Methods for sampling, collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data

Question 1

You do an experiment where you photoshop a training clothes advertisement to manipulate perceived body weight. You get 100 people and randomly divide them into two groups. You show each group one of the two photoshopped advertisements. Then, they answer a short questionnaire about their perception of the advertisement and how attractive they think the model is. You use a scale where you can calculate averages.

What statistical analysis would you use to test the average difference between the groups?

Answer 1

Independent samples t-test

Question 2

You think people are fixated on weight differences of models in clothes advertising. You do an experiment where you photoshop a training clothes advertisement to manipulate perceived body weight. You get 100 people and randomly show them one of the two photoshopped advertisements. Then, they answer a short questionnaire about their perception of the advertisement and you ask their intention to buy the product (the dependent variable). What statistical analysis would you use in this experimental research design to test the effect on the dependent variable?

Answer 2

Regression analysis

Question 3

In Sweden, ice cream sales have a strong statistically significant negative correlation with umbrella sales. In Vietnam, the correlation is not significant. Why?

Answer 3

In Vietnam, people use umbrellas for both rain and shade

Question 4

Is theory the outcome of data collection when applying an inductive approach?

Answer 4

Yes

Question 5

Research can be classified as either inductive or deductive. What sort of research methods are most commonly associated with a inductive research approach?

Answer 5

Qualitative methods

Question 6

The interview method is appropriate when:

Answer 6

The researcher wants to get deep knowledge about a certain phenomenon.

Question 7

Which answer would best fit the inductive approach?

Answer 7

The researcher, through a literature review, finds that there is a lack of theory explaining a certain phenomenon.

Question 8

Which term describes combining several qualitative and/or quantitative methods?

Answer 8

Triangulation

Question 9

You do an experiment at a local COOP grocery store where you measure the sales of Mexican food for one week while playing Mexican music. Through the payment card, you track the gender of who is purchasing. You want to know whether there is a statistically significant difference between male and female purchasers for buying Mexican food. What statistical analysis or
test would you use?

Answer 9

Independent samples t-test

Question 10

You do a study amongst students in the business program about loyalty to smartphone brands. You measure their satisfaction, trust, and brand attachment to their current phone, and ask them whether they intend to buy the same brand on a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is “absolutely no” and 7 is absolutely yes”. What statistical analysis would you use to test purchase intent?

Answer 10

Regression analysis

Question 11

The method chapter should..

Answer 11

Should in detail describe how the research has been conducted, such as who did what, how, and when.

Question 12

James was surprised that people are most irritated by bees while barbequing and eating outdoors. Bees are vegetarian, wasps eat meat. To try and understand what he perceived as confusion, he developed a guide for what he wanted to discuss (based on theory), and invited 8 friends over for a one-hour discussion. What kind of data collection method is this?

Answer 12

A focus group

Question 13

When creating a questionnaire, what is a good way to make sure you properly cover the dimensions of each construct?

Answer 13

Start by looking at existing questionnaire on similar topics or theories.

Question 14

Only 40 people answered a survey that was sent to 200 people, to give a response rate of 20%. The people who did not answer might be systematically different from those who did. What is this kind of bias called?

Answer 14

Non-response bias

Question 15

Assume that there are 500 people in a population and they are all on a list. You want a random sample of 50. You add the first 10 names to a hat and have a friend randomly pick one of the names. Starting with that name, you take every tenth person thereafter. In this way, you get
a sample of 50. What kind of sample is this?

Answer 15

Probability sample

Question 16

James made a survey to send to Campus Gotland students. Statistically speaking, this is
the population. He has a current list of all CG students, including their contact information. He will take a sample from the list and send out the survey. What is the list called?

Answer 16

The sampling frame

Question 17

About 30 years ago, a good friend did a survey on gay consumption habits. There were no lists of gay people, so instead, he sent his survey to 8 gay friends and asked them to pass the survey on to their gay friends. This is sort of like sending a chain letter. What kind of sample is this?

Answer 17

Snowball

Question 18

A researcher conducted interviews in order to develop a theory about customer-supplier relationships. She asked each respondent to describe the relationship in her/his own words without specific questions or prompting. What type of interview format did she use?

Answer 18

Unstructured

Question 19

For an interview guide, which format (open or structured) would best fit the inductive approach?

Answer 19

Questions should reflect the research question, open or structured is not relevant.

Question 20

Validity and reliability are important in science. With respect to measurement, what are they?

Answer 20

Validity is how well a measure reflects what it intends to measure, and reliability is about the consistency of measurements.

Question 21

Which statement best describes qualitative data coding?

Answer 21

It is the process of organizing and labeling data.

Question 22

When you code your data according to the Gioia, Corely & Hamilton method, which coding approach is most appropriate?

Answer 22

You move from data-text (empirics) to higher analytical levels by aggregating and condensing.

Question 23

Coding is a creative process in which you:

Answer 23

Work with data in order to find patterns so that you can make sense of a certain phenomenon.

Question 24

One way to describe coding is finding your way from “raw data” to “making a statement”. Coding methods we looked at included Grounded Theory, Thematic Coding, and the Gioia Method. Coding is:

Answer 24

Most often inductive going from data to theory, but can be applied deductively to test a theory by looking for qualitative findings in the data.

Question 25

When drawing on existing theoretical frameworks and a priori ideas in the coding:

Answer 25

You get help with structuring your coding/analysis, but you risk “boxing in” or “shoehorning” your answers, while missing out on other patterns and explanations

Question 26

When you are charting the territory you become, to some degree, embedded in the topic. The Gioia, Corely, and Hamilton (2012) article talked of the importance in qualitative research to, “get in there and get your hands dirty (p. 19)”. They also highlighted the risk of getting too close and “going native.” What did they mean?

Answer 26

Adopting the informant’s view and losing your higher-level perspective.

Question 27

You learned about four levels of measurement. Why do you almost always want to measure variables at the highest level possible?

Answer 27

Higher levels of measurement allow for more advanced statistics.

Question 28

In a survey about healthy living and stress, managers were asked their weight and height. Which level of measurement is this?

Answer 28

Ratio

Question 29

In a survey about managerial stress, managers were asked whether or not they have high blood pressure. Which level of measurement is this?

Answer 29

Nominal

Question 30

In a survey, managers were asked whether or not they have a management degree. Which level of measurement is this?

Answer 30

Nominal

Question 31

As the end of February approaches, the days are getting longer and warmer. What level of measurement is a temperature scale?

Answer 31

Interval

Question 32

As you write this exam, you are actually thinking about your favorite plant. It is cold in Uppsala and you are worried that it might be too cold sitting on the window sill. What level of measurement is a temperature scale?

Answer 32

Interval

Question 33

What does the Skewness and Kurtosis indicate for the variable Confidence?

Answer 33

The variable is normally distributed.

Question 34

In statistics, when considering a normal distribution, what is an outlier?

Answer 34

An observation that is far out on one of the tails.

Question 35

What does the median indicate for the variable company size as measured by the number of employees?

Answer 35

It is a nonparametric statistic that indicates the center of the data.

Question 36

In a Pearson correlation matrix, why are the correlations on the diagonal equal to 1?

Answer 36

Because that is the value you get when you correlate a variable with itself: perfect positive correlation.

Question 37

Which type of validity refers to the degree to which two indicators of the same construct correlate?

Answer 37

Convergent

Question 38

Reliability refers to:

Answer 38

The consistency of how well something is measured.

Question 39

In regression, what is the error term?

Answer 39

Residual variance that is not explained by the regression coefficients.

Question 40

With respect to simple OLS regression, which of the following statements is correct?

Answer 40

The beta coefficient for the X variable indicates the slope of the regression line.

Question 41

In regression, if your model is too long (too many independent variables), the parameter estimates for the beta coefficients become less precise. If the model is too short, you are missing important independent variables and the parameter estimates for the beta coefficients become biased. Why is too short worse than too long?

Answer 41

Less precise estimates are random, so at least the error averages out.

Question 42

In regression, what is the residual variance?

Answer 42

It is the variance that is not explained by the regression coefficients.

Question 43

In regression, specification error refers to including irrelevant independent variables, not including important independent variables, or choosing the wrong functional form. In layman terms we talked about too long and too short models. Which of the following statements is true?

Answer 43

A too long model reduces the precision of the beta coefficients, whereas a too short model causes a systematic bias in the parameter estimates.

Question 44

When creating a questionnaire, what is a good way to make sure you properly cover the dimensions of each construct?

Answer 44

Start by looking at existing questionnaires on similar topics or theories.

Question 45

When you are charting the territory you become, to some degree, embedded in the topic. The Gioia, Corely, and Hamilton (2012) article talked of the importance in qualitative research to, “get in there and get your hands dirty (p. 19)”. They also highlighted the risk of getting too close and “going native.” What did they mean?

Answer 45

Adopting the informant’s view and losing your higher-level perspective.

Question 46

Which statement best describes qualitative data coding?

Answer 46

It is the process of organizing and labeling data.

Question 47

One way to describe coding is finding your way from “raw data” to “making a statement”. Coding methods we looked at included Grounded Theory, Thematic Coding, and the Gioia Method. Coding is:

Answer 47

Most often inductive going from data to theory, but can be applied deductively to test a theory by looking for qualitative findings in the data

Question 48

When drawing on existing theoretical frameworks and a priori ideas in the coding:

Answer 48

You get help with structuring your coding/analysis, but you risk “boxing in” or “shoehorning” your answers, while missing out on other patterns and explanations.

Question 49

When you code your data according to the Gioia, Corely & Hamilton method, which coding approach is most appropriate?

Answer 49

You move from data-text (empirics) to higher analytical levels by aggregating and condensing.

Question 50

Coding is a creative process in which you:

Answer 50

Work with data in order to find patterns so that you can make sense of a certain phenomenon.

Question 51

You learned about four levels of measurement. Why do you almost always want to measure variables at the highest level possible?

Answer 51

Higher levels of measurement allow for more advanced statistics.

Question 52

What are the motives for qualitative studies?

Answer 52

• Study the dynamics of a process
• Study meaning; what happens and how do people understand and deal with it

Question 53

What are some techniques for gathering data?

Answer 53

• observations
• interviews
• surveys
• documents/text
• focus groups

Question 54

What are the different types of cases?

Answer 54

• unique case
• typical case
• extreme case
• comparative case

Question 55

What are some biases?

Answer 55

Response bias

Recall bias

Interviewer bias

Recording bias

Question 56

What are some sampling errors?

Answer 56

Convenience sample - too convenient?

“Snowballing” may steer you in the wrong direction

Question 57

What is ethnography?

Answer 57

Ethnography is a method of observing human interaction in social settings and activities (in their cultural context)

You learn from people from the inside rather than study people from the outside

Allows direct access to behavior and actions that might otherwise be hidden

Question 58

What is focus groups?

Answer 58

Focus groups is members selected carefully. It is a research method used to organize and collect qualitative data through interaction and directed discussions.

Question 59

What does triangulate mean?

Answer 59

Using a variety of data sources to strenghten the reliability of the results

Question 60

What is archival data?

Answer 60

A structured source of information that exists independent of the researcher