Quiz 1 Flashcards
What is the definition of population?
All the members of a group about which you want to draw a conclusion - defined by the survey writer.
What is the definition of a parameter?
A numerical measure that describes a characteristic of a population. eg. percentage or means
What is the definition of a census?
Gathering information from the whole population to calculate a parameter.
What is the definition of a sample?
A subset of the population - the portion of the population selected for analysis.
What is the definition of a sample statistic?
A numerical measure that describes a characteristic of the sample.
What are the six steps of the research process?
1) Define the broad problem
2) Refine the research question
3) Design the research
4) Collect the data
5) Prepare and analyse the data
6) Present the results
What is the business decision cycle?
Data -> Information -> Decisions -> Actions
What is ethics?
The process of evaluating and addressing whether an action is right/wrong, good/bad
What code of ethics governs the universities of Australia?
The Australian Code of Responsible Conduct of Research
What are the common components of a code of ethics in Australia?
- Voluntary participation - no duress and can terminate at any stage
- No harm to respondents - no injury, embarrassment, or endangerment
- Anonymity & confidentiality - cannot identify and confidence
- No deceit - fully aware of purpose, process and time.
What are the important ethical standards in analysis and reporting?
- Report your mistakes
- Defects in your research design and impact on conclusions
- Report negative findings
- report unexpected results
What is the definition of survey?
The method of collecting data using a structured questionnaire. The survey is the methodology for collecting the data.
What is a questionnaire?
A formalised set of questions used to obtain data.
What is data?
The raw facts available to us which generally do not have value until processed.
What is information?
Data that has been processed appropriately for the context in which it is going to be useful.
What is market research?
It is the systematic and objective identification, collection, analysis and dissemination of information undertaken to improve managerial decision making related to the identification of and solution of problems and opportunities
What are three characteristics of market research?
1) it is systemic - planned and documented
2) it is objective - accurate and free from bias
3) allows identification, collection and dissemination
Market research in business is used to make what types of decisions?
strategic - broad objectives over an extended timespan
tactical - more operational and detailed in nature.
What are the uncontrollable environmental factors that cannot be changed by a business?
- Economy
- Technology
- Competition
- Laws & regulation
- Social and cultural factors
- Political factors
What are the controllable marketing variables?
- Product
- Pricing
- Promotion
- Discount
What are four to five examples of strategic decisions?
- corporate mission
- corporate image
- corporate portfolio structure
- Strategic alliances
- Target market selection
- Corporate relationships
- Competitive orientation
- Corporate resource allocation
- Market segmentation
- Shareholder value
What are four to five examples of tactical decisions?
- Product design
- Branding
- service options
- Product quality
- Service Levels
- Product benefit mix
- Price
- Promotional activity
- Sales force actions
- Distribution
- Product differentiation
- Customer relationships
What are the two reasons why market research may be conducted?
1) Problem identification - to identify problems that are not necessarily apparent
2) Problem solving - to solve specific marketing problems.
What are some examples of problem identification research?
- Market potential
- Market share
- Image research
- Sales analysis
- Market characteristics
- Forecasting
- Business trends
What are some examples of problem solving research?
- Segmentation
- Product
- Pricing
- Distribution
- Promotion
Of the six steps of marketing research what are the two broad classifications?
- Clarification:
1) Define the broad problem
2) Refine the research question
3) Design the research - Evaluation and monitoring:
4) Collect the data
5) Prepare and analyse the data
6) Present the results
The first step is to define the broad problem - what is involved in this?
- Collect the background info,
- Consider the environmental context of the problem
- Conduct a problem or opportunity audit
- Define the management decision to be made
- Define the purpose and aim of the project
What is included in the background information?
- discussions,
- interviews,
- review existing data,
- secondary analysis and
- exploratory research
What is included in the consideration of environmental context of the problem?
- past info and forecasts
- Resources and constraints
- Organisational objectives
- Buyer behaviour
- Legal environment
- Economic environment
- Marketing and technical skills
In the second step ‘Refine the research question’ what considerations are necessary?
- Describe the information required
- Set the decision criteria
- Estimate the value and set the budget
- Prepare the market research brief.
What is primary data? Why is it good/bad?
Data originated by the researcher for the specific purpose of addressing the problem at hand.
- Advantage - data matches your questions
- Disadvantage - cost, time & effort to obtain
What is secondary data?
Data that someone else has collected for a purpose other than the present research. There are different sources, academic, web, media etc.
Why would someone use secondary data?
- Primary data is expensive and time consuming to obtain
- To compare with primary data
- To demonstrate why the proposed research fulfils a void in the knowledge base
- to avoid replication of previous research
- to help refine the research questions
- to give more insight to interpret primary data
What are the advantages of using secondary data?
- quickly obtained
- inexpensive
- already available
- enhances primary data research
What are the five important considerations when evaluating secondary data?
- Currency - relevant?
- Objective - purpose of the study?
- Nature/content - is it appropriate?
- Specification/methodology - how obtained?
- Dependability - consistent with other information?
When designing the research design, you need to choose the broad type of research to use, what options are there?
- Exploratory - discovery of ideas & insights
- Descriptive - describes market characteristics or functions
- Casual - determines cause and effect relationships
What are the characteristics and methods of exploratory research?
- Characteristics - flexible, versatile and often at front end of research design
- Methods - expert surveys, pilot surveys, secondary data & qualitative research
What are the characteristics and methods of descriptive research?
- Characteristics - has prior formulation of a specific hypothesises, is preplanned and structured
- Methods - secondary data, surveys, panels and can be observational.
What are the characteristics and methods of casual research?
- Characteristics - manipulation of one or more independent variables and control of other mediating variables.
- Methods - experiments