1. Which TWO of the following situations may cause 'response bias'?
i)Emotive language in a survey question
ii)Delay between designing a survey and using it
iii)Using a voluntary-response method that leads to respondents not being representative of the population
iv)Using qualitative rather than quantitative methods
Answers:
• i and ii only
• i and iii only
• ii and iv only
• iii and iv only
2. What is the name for the test that assesses whether the difference between the mean score for a sample and that of the population as a whole is 'statistically significant'?
Answers:
• W-test
• X-test
• Y-test
• Z-test
3. What is the 'mean' of the following data: 3, 11, 5, 6, 7, 5, 6, 5?
Answers:
• 5
• 5.5
• 6
• Impossible to tell
4. Which of the following types of companies would be LEAST interested in 'coolhunting' as a form of market research?
Answers:
• A garment/fabric store
• A supermarket
• A store specializing in electronic gadgets
• A record company
5. What type of measure would be gained by asking consumers to choose which company from a list was the sponsor of an advertisement?
Answers:
• Unaided awareness
• Aided awareness
• Recognition
• Preference
6. For what purpose is the 'Schmidt-Hunter' technique of meta-analysis used?
Answers:
• To determine the reliability of data.
• To combine the results of multiple studies.
• To determine the validity of data.
• To identify the optimal target market for a product.
7. What is the 'modal' value of the following: 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5?
Answers:
• 2
• 3
• 3.25
• Impossible to tell
8. 50 people are asked to respond to a question with the answers Yes/No/Don't know on two occasions. On the first occasion, the responses were 15/25/10 and on the second 18/26/6.
What is the change in the number of positive responses as a percentage of the whole sample?
Answers:
• 3%
• 6%
• 9%
• Impossible to tell
9. Which of the following sources of market-research data would NOT contribute to a study on a retail company's customer conversion rate?
Answers:
• Monitoring the number of hits on the company web site
• Counting the number of customers entering the company's stores
• Sales data from checkouts
• Using a mystery shopper
10. What is the 'range' of the following data: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4?
Answers:
• 2.5
• 3
• 8
• Impossible to tell
11. Which of the following statements is/are true?
i)Comparing weighted scores for key industry success factors (e.g. economies of scale) between competitors is known as 'competitor array analysis'.
ii)Benchmarking is an effective means of identifying the best industry practice.
Answers:
• Both (i) and (ii) are true.
• Only (i) is true.
• Only (ii) is true.
• Neither is true.
12. Which of the following best describes 'secondary' market research?
Answers:
• Research that is designed to corroborate previous research
• Market research that relates to other companies rather than end consumers
• The collation of data that was previously gathered for different pieces of research
• Research based on data that relates to consumers' previous habits rather than their future intentions
13. In which of the following pieces of information would a mystery shopper NOT be fundamentally interested?
Answers:
• Timeliness of response
• Technical specifications of a product
• Staff customer-service skills
• Levels of hygiene
14. What is meant by the expression 'Type II error'?
Answers:
• An error caused by bias in responses
• An error caused by non-representative character of a sample
• The rejection of a true hypothesis
• An error caused by too small a size of the sample to draw a meaningful conclusion
15. What does a correlation of '-1' between two variables indicate?
Answers:
• That there is a slight negative correlation between the variables.
• That there is no correlation between the variables.
• That there is a perfect negative correlation between the variables.
• That the variables are independent.
16. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of 'covert observational' market research?
Answers:
• The activity is controlled and, therefore, yields consistent results.
• The subjects' approval need not be sought.
• Results can be analyzed after the event.
• Behavior is not affected by the researcher.
17. Which of the following is NOT a component of the 'marketing research mix'?
Answers:
• Purpose
• Population
• Product
• Publication
18. A PEST analysis can be used to identify the external factors affecting a market. What does the 'P' of PEST stand for?
Answers:
• Product
• Promotion
• Political
• Pricing
19. Which of the following MUST be true for a market that is 'price elastic'?
Answers:
• A price cut causes total revenue to decrease.
• A price increase causes total revenue to decrease.
• A price cut causes the number of units sold to increase.
• A price increase causes the number of units sold to increase.
20. If the following responses were received regarding a statement in a survey, what is the percentage of those who opposed the statement?
Strongly agree: 86
Agree: 212
Neither agree Nor disagree: 127
Disagree:62
Strongly disagree:13
Answers:
• 5%
• 15%
• 20%
• Impossible to tell
21. If a company commissioned market research to look at the potential effect of changing an attribute of a product (e.g. its colour), what specific type of market research would it be?
Answers:
• Causal
• Observational
• Secondary
• Qualitative
22. Which of the following is NOT an 'experimental' form of market research?
Answers:
• Traffic audit
• Pilot roll-out
• Blind test
• Extended user test
23. Which of the following is/are problems associated with surveys as a method of market research?
i)They cannot access a large sample size.
ii)There is potential for response bias.
Answers:
• Both (i) and (ii) are true.
• Only (i) is true.
• Only (ii) is true.
• Neither is true.
24. Which of the following is an example of a 'closed' question?
Answers:
• "Why do you get up early in the morning?"
• "Who is your favorite baseball player?"
• "When shall we go to the restaurant?"
• "Do you like Mozart?"
25. Which of the following situations would be LEAST likely to encourage a company to consider re-positioning itself?
Answers:
• A pronounced change in the economic climate
• A reduction in production costs
• A sustained fall in sales
• A large entrant to the market
26. Companies may be forced to remain in an unprofitable market because they have, for example, invested heavily in infrastructure. What are these factors known as?
Answers:
• Golden handcuffs
• Barriers to exit
• Escape clauses
• Transfer costs
27. Which of the following conclusions should be drawn from the voting phenomenon commonly known as the 'Bradley effect' (or 'Wilder effect')?
Answers:
• People's behavior does not necessarily follow their stated intentions.
• People do not consume as much of a product as they say they will.
• People are, ultimately, less concerned about ethical issues than financial ones.
• People will generally see through false claims.
28. Which of the following problems is caused by 'collinearity' within data?
Answers:
• It exaggerates the potential market.
• It causes less important factors to have a disproportionate influence on the outcome.
• It prevents the analysis of pricing-related factors.
• It makes it impossible to tell which of a number of factors caused a particular behavior.
29. If 25% of the respondents reported that they would buy product A and 48% reported they would buy product B, how many respondents would buy both?
Answers:
• 12%
• 23%
• 36.5%
• Impossible to tell
30. What is the 'Fourt-Woodlock' model used to make predictions?
Answers:
• The sales breakdown of a product by different age groups
• Product sales, based on the number of trial purchases converted into repeat purchases
• Seasonal variation in demand for a product
• Sales volumes at each stage of the product life-cycle
31. What sub-set of a set of data is covered by the 'box' element of a box-and-whisker diagram (or 'box plot')?
Answers:
• The first and second quartiles
• The second and third quartiles
• The third and fourth quartiles
• The first and fourth quartiles
32. What is the name given to the effect whereby people carry out an activity differently if the management is taking an interest in or monitoring them?
Answers:
• Eddington effect
• Fowlds effect
• Hawthorne effect
• Norton effect
33. Market research can be used to characterize a particular market. Which of the following characterizes a 'perfect' market?
Answers:
• High barriers to entry, many sellers
• High barriers to entry, few sellers
• Low barriers to entry, few sellers
• Low barriers to entry, many sellers
34. Which of the following statements is/are true?
i)The data on which secondary market research is based is unlikely to be tailored precisely to the requirements of the task.
ii)Secondary market research tends to be more expensive than primary research.
Answers:
• Both (i) and (ii) are true.
• Only (i) is true.
• Only (ii) is true.
• Neither is true.
35. What does it mean to say that a test is "significant at the 2% level"?
Answers:
• That 2% of the respondents agreed with the assertion.
• That 98% of the respondents agreed with the assertion.
• That 52% of the respondents agreed with the assertion.
• That there is a 2% chance of a false-positive result.
36. Forecasting is made difficult by the fact that tiny initial variations can have significant long-term effects. What is this phenomenon known as?
Answers:
• Elephant effect
• Butterfly effect
• Hummingbird effect
• Grasshopper effect
37. Which of the following goals is most commonly associated with the use of 'projective' techniques in market research?
Answers:
• To identify the target market for a product
• To identify the best mediums in which to advertise a product
• To identify how to increase market share
• To identify the feelings associated with a brand
38. Which of the following is NOT a problem associated with postal surveys?
Answers:
• Follow-up questions cannot be asked.
• Respondents do not get time to consider responses.
• Response rate is low.
• Collating data is time-consuming.
39. Which of the following is a statistical measure used to calculate how widely-spread a set of data is?
Answers:
• Standard deviation
• Correlation
• Regression analysis
• Median
40. Which of the following is/are typical problems associated with 'observational' market research?
i) It increases the potential for bias.
ii) It reveals little about motivation.
iii) It relies on the honesty of the participants.
Answers:
• None of the above
• i only
• ii only
• iii only
41. Which of the following best describes the phenomenon of 'optimism bias'?
Answers:
• The tendency to assume that things will work out well
• The tendency to assume that things will work out badly
• The overestimation of low-probability negative outcomes
• The underestimation of low-probability positive outcomes
42. Which of the following is true of a market with a 'zero-profit condition'?
Answers:
• New companies are unlikely to enter because profit margins are low.
• Only not-for-profit organizations are allowed.
• New companies can easily enter the market, preventing those in the market from making high profits.
• New entrants will make a profit only after having been several years in the market.
43. It is important that surveys actually measure what they are intended to. Which of the following terms describes this consideration?
Answers:
• Validity
• Reliability
• Significance
• Generalizability
44. Which of the following is/are typical 'barriers to entry'?
i)Existing contracts held by the company
ii)Redundancy costs
iii)Equipment that cannot be sold or reconfigured
Answers:
• None of the above
• i only
• ii only
• iii only
45. Which of the following best characterizes face-to-face surveys relative to other types of surveys?
Answers:
• Low response rate, low cost
• Low response rate, high cost
• High response rate, low cost
• High response rate, high cost
46. Which of the following is NOT a function performed by the 'management information' system?
Answers:
• Data gathering and data processing
• The formulation of hypotheses
• The dissemination of information to marketing managers
• Storage and retention of data
47. Which of the following are reasons for a company undertaking 'price elasticity analysis'?
i)Determining the types of people who buy a product
ii)Identifying 'price points' in the market for a product
iii)Investigating the effects of price changes on sales
Answers:
• i and ii
• i and iii
• ii and iii
• All of the above
48. Which of the following models the process by which new products are taken up amongst a population of potential customers?
Answers:
• Taylor's exchange theorem
• Harvey's spread algorithm
• Bass diffusion model
• Young's flow diagram
49. To what end do market researchers use 'choice modeling'?
Answers:
• To determine the best wording of questions in surveys
• To make predictions about human decision making behavior
• To test possible marketing material on consumers
• To optimize product placement
50. Which of the following best defines the term 'Market Segmentation'?
Answers:
• The grouping of consumers on the basis of similar needs
• The division of staff into sales teams along geographical lines
• The categorization of people by the volume of consumption
• The preparation of the marketing campaign for the target market
