FARE*4360 Marketing Research – Winter 2014–Midterm Exam, February 11, 2014
Name
In total, there are 56 marks in this exam. For each task it is indicated how much it contributes to the total. For multiple choice questions, ticking more answers than indicated will cause a penalty of one mark per redundant answer.
Take your time in reading each task carefully in order to make sure that you understand it correctly.
Write the answers to all questions except the multiple choice ones into the exam booklet.
1) Think of marketing research as a process that consists of five major steps. Which are they? Write them down in the ideal order. (5 marks)
Identifying the Problem/Defining Objectives
Research design (sampling can be put here, too)
Data collection (sampling can be put here, too)
Data analysis
Reporting of findings
One mark for each correct and in correct order. One mark deducted when in non-ideal order.
2) The Likert scale is one of the workhorses in survey research. Below you find an example with an introductory statement. The question is part of a survey that has been sent out to first year commerce students at Canadian universities. There are three things wrong here. Briefly describe what is wrong and how you would correct the mistakes. (6 marks)
Do you agree with the following statement?
My education in Marketing Research will serve me well in my career.
Don’t know.
Strongly agree Strongly disagree
Introduction, “Do you agree with …” is a leading question. Should be replaced with “To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement?”
Instruction of what box to tick is missing. Add, “Tick the box that is closest to your evaluation between the two endpoints of the scale.”
How can first year students know whether the marketing research education will serve them well in their career? It could be replaced with, “Marketing Research is an important part of my education.” It would also be OK, if students write, “The whole question is pointless.”
“Don’t know.” is not the midpoint of the Likert scale. It should be replaced with “Neutral” or “Neither agree nor disagree.” (A separate don’t know option can be provided next to the scale/one mark) or left out entirely.
Suggesting to put numbers into the boxes produces one mark.
One mark for each correctly identified mistake and another mark for a correct remedy.

3) What is a research design? (3 marks)
It is a framework that lays out in detail the plans for sampling, data collection and data analysis.
One mark for “framework” or “lay out”, one for sampling, one for data collection. If data analysis is mentioned and only one or two of the first three, give a mark. If the first three and “data analysis” are mentioned, give a bonus mark.
4) Name three advantages and three disadvantages of open questions in survey research compared to closed questions. (6 marks)
Advantages are: respondents can express answers in their language; respondents are encouraged to provide spontaneous questions; there are no answer categories that suggest answers to the respondents
They are useful for exploring new areas or ones in which the researcher has limited knowledge.
They are useful for generating answer categories for closed questions.
One mark for each correct one, up to 3 in total
Disadvantages are:
They are time-consuming for interviewers to administer.
TThey require greater effort from respondents but may be preferred over standard questionnaire.
WWhen using structured interviews, variability between interviewers can be introduced in the recording of answers.
Interviews have to be transcribed and answers have to be ‘coded’
⇒
increases resources required
One mark for each correct one, up to 3 in total
5) Which of the following statements about pre-tests are true? Tick two. (2 marks)
A pre-test helps identify survey questions that respondents find difficult to understand or refuse to answer because they touch upon sensitive issues.
A pre-test is very expensive as it requires half the sample size of the planned full study.
X

Pre-test participants get experience in how to complete the survey later when they participate in the main study.
Pre-test participants should not be sampled for the main study again.

X

6) In a market research study about soap, respondents were first screened whether they had used a newly introduced soap brand in the previous week and then were asked a number of questions about that brand. One of them is shown below. Identify three mistakes in wording and answer category design and indicate how you would correct them. (6 marks)
How much do you agree with the statement?
“I like the smell of this soap.”? Tick the best category.
___ strongly disagree ___ somewhat disagree ___ somewhat agree __ strongly agree
The introductory question is a leading question. Replace with “To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
The “best category” is an ambiguous term. Replace with something like, “Tick the answer category that is closest to your opinion.”
The horizontal and labelled/verbal answer category design is difficult to read and has a potentially confusing set-up of the spaces to be ticked, i.e. someone who somewhat disagrees, might tick somewhat agree. Replace with vertical design with tick boxes to the right in one straight vertical line or keep horizontal layout with clearly separated answer categories and with check boxes instead of lines.
One mark for each problem correctly identified. One mark for each reasonable remedy suggested. If a student states that the absence of a neutral midpoint is a mistake, no marks, because it is legitimate to leave out the neutral midpoint in a bipolar scale.
7) Marketing research can be used to provide information for decision making in the areas listed below. Please give an example of a marketing research activity for each area. (3 marks)
Identifying/ assessing market opportunities and threats
Generate, refine, and evaluate potential marketing actions
Monitor marketing performance
• Market demand for new products
• Market segmentation
• Product/service use studies
• Competitive analysis
• Explain and counter market share loss
• Marketing mix evaluation testing
• In-store testing
• Reformulation testing
• Pricing tests
• Generating and pretesting advertising
• (TV) ad recall studies
• Radio listener studies
• Magazine viewer/reader studies
• Attitude surveys (before/after)
• Ghost buying
• Tracking studies: do clicks on banner convert to purchase?
• Customer satisfaction studies
• Employee satisfaction studies
• Distributor satisfaction studies
• Website evaluations
For each area, give a mark for an example that somehow fits the list of examples in “its” area.

8) Why are experimental designs not frequently used in business research? Tick one.
Experiments in organizational settings tend to be misused to manipulate people.
(1 mark)

The vast majority of independent variables with which business researchers are concerned cannot be manipulated.
X
Often experiments do not offer confidence in the robustness and trustworthiness of causal findings.

Experiments are not strong in terms of internal validity. 
9) Name three disadvantages of self-completion questionnaires compared to surveys using interviewers. (3 marks)
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Cannot prompt
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Cannot probe
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Cannot ask many questions not salient to respondents
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Difficulty of asking some kinds of questions
•
Questionnaire can be read as a whole
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Do not know who answers
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•
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Cannot collect additional data
Difficult to ask a lot of questions
Not appropriate for some kinds of respondent
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Greater risk of missing data
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Lower response rates (mail questionnaire)
One mark for each correct answer that fits an example from the list, up to three in total.
10) Name three measures to improve response rates of mail questionnaires.
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•
•
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Good cover letter
Further mailings as reminders
Keep short
Clear instructions
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Make Not too bulky
(3 marks)
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Start with questions of interest to respondents
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Personalized covering letters
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Few open questions
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Monetary incentives
One mark for each correct answer that fits an example the list above, up to three in total.