A. DIRECT QUESTIONS/CLOSED-ENDED
1. HAVE YOU PURCHASED A NEW AUTOMOB ILE SINCE JANUARY 1 OF THIS
YEAR:
DYES
D NO
2. IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED A NEW AUTOMO BILE, WHAT MAKE AND
MODEL DID YOU BUY?
MAKE:
MODEL:
_
3. IF YOU HAVE NOT PURCHASED A CAR SINCE JANUARY 1, DO YOU NOW
PLAN TO BUY A NEW AUTOMOBILE BEFORE DECEMBER 31 OF THIS
YEAR?
DYES
DNO
D NOT DECIDED
4. IF YOU HAVE NOT DECIDED WHETHER OR NOT YOU WILL BUY A NEW
AUTOMOBILE, DO YOU NOW THINK THAT IT IS
_ EXTREMELY LIKELY
_QUITE LIKELY
UNLIKELY
_EXTREMELY UNLIKELY
THAT YOU WILL BUY A NEW AUTOMOB ILE BETWEEN NOW AND
DECEMBER 31 ?
5. I TEND TO RELY
ON THE REPUTATION OF A CAR BRAND
DiSAGREE
AGREE
2
3
4
5
B . DEPTH QUESTIONS/OPEN-ENDED
6. IF YOU HAVE NOT PURCHASED A NEW AUTOMOBILE, WHAT IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT REASON FOR YOUR DECISION NOT TO BUY A NEW CAR?
7. THAT IS VERY INTERESTING. TELL ME MORE ABOUT THAT.
8. ANY OTHER REASONS?
FIGURE 3.4
Examples of questions used in marketing research
make sure questions are understood, probe in order to address new issues, and encourage
the respondent to complete the questionnaire. With freeaom comes bias. It is sometimes
difficult for an interviewer to maintain objectivity. Asking questions with a certain intona-
tion, changing the wording, or changing the ordering of questions can all modify responses.
PROCEDURES AND TECHNIQUES IN MARKETING RESEARCH
65
There are several online information-gathering techniques that allow the respondent
more freedom in providing answers. As one would expect, there has been a recent rapid
technological evolution in this area. Online questionnaires can help web site sponsors to
gauge customer satisfaction, profile visitors, and provide a way to measure traffic for adver-
tisers beyond banner c1ick-throughs. By using research tools such as exit surveys, e-tailers
can find out why people are leaving their sites-and why they might not come back.
There are four popular types of online research. Pop-up surveys occur when visitors
are intercepted when they leave certain pages of the web site. A questionnaire then appears
in a box on top of their main browser screens asking for responses. With e-maiUweb sur-
veys, a company sends an e-mail message asking the recipient to complete a survey. Sometimes the survey is embedded in the e-mail itself. Other times the e-mail lists either a
passworded location to visit or a unique location that only the addressee can access to fill
out the survey. Online groups are much like traditional focus groups, but are conducted in a web-based chat room where select individuals are invited by the company or its research
firm. Finally, in the case of moderated e-mail groups , discussions take place over a period of time with a group communicating bye-mail. A moderator compiles the answers and sends
the summary back to the group for comments and follow-up.
The third technique used to gather research information is self-reporting. This tech-
nique allows the respondent to deliver the information in a somewhat unstructured format.
One very popular
of this technique is
focus group. A focus group takes place
in a room where approximately 8-10 individuals and a trained mocerator gather to discuss
a particular business problem or set of problems. Often, the room contains a two-way mir-
ror, which the sponsors of the research sit behind in order to observe the process. The pro-
ceedings are audiotaped and/or videotaped. Focus groups have been an extremely popular
type of data collecting for a long time. A great deal of diverse information can be gathered
quickly (assuming there is a well-trained moderator). However, there are serious limitations.
It's still a subjective process and interpretation is necessary. It is also expensive; often several thousand dollars per focu s group. Finally, it is difficult to control the behavior of
the participants. Some dominate and some say nothing. And some become the equivalent
of professional focus group me;ubers and no longer are able to provide the hoped-for
spontaneity.
According to a psychologically proven premise, it is possible by impersonalizing ques-
tions to obtain information from a respondent that he would not, or could not, otherwise
provide. This method involves the use of the projective technique, and represents a second type of self-report technique. The intent of the projective technique is to give respondents
an opportunity to answer questions without the embarrassment or confusion created by direct
involvement. Several projective techniques are employed:
1. Word association tests. In the word association test, the respondent is asked to
say the first word that comes into his mind upon
of another word
stimulus. The most obvious applications of this test are in research on brand recog-
nition, company image, and advertising appeals.
2. Sentence completion tests. In a sentence completion test, the respondent is asked
to complete a number of sentences with the first words that come to mind. A series
of sentence completion questions used by a supermarket chain were: (a) I like to
shop in an AG supermarket because . . .; Cb) I think that fo od prices are .
(c) The thing that bothers me most about food shopping in an AG store is .. . .
The sentence completion test is relatively simple to administer and easy to
interpret. It is usually difficult, however, to reduce the finding from a sentence
completion test to stati stical form.
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