types of error might be associated with the following situations?
a. Conducting a survey about attitudes toward city government, using the telephone
directory as a sample frame.
b. Interviewing respondents only between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. on features they
would like to see in a new condominium development.
c. Asking people if they have visited the public library in the past two months.
d. Asking people how many tubes of toothpaste they used in the past year.
e. Telling interviewers they can probe using any particular example they wish to
make up.
●
Further instructions for Q6:
○ Identify the error that emerges in each situation and, more
importantly, state the reason why you think the error is emerging.
Reflect potential ramifications of the given situation.
○ In sub-question (b), consider that it is a telephone interview on
weekdays.
○ For example, formulate your answer this way: “nonresponse bias
would result, because, due to the way the survey is created and
distributed, those who would respond to and complete the survey
are very likely to differ systematically from those who wouldn't feel
like participating in the survey. Happy and satisfied customers are
more likely to participate in the survey, whereas dissatisfied
customers may not have as strong an incentive as happy
customers, because they are not satisfied with the performance of
the brand so that they won't be interested in winning 10 units of
the brand as a prize.”
○