Exam 5: Qualitative Research Methods

With which type of observation technique do researchers observe tangible evidence of some event, such as measuring the amount of graffiti on buildings to indicate the level of vandalism in an area?

Which of the following was NOT mentioned in the textbook as a limitation of observational data?

Which of the statements below do NOT represent role-playing as presented in the textbook?

It is important to keep in mind that information collected through social media research is unbiased.

A trained researcher was sent on a Caribbean cruise to pose as a "hard-to-please" customer in order to evaluate the level of service offered by the crew. This example shows how:

Machines that count automobiles passing by are likely to be more accurate than humans counting the autos. This "traffic counting" machine would be an example of mechanical observation.

Dan Neufeld decides to use a qualitative research technique called "laddering." Which of the following would best describe how laddering could be used by Dan's Pork processing company?

The sentence-completion test is one in which respondents are given incomplete sentences and then asked to complete them in their own words.

Jamie Sims developed a female urinal that has the advantage of allowing women to use the restroom much faster. Jamie knows that long waiting lines for women's restrooms are often present in large, heavily used public facilities such as busy airports or entertainment complexes. She has perfected her urinal and a major plumbing manufacturer is interested in producing and distributing the device. However, the manufacturer wants Jamie to provide some research evidence indicating how receptive women are to using the device. Jamie is concerned about how to conduct the research since the topic is socially sensitive. Given this situation, Jamie should use:

In role-playing, participants are asked to pretend they are a "third person," such as a friend or neighbour, and describe how the third person would react in a certain situation.

A researcher for Lipton tea is interested in learning how teenagers think of iced tea, and she gives a sample of teens the following incomplete sentence: "Teens who like to drink iced tea are ________." The teenagers were then asked to finish the sentence. This is an example of a(n):

Frito-Lay brand managers want to know which of three proposed end-aisle displays work the best in terms of catching consumers' attention. They set up prototypes of the three displays in three supermarkets and visit each to observe consumers head movements as they approach each display. Which observation technique best describes this situation?

One advantage of observation studies is that the subjects are not aware that they are being studied and therefore act in a natural manner.

One of the disadvantages of focus groups is that:

Which of the following was NOT discussed in the textbook as conditions for the use of an observation study?

Qualitative research is becoming increasingly popular, especially in the application of social media.

A study was conducted on online buyers to determine purchasing differences among buyer segments such as males and females. The research began with a series of focus groups followed by in-depth interviews. Finally, an online survey was conducted of several thousand online buyers. This research project would be classified as:

Which one of the following best represents the desired composition of a focus group?

A digital video recorder manufacturer was interested in improving the functionality of its product for consumers in Canada. In order to do this the company hired a research company who decided to monitor various blogs for mentions of the current product. After examining 100 conversations, categories of interest involved ease of use, amount of storage, and filing capabilities. What type of research did the company engage in?

One of the disadvantages of physiological measurements is that even when the respondent reacts to a stimulus we can't tell if the response is positive or negative.