Chapter 7—Qualitative Research

TRUE/FALSE

1. Qualitative research is subjective in the sense that the results are researcher-dependent.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 132

OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

2. Quantitative research is especially useful when it is difficult to develop specific and actionable
decision statements or research objectives.

ANS: F
This is a situation in which qualitative research is useful.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 132 OBJ: LO: 07-01

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

3. Quantitative research address research objectives through empirical assessments that involve
numerical measurement and analytical approaches.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 134

OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

4. Qualitative research is objective.

ANS: F
Qualitative research is subjective.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 134 OBJ: LO: 07-01

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

5. When different researchers reach different conclusions based on the same interview, the research lacks
intersubjective certifiability.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 134

OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

6. Qualitative research is cheaper than quantitative research.

ANS: F
Not necessarily so.    Although fewer respondents have to be interviewed, the greater researcher
involvement in both the data collection and analysis can drive up the costs of qualitative research.

PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 135 OBJ: LO: 07-01

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

7. Most exploratory research designs produce qualitative data.

 ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 135
OBJ: LO: 07-02
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

8. Phenomenology represents a philosophical approach to studying human experiences based on the idea
that human experience itself is inherently subjective and determined by the context in which people
live.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 136

OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

9. A hermeneutic unit refers to a participant in a focus group interview.

ANS: F
A    hermeneutic unit refers to a text passage from a respondent’s story that is linked with a key theme
from within this story or provided by the researcher.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 137 OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

10. Studying cultures using methods that involve becoming highly active within that culture is called
phenomenology.

ANS: F
This is called ethnography.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 138 OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

11. Observation is a major way information is gathered in ethnography.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 138

OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

12. Phenomenology represents an inductive investigation in which the researcher poses questions about
information provided by respondents or taken from historical records.

ANS: F
This is grounded theory.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 139 OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

13. Case studies involve documented history of a particular person, group, organization, or event.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 139

OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

14. A primary advantage of the case study is that an entire organization or entity can be investigated in
depth.
 ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 139
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

15. Case studies are analyzed for important themes identified by the frequency with which the same term
arises.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 139

OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

16. A focus group typically involves a rigid question-and-answer session among participants.

ANS: F
A focus group interview is an unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small group of people.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 141 OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

17. Focus groups, while useful, take considerable time and effort to execute.

ANS: F
Focus groups are relatively fast and easy to execute.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 142 OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

18. Leapfrogging is a procedure in which one respondent stimulates thought among the others in a focus
group.

ANS: F
This is called piggybacking.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 142 OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

19. The ideal size of a focus group is 20 to 25 people.

ANS: F
The ideal size is 6 to 10 people.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 143 OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

20. A focus group moderator needs to be a good talker and dominate the group discussion to keep it on
track.

ANS: F
A good moderator usually says less rather than more and directs verbal traffic capably without turning
off productive participants.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 145 OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension
21. A focus group discussion guide includes written introductory comments, informing the group about the
focus group purpose and rules and then outlines topics or questions to be asked in the group session.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 145

OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

22. A focus blog is established for the purpose of collecting qualitative data from an informal, continuous
focus group.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 147

OBJ: LO: 07-05
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

23. In online focus group sessions, the moderator's ability to probe is greater than it is in a face-to-face
focus group session.

ANS: F
The moderator’s ability to probe and ask additional questions on the spot is reduced in online focus
groups.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 148 OBJ: LO: 07-05

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

24. Laddering is an approach to probing, asking respondents to compare differences between brands at
different levels that produces distinctions at different levels.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 149

OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

25. Depth interviews are less expensive than focus group interviews, especially if several depth interviews
are conducted.

ANS: F
The costs are similar if only one to two interviews are conducted.    However, if a dozen or more
interviews are conducted, the costs are higher than focus group interviews due to the increased
interviewing and analysis time.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 150 OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

26. The sentence completion method is a type of free-association technique.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 151

OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

27. The thematic apperception test (TAT) presents subjects with an ambiguous picture in which consumers
and products are the center of attention.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 152

OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge
 28. The term interpretive research is often used to mean qualitative research.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 154

OBJ: LO: 07-07
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

29. One advantage of qualitative research is that it is highly replicable.

ANS: F
Replicable means another researchers’ interpretation would match the initial interpretation, which is
not always the case.

PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 154 OBJ: LO: 07-07

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

30. The primary barriers to scientific decisions are time, money, and consensus.

ANS: F
The barriers are time, money, and emotion.

PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 155 OBJ: LO: 07-07

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Research that addresses business objectives through techniques allowing the researcher to provide
elaborate interpretations of business phenomena without depending on numerical measurement is
called _____.
a. preliminary research
b. primitive research
c. qualitative research
d. secondary research
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 132
OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

2. Kodetra is interpreting consumers’ blog postings on the Internet.    Which of the following best
describes the type of research Kodetra is conducting?
a. independent business research
b. dependent business research
c. quantitative business research
d. qualitative business research
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 132
OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

3. Qualitative research is considered to be _____ because the researcher must extract meaning from
unstructured responses.
a. researcher-dependent
b. less valid
c. less useful
 d. object-dependent
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 132
OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

4. All of the following are situations that often call for qualitative research EXCEPT _____.
a. when it is difficult to develop specific and actionable decision statements or research
objectives
b. when conclusive evidence is desired
c. when the research objective is to develop an understanding of some phenomena in great
detail and in much depth
d. when a fresh approach to studying some problem is needed
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 132
OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

5. Research that addresses research objectives through empirical assessments that involve numerical
measurement and analysis approaches is called _____.
a. quantitative business research
b. qualitative business research
c. extensive business research
d. grounded business research
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 134
OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

6. Researcher-dependent results are _____.

a. subjective
b. objective
c. primary
d. secondary
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 134
OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

7. When different researchers reach the same conclusions based on the same interview data, the research
is said to have _____.
a. validity
b. intersubjective certifiability
c. subjective validity
d. qualitative validity
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 134
OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

8. Which type of data are not characterized by numbers and instead are textual, visual, or oral?
a. grounded data
b. quantitative data
c. subjective data
d. qualitative data
 ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 135
OBJ: LO: 07-02
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

9. All of the following are qualitative research orientations EXCEPT _____.

a. phenomenology
b. grounded theory
c. case studies
d. ANOVA
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 136
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

10. Which qualitative research orientation originated in philosophy and psychology?

a. phenomenology
b. grounded theory
c. ethnography
d. anthropology
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 136
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

11. Ethnography is a qualitative research orientation originating in _____.

a. marketing
b. psychology
c. anthropology
d. sociology
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 136
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

12. Which qualitative research orientation originated in sociology?

a. phenomenology
b. grounded theory
c. ethnography
d. case studies
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 136
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

13. Owen is a researcher who studies human experiences based on the idea that it is inherently subjective
and determined by the context in which people live.    He focuses on how a person’s behavior is shaped
by the relationship he or she has with the physical environment, objects, people, and situation.    Which
qualitative research orientation is Owen using?
a. grounded theory
b. phenomenology
c. ethnography
d. case study
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 136
OBJ: LO: 07-03
 NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

14. Which of the following is an important approach used in phenomenology?

a. netnography
b. ethnography
c. grounded theory
d. hermeneutics
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 137
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

15. Which of the following is an approach to understanding phenomenology that relies on analysis of texts
through which a person tells a story about him- or herself?
a. hermeneutics
b. ethnography
c. psychographics
d. psychodynamics
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 137
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

16. A text passage from a respondent’s story that is linked with a key theme from within this story or
provided by the researcher is called    _____.
a. trace element
b. schemata
c. hermeneutic unit
d. case study
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 137
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

17. _____ is a way of studying culture through methods that involve becoming highly active within that
culture.
a. Grounded theory
b. Ethnography
c. Phenomenology
d. Case studies
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 138
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

18. Cindy is an ethnographer who is trying to better understand how mothers take care of toddlers.    Being
a mother herself, she was able to join a mother’s group and spent considerable time immersed within
that culture.    From this immersion, she is able to draw data from her observations.    Cindy is referred
to as a(n) _____.
a. interloper
b. participant-observer
c. moderator
d. mystery shopper
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 138
 OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

19. Which qualitative research orientation extracts a theory from whatever emerges from an area of
inquiry?
a. phenomenology
b. ethnography
c. grounded theory
d. case study
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 139
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

20. What is the distinguishing characteristic of grounded theory?

a. Culture is analyzed by participant-observation in which the researcher becomes
“grounded” in the culture over a long period of time.
b. It relies on analysis of texts in which a person tells a story about him- or herself.
c. The interplay among respondents allows them to piggyback off of each other’s ideas.
d. It does not begin with a theory but instead extracts one from whatever emerges from an
area of inquiry.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 139
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

21. _____ represent(s) the documented history of a particular person, group, organization, or event.
a. Case studies
b. Phenomenology
c. netnography
d. Attribution theory
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 139
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

22. When Schwinn studies its most successful retailer in depth in order to determine some better ideas for
displaying bicycles in its retail stores, this is an example of _____.
a. an experiment
b. a test market
c. a case study
d. causal research
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 139
OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

23. In case studies, _____ are identified by the frequency with which the same term (or a synonym) arises
in the narrative description.
a. themes
b. threats
c. links
d. ladders
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 139
 OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

24. An unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small group of people led by a trained moderator is
called a(n) _____.
a. interaction group interview
b. focus group interview
c. depth interview
d. ethnographic interview
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 141
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

25. Which of the following is the most common size of a focus group?
a. 1-2 participants
b. 3-5 participants
c. 6-10 participants
d. 12-20 participants
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 142
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

26. Betsy and six other women are participating in a research study that is an unstructured, free-flowing
interview.    The researcher asked the group their feelings about how they are treated at work.    Betsy is
participating in a _____.
a. case study
b. grounded research study
c. depth interview
d. focus group interview
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 142
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

27. Which of the following is an advantage of focus group interviews?

a. provide multiple perspectives
b. low degree of scrutiny
c. inexpensive
d. easy to use for sensitive topics
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 142
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

28. In a focus group discussion, when the comments of one member triggers a stream of comments from
the other participants, this is called _____.
a. serendipity
b. piggyback
c. structure
d. themes
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 142
OBJ: LO: 07-06
 NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

29. The person who leads a focus group interview and ensures that everyone gets a chance to speak and
facilitates discussion is called a(n) _____.
a. moderator
b. interviewer
c. facilitator
d. leader
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 145
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

30. Which of the following is a good characteristic for a focus group moderator to possess?
a. good listener
b. ability to make people feel comfortable so that they will talk in the group
c. ability to control discussion without being overbearing
d. all of these choices
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 145
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

31. The written set of guidelines that describes an outline of topics to be covered by a focus group
moderator is called a _____.
a. discussion guide
b. TAT test
c. concept test
d. case study
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 145
OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

32. A type of informal, “continuous” focus group established as an Internet blog for the purpose of
collecting qualitative data from participants is referred to as a _____.
a. net group
b. market blog
c. focus blog
d. focus unit
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 147
OBJ: LO: 07-05
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

33. Which of the following is a disadvantage of focus groups?

a. requires objective, sensitive, and effective moderators
b. may not be useful for discussing sensitive topics
c. high cost
d. all of these choices
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 148
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension
34. When a professional interviewer holds a 90-minute discussion with one member of the target market to
find out why that respondent purchases a particular brand of clothing, this is an example of a _____.
a. depth interview
b. concept test
c. focus interview
d. hermeneutic analysis
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 149
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

35. Which type of qualitative tool is an informal and almost completely unstructured approach in which
the researcher engages a respondent in a discussion of the relevant subject matter?
a. depth interview
b. conversation
c. focus group
d. free-association
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 150
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

36. Hank is a researcher who is discussing football fan behavior with a respondent.    His approach is
almost completely unstructured, and he enters into a discussion with few expectations.    What he
wants is for a respondent to tell him about his or her experience as a football fan.    Hank will then try
to derive meaning from the resulting dialog.    Which qualitative research technique is Hank using?
a. conversation
b. focus group
c. depth interview
d. case study
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 150
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

37. All of the following are advantages of semi-structured interviews EXCEPT _____.
a. ability to address more specific issues
b. responses are usually easier to interpret than other qualitative approaches
c. questions are administered without the presence of an interviewer
d. high degree of scrutiny
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 150
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

38. Which qualitative tool simply records a respondent’s first cognitive reaction (top-of-mind) to some
stimulus?
a. phenomenology
b. conversations
c. probing
d. free-association techniques
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 151
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge
 39. When the respondent is presented with:    “People who watch football on television are ________,” and
asked to fill in the blank, this is an example of a _____.
a. word association test
b. concept test
c. case study
d. sentence completion test
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 151
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

40. _____ are the researcher’s descriptions of what actually happens in the field and are the text from
which meaning is extracted.
a. Hermeneutics
b. Field notes
c. Discussion guides
d. Verbatims
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 152
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

41. Stephanie was asked to look at a picture of a woman sitting on a deserted beach and to describe what
was happening in the picture.    She was then asked to tell what might happen next.    Stephanie was
participating in a(n) _____.
a. aptitude test
b. focus interview
c. thematic apperception test
d. focus blog
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 152
OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

42. Which of the following means the same conclusion would be reached based on another researcher’s
interpretation of the research?
a. validity
b. replicable
c. homogeneity
d. scrutiny
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 154
OBJ: LO: 07-07
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

COMPLETION

1. Research that addresses marketing objectives through techniques that allow the researcher to provide
elaborate interpretations of business phenomena without depending on numerical measurement is
referred to as _____ business research.

ANS: qualitative
 PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 132 OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

2. Qualitative research results are _____ because they are researcher-dependent.

ANS: subjective

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 134 OBJ: LO: 07-01

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

3. Most exploratory research designs do not usually product _____ data.

ANS: quantitative

PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 135 OBJ: LO: 07-02

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

4. Ethnography originated from the discipline of _____.

ANS: anthropology

PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 136 OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

5. _____ represents a philosophical approach to studying human experiences based on the idea that
human experience itself is inherently subjective and determined by the context in which people live.

ANS: Phenomenology

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 136 OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

6. The typical ethnographic approach requires the use of _____.

ANS: participant-observation

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 138 OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

7. An in-depth study of a major competitor in order to determine how to improve your organization's
product line offerings is an example of a(n) _____.

ANS: case study

PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 139 OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

8. An unstructured, free-flowing discussion with a small group of consumers in a session that is

conducted by a moderator is called a(n) ______.

ANS: focus group

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 142 OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge
 9. In a focus group, when the comments of one member stimulate another member to say what she is
thinking, this is called ________.

ANS: piggyback

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 142 OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

10. The person who leads a focus group discussion is called a(n) ______.

ANS: moderator

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 145 OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

11. A written set of guidelines prepared by a moderator that outlines the topics to be discussed in a focus
group session is called a(n) ______.

ANS: discussion guide

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 145 OBJ: LO: 07-04

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

12. A focus group session that is conducted over the Internet is called a(n) ______ focus group session.

ANS: online

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 147 OBJ: LO: 07-05

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

13. A one-on-one interview between a professional researcher and a research respondent about why she
selected a specific insurance benefit option is an example of a(n) ______.

ANS: depth interview

PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 149 OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

14. When an interviewer reads a list of words and asks the respondent to “say the first thing that comes to
mind after I say each word,” this is an example of a(n) _____ technique.

ANS: free-association

PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 151 OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

15. Research that leads to the same results and conclusions by different researchers is _____.

ANS: replicable

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 154 OBJ: LO: 07-07

NAT: AACSB Reflective Thinking| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension
ESSAY

1. Compare and contrast qualitative research and quantitative research and discuss situations in which
qualitative research is useful.

ANS:
Qualitative business research is research that addresses business objectives through techniques that
allow the researcher to provide elaborate interpretations of phenomena without depending on
numerical measurement.    Its focus is on discovering true inner meanings and new insights.    It is less
structured than most quantitative approaches and does not rely on self-response questionnaires
containing structured response formats.    Instead, it is more researcher-dependent in that the
researcher must extract meaning from unstructured responses such as text from a recorded interview or
a collage representing the meaning of some experience.    The researcher interprets the data to extract
its meaning and converts it to information.    Qualitative research is useful when:
(1) it is difficult to develop specific and actionable decision statements or research objectives;
(2 )the research objective is to develop an understanding of some phenomena in greater detail and in
much depth;
(3) the research objective is to learn how a phenomenon occurs in its natural setting or to learn how to
express some concept in colloquial terms;
(4) some behavior the researcher is studying is particularly context-dependent; or
(5) when the researcher needs a fresh approach.

Quantitative business research can be defined as business research that addresses research objectives
through empirical assessments that involve numerical measurement and analysis approaches.    It is
more apt to stand on its own in the sense that it requires less interpretation.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 133 OBJ: LO: 07-01

NAT: AACSB Communication| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

2. Explain the role of qualitative data and quantitative data in exploratory research designs.

ANS:
When researchers have limited experience or knowledge about an issue, exploratory research is useful. 
Most exploratory research designs produce qualitative data, which are not characterized by numbers
and instead are textual, visual, or oral.    Exploratory designs do not usually produce quantitative data,
which represent phenomena by assigning numbers in an ordered and meaningful way.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 135 OBJ: LO: 07-02

NAT: AACSB Communication| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

3. Name and briefly describe the four qualitative research orientations.

ANS:
Major categories of qualitative research:
(1) Phenomenology – originating in philosophy and psychology.    It represents a philosophical
approach to studying human experiences based on the idea that human experience itself is
inherently subjective and determined by the context in which they live.
(2) Ethnography – originating in anthropology.    It represents ways of studying cultures through
methods that involve becoming highly involved within that culture (e.g., participant-observer).
(3) Grounded theory – originating in sociology. It represents an inductive investigation in which the
researcher poses questions about information provided by respondents or taken from historical
records.
 (4) Case studies – originating in psychology and in business research.    It refers to the documented
history of a particular person, group, organization, or event, and cases are analyzed for
important themes.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 136 OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: AACSB Communication| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Knowledge

4. Describe a focus group interview and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this technique.

ANS:
A focus group interview is an unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small group of people (i.e.,
6-10).    Focus groups are led by a trained moderator who follows a flexible format encouraging
dialogue among respondents.    A moderator begins by providing some opening statement to broadly
steer discussion in the intended direction.    Ideally, discussion topics emerge at the group’s initiative,
not the moderator’s.

Focus groups offer several advantages: (1) relatively fast, (2) easy to execute, (3) allow respondents to
piggyback off each other’s ideas, (4) provides multiple perspectives, (5) flexibility to allow more
detailed descriptions, and (6) high degree of scrutiny.

Disadvantages include: (1) requires objective, sensitive, and effective moderators, (2) group may not
be representative of the entire target market, (3) may not be useful for discussing sensitive topics, and
(4) expensive.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 142| p. 148

OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: AACSB Communication| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

5. Develop a discussion guide for a focus group on football fan behavior.

ANS:
Students’ answers will vary, but they should demonstrate knowledge and application of the elements of
a discussion guide:
1. Welcome and introductions should take place first.
2. Begin the interview with a broad icebreaker that does not reveal too many specifics about the
interview.
3. Questions become increasingly more specific as the interview proceeds.
4. If there is a very specific objective to be accomplished, that question should probably be saved for
last.
5. A debriefing statement should be provided providing respondents with the actual focus group
objectives and answering any questions any may have.

PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 146 OBJ: LO: 07-04

NAT: AACSB Communication| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Application

6. Explain how the Internet is useful in conducting qualitative research.

ANS:
Internet applications of qualitative exploratory research are growing rapidly and involve both formal
and informal applications.    Formally, the term online focus group refers to a qualitative research
effort where a group of individuals provides unstructured comments by entering their remarks into an
electronic Internet display board of some type.    Several companies have established a form of
informal, “continuous” focus group by establishing an Internet blog for that purpose, called a focus
blog.
 PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: p. 147 OBJ: LO: 07-05
NAT: AACSB Communication| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension

7. Do exploratory research approaches using qualitative research tools have a role in scientific inquiry?   
Explain why a decision may be based solely on these results.

ANS:
Objectivity and replicability are two characteristics of scientific inquiry, and many would question
whether exploratory research using qualitative research tools can satisfy these.    A focus group or a
depth interview or a TAT alone does not best represent a complete scientific inquiry.    However, if the
thoughts discovered through these techniques survive preliminary evaluations and are developed into
research hypotheses, they can be further tested.    Thus, exploratory research approaches using
qualitative research tools are very much a part of scientific inquiry.    In practice, many marketing
decisions are based solely on the results of exploratory research as a scientific decision process is not
always justified.    However, as the risk increases, the confidence that comes along with a rigorous
research and decision process becomes well worth the investment.    The primary barriers to scientific
decisions are (1) time, (2) money, and (3) emotion.

PTS: 1 DIF: Hard REF: p. 154 OBJ: LO: 07-07

NAT: AACSB Communication| CB&E Model Research| Blooms Comprehension