Marketing research testbank Chap 13 PDF

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Chapter 13FieldworkTrue/False Questions Fieldwork is the sixth step in the marketing research process. (False, moderate, page 387) The persons who design the research frequently collect marketing research data. (False, moderate, page 388) All fieldwork involves the selection, training, and supervisi...

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Chapter 13 Fieldwork True/False Questions 1. Fieldwork is the sixth step in the marketing research process. (False, moderate, page 387) 2. The persons who design the research frequently collect marketing research data. (False, moderate, page 388) 3. All fieldwork involves the selection, training, and supervision of persons who collect data. (True, moderate, page 388) 4. Researchers generally agree that the more characteristics the interviewer and the respondent have in common, the smaller the probability of a successful interview. (False, easy, page 389) 5. The typical interviewer is a married woman age 25 to 34, with an above-average education and an above-average household income. (False, moderate, page 389) 6. All training of field workers should be conducted in person at a central location. (False, moderate, page 390) 7. Training ensures that all interviewers administer the questionnaire in the same manner so that the data can be collected uniformly. (True, easy, page 390) 8. A slight change in the wording, sequence, or manner in which a question is asked does not distort its meaning or bias the response. (False, moderate, page 390) 9. (AO?) stands for the probing comment “any other reason.” (True, moderate, page 391) 10. Interviewers should record responses after the interview. (False, moderate, page 391) 11. When recording respondents’ answers, interviewers should include all probes and comments. (True, moderate, page 391)

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12. As a part of central office control, supervisors should keep a record of hours worked and expenses. (False, difficult, page 393) 13. Cheating involves falsifying part of a question or the entire questionnaire. (True, easy, page 393) 14. To validate the study, the supervisors call 25 to 30 percent of the respondents to inquire whether the field workers actually conducted the interviews. (False, moderate, pages 393) 15. The evaluation of field workers should be based on the criteria of cost and time, response rates, quality of interviewing, and quality of data. (True, moderate, page 393) 16. If interviewer costs differ by city size, comparisons should be made only among field workers working in comparable cities. (False, moderate, page 393) 17. Supervisors can help interviewers with an inordinate number of refusals by listening to the introductions they use and providing immediate feedback. (True, easy, page 393) 18. The quality of interviewing should be evaluated in terms of the appropriateness of the introduction. (True, easy, page 394) Multiple Choice Questions 19. Which of the following activities is not fieldwork? a. a worker mailing questionnaires from an office b. an observer counting customers in a particular section of a store c. a statistician analyzing the results of a survey d. a telephone interviewer calling from a central location (c, easy, page 387)

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20. The Council for Marketing and Opinion Research offered several guidelines for reducing refusal rates related to fieldwork. Which of the following is not one of those guidelines? a. Interviewer training programs should be routinely administered so that field workers will be effective at their jobs. b. Courtesy should be exercised when deciding what hours of the day to call respondents. Calling between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. is recommended. c. If mall respondents indicate the time is not convenient, an appointment should be made to conduct the interview later. d. Interviewers must have good reading and writing skills. (d, moderate, page 387) 21. Which of the following is not one of the general qualifications of fieldworkers? a. healthy b. outgoing c. pleasant appearance d. all of the above (d, easy, page 389) 22. The training of field workers is critical. Which of the following statements is not true regarding making the initial contact? a. Interviewers should be trained to make opening remarks that will convince potential respondents that their participation is important. b. The interviewer should specifically ask the respondent’s permission. c. The interviewer should be instructed on handling objections and refusals. d. The initial contact can result in cooperation or the loss of potential respondents. (b, moderate, page 390) 23. Which of the following initial contact statements should be avoided? a. May I have some of your valuable time? b. We highly value your opinion and would like to ask you a few questions. c. Would you like to answer a few questions? d. Both a and c should be avoided. (d, easy, page 390) 24. If you are receiving field worker training and you are being told to “Ask questions in the order in which they appear in the questionnaire;” and to “Repeat questions that are not understood,” then you are learning about which aspect of field worker training? a. probing b. making initial contact c. asking questions d. recording the answer (c, moderate, page 390)

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25. Which statement is not true about probing? a. Probing is intended to motivate respondents to enlarge on, clarify, or explain their answers. b. Probing helps respondents focus on the specific content of the interview and provide only relevant information. c. Changing the phrasing or order of questions during the interview can make significant differences in the response obtained. d. Probing should not introduce any bias. (c, easy, page 390) 26. All of the following are commonly used probing techniques except: a. using objective/neutral questions or comments b. ask each applicable question c. boosting or reassuring the respondent d. eliciting clarification (b, moderate, page 391) 27. Which statement is correct about terminating the interview? a. Any spontaneous comments the respondent offers after the formal questions have been asked should be recorded. b. The interviewer should answer the respondent’s questions about the project. c. The respondent should be left with a positive feeling about the interview. d. All of the above statements are correct. (d, easy, page 391) 28. Supervision of field workers includes all of the following except: a. quality control and editing b. sampling c. control of cheating d. central office control (b, moderate, page 392) 29. Which aspect of supervising field workers requires checking to see if the field procedures are being properly implemented? a. quality control and editing b. control of cheating c. central office control d. sampling control (a, moderate, page 392)

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30. Supervisors involved in quality control and editing should do all of the following except: a. Supervisors should do some interviewing. b. Supervisors should provide tabulation of important demographic characteristics. c. Supervisors should collect questionnaires and other forms and edit them daily. d. Supervisors should keep a record of hours worked and expenses. (b, moderate, page 392) 31. Which aspect of supervision ensures that the interviewers strictly follow the sampling plan rather than select sampling units based on convenience or accessibility? a. quality control and editing b. control of cheating c. central office control d. sampling control (d, easy, page 393) 32. Which aspect of supervision includes tabulation of quota variables, important demographic characteristics, and answers to key variables? a. quality control and editing b. control of cheating c. central office control d. sampling control (c, moderate, page 393) 33. Supervisor should keep daily records of the number of calls made, number of not-athomes, number of refusals, number of completed interviews for each interviewer, and the total for all interviewers under their control. These daily records are a part of _____. a. quality control and editing b. control of cheating c. central office control d. sampling control (d, difficult, page 393) 34. _____ means verifying that the field workers are submitting authentic interviews. a. Validation of fieldwork b. Sampling control c. Control of cheating d. Evaluation of field workers (a, moderate, page 393)

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35. The evaluation of field workers should be based on which of the following criteria? a. cost and time b. response rates c. quality of the data d. all of the above (d, easy, page 393) 36. Field workers should be evaluated on which of the following: a. time spent interviewing b. time spent on administration activities c. time spent traveling d. all of the above (d, moderate, page 394) 37. The quality of interviewing should be evaluated in terms of: a. Interpersonal skills displayed during the interview b. The ability to record all replies verbatim c. The manner in which the interview is terminated d. a and c are correct (d, moderate, page 394) 38. The quality of interviewing should be evaluated in terms of: a. the precision with which the field worker asks questions b. the ability to ask sensitive questions c. the ability to probe in an unbiased manner d. all of the above are correct (d, moderate, page 394) 39. Indicators of quality data include all of the following except: a. providing a tally on each terminated interview and the reason for termination b. item nonresponse occurs infrequently c. all instructions, including skip patterns, are followed d. the answers to unstructured questions are meaningful and complete enough to be coded (a, moderate, page 394) 40. Which statement does not apply only to international research? a. Local fieldwork agencies are unavailable in many countries. b. Local field workers can create an appropriate climate for the interview and be sensitive to the concerns of the respondents. c. The completed questionnaires of each interviewer should be evaluated for the quality of data. d. Interviewer cheating may be more of a problem in many foreign countries than in the United States. (c, easy, page 395)

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41. Respecting the respondent’s privacy, feelings, and dignity and ensuring the integrity of the data collection process are aspects of _____. a. ethics in marketing research b. evaluation of field workers c. training of field workers d. supervision of field workers (a, difficult, page 396) 42. The Internet can help with fieldwork in which of the following areas: a. central office control b. evaluation of field workers c. validation of fieldwork d. all of the above (d, easy, page 396)

Essay Questions 43. List the guidelines for asking questions. Answer • Be thoroughly familiar with the questionnaire. • Ask the questions in the order in which they appear in the questionnaire. • Use the exact wording given in the questionnaire. • Read each question slowly. • Repeat questions that are not understood. • Ask every applicable question. • Follow instructions and skip patterns, probing carefully. (difficult, page 390) 44. Discuss four of the probing techniques. Answer • Repeating the question. Repeating the question in the same words can be effective in eliciting a response. • Repeating the respondent’s reply. Respondents can be stimulated to provide further comments by repeating verbatim their replies. This can be done as the interviewer records the replies. • Using a pause or silent probe. A silent probe, or an expectant pause or look, can cue the respondent to provide a more complete response. However, the silence should not become embarrassing. • Boosting or reassuring the respondent. If the respondent hesitates, the interviewer should reassure the respondent with comments like, “There are no right or wrong answers. We are just trying to get your opinions.” If the respondent needs an explanation of a word or phrase, the interviewer should not offer an interpretation.

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Rather, the responsibility for the interpretation should be returned to the respondent. This can be done with a comment such as, “Whatever it means to you.” • Eliciting clarification. The respondent’s motivation to cooperate with the interviewer and provide complete answers can be aroused with a question like, “I don’t quite understand what you mean by that—could you please tell me a little more?” • Using objective/neutral questions or comments. Some common questions or comments used as probes and the corresponding abbreviations are: Any other reason? (AO?), Anything else? (AE or Else?), What do you mean? (What mean?), and Why do you feel that way? (Why?). The interviewer should record the abbreviations on the questionnaire in parentheses next to the question asked. (moderate, pages 390-391) 45. How can the Internet help with fieldwork? Answer Regardless of which method is used for interviewing (telephone, personal, mail, or electronic), the Internet can play a valuable role in all the phases of fieldwork: selection, training, supervision, validation, and evaluation of field workers. As far as selection is concerned, interviewers can be located, interviewed, and hired by using the Internet. This process can be initiated, for example, by posting job vacancy notices for interviewers at the company Web site, bulletin boards, and other suitable locations. Similarly, the Internet, with its multimedia capabilities, can be a good supplementary tool for training the field workers in all aspects of interviewing. Training in this manner can complement personal training programs and add value to the process. Supervision is enhanced by facilitating communication between the supervisors and the interviewers via e-mail and secured chatrooms. Central office control can be strengthened by posting progress reports, quality, and cost-control information on a secured location at a Web site, so that it is easily available to all the relevant parties. Validation of fieldwork, especially for personal and telephone interviews, can be easily accomplished for those respondents who have an e-mail address or access to the Internet. These respondents can be sent a short verification survey by e-mail or asked to visit a Web site where the survey is posted. Finally, the evaluation criteria can be communicated to the field workers during the training stage by using the Internet, and performance feedback can also be provided to them by using this medium. (difficult, page 396)

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