Chapter 7—Qualitative Research Tools TRUE/FALSE The focus of qualitative research is on producing "numbers" that can be used in statistical tests ANS: F Qualitative business research addresses research objectives through techniques that allow the researcher to provide elaborate interpretations of phenomena without depending on numerical measurement PTS: REF: p 133 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking Qualitative research is subjective in the sense that the results are researcher-dependent ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 133 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: REF: p 133 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking Quantitative research measures and tests ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 134 Qualitative research is objective ANS: F Qualitative research is subjective PTS: REF: p 135 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 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: REF: p 135 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking Quantitative research is used most often in exploratory research ANS: F Qualitative research is most often used in exploratory research PTS: REF: p 136 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part 8 Anthropology 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: F This is phenomenology PTS: REF: p 137 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking Hermeneutics is an approach to understanding phenomenology that relies on analysis of texts in which a person tells a story about him- or herself ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 138 10 Studying cultures using methods that involve becoming highly active within that culture is called ethnography ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 138 11 Observation plays a key role in ethnography ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 139 12 Prospect theory 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: REF: p 139 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 13 Phenomenology refers to the documented history of a particular person, group, organization, or event ANS: F This describes case studies PTS: REF: p 140 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 14 A primary advantage of the case study is that an entire organization or entity can be investigated in depth ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 140 15 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: REF: p 141 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part 16 Focus groups are relatively fast and easy to execute ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 142 17 Piggybacking is a procedure in which one respondent stimulates thought among the others in a focus group ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 143 18 The ideal size of a focus group is 20 to 25 people ANS: F The ideal size is to 10 people PTS: REF: p 144 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 19 A focus group moderator needs to be a good listener ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 146 20 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: REF: p 149 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 21 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 150 22 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: REF: p 151 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 23 The sentence completion method is a type of free-association technique ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 152 © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part 24 The grounded theory technique (GTT) presents subjects with an ambiguous picture in which consumers and products are the center of attention ANS: F This is a thematic apperception test (TAT) PTS: REF: p 153 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking MULTIPLE CHOICE Kodetra works at a large consumer-packaged goods company and is interpreting consumers’ blog postings on the Internet, paying special attention to comments about her company Which of the following best describes the type of research Kodetra is conducting? a independent research b dependent research c quantitative research d qualitative research ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 133 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 researchers want to learn how consumers use a product in natural settings d when a fresh approach to studying some problem is needed ANS: B PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 133 Research that addresses research objectives through empirical assessments that involve numerical measurement and analysis approaches is called: a quantitative research b qualitative research c extensive research d grounded research ANS: A PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 134 Researcher-dependent results are: a subjective b objective c primary d secondary ANS: A PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 135 Research that is conducted to clarify the nature of a research problem is called _ research a exploratory b judgmental c descriptive © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part d convenience ANS: A PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 136 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 136 All of the following are qualitative research orientations EXCEPT: a phenomenology b grounded theory c case studies d ANOVA ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 137 Which qualitative research orientation originated in philosophy and psychology? a phenomenology b grounded theory c ethnography d anthropology ANS: A PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 137 Which qualitative research orientation originated in sociology? a phenomenology b grounded theory c ethnography d case studies ANS: B PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 137 10 Ethnography is a qualitative research orientation originating in: a marketing b psychology c anthropology d sociology ANS: C PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 137 11 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 © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part c ethnography d case study ANS: B PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 137 12 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 138 13 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 138 14 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 139 15 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 140 16 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: REF: p 140 © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 17 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 hair care products in general and asked them to discuss them freely Betsy is participating is a: a case study b grounded research study c depth interview d focus group interview ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 141 18 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 142 19 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 all of the above ANS: B PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 143 20 Which of the following is the ideal size of a focus group? a 1-2 participants b 3-5 participants c 6-10 participants d 12-20 participants ANS: C PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 144 21 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 the above ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 145 22 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 © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part d case study ANS: A PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 146 23 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 the above ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 149 24 When a professional interviewer holds a 90-minute discussion with one employee to find out why he or she has stayed with a company for more than ten years, this is an example of a: a depth interview b concept test c focus interview d hermeneutic analysis ANS: A PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 150 25 Which of the following is a particular approach to probing that asks respondents to compare differences between brands at different levels? a interrogating b immersion c linking d laddering ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 150 26 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 151 27 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 151 © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part 28 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 152 29 _ 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 152 30 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 153 31 When a respondent is asked to project her feelings onto a third party (e.g “your neighbor down the street”), this is called a(n): a case study b experience survey c word association test d projective technique ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 153 32 Which of the following means the same conclusion would be reached based on another researcher’s interpretation of the research? a validity b replication c homogeneity d scrutiny ANS: B PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 154 COMPLETION © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part 1 Research that addresses business 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: REF: p 133 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking When research is conducted to clarify the nature of a problem, it is called research ANS: exploratory PTS: REF: p 135 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking When different individuals following the same procedure produce the same results or come to the same conclusion, we say that the researcher has ANS: intersubjective certifiability PTS: REF: p 135 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking The typical ethnographic approach requires the use of ANS: participant-observation PTS: REF: p 138 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking An in-depth study of a major competitor in order to determine how to improve your organization's profitability is an example of a(n) ANS: case study PTS: REF: p 140 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking An unstructured, free-flowing discussion with a small group of people in a session that is conducted by a moderator is called a(n) ANS: focus group PTS: REF: p 141 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 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: REF: p 143 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking The person who leads a focus group discussion is called a(n) ANS: moderator PTS: REF: p 145 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part 9 A 90-minute discussion between an interviewer and a consumer about why the consumer purchases the brand of toothpaste that the consumer uses is an example of a(n) ANS: depth interview PTS: REF: p 150 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 10 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: REF: p 152 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 11 When a respondent is shown a new television commercial and is asked to write the answer to this stimulus: “The man in the commercial ,” this is an example of a(n) technique ANS: sentence completion PTS: REF: p 152 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 12 An indirect method of questioning that allows a respondent to project his feelings onto a third-party is an example of a(n) technique ANS: projective PTS: REF: p 153 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 13 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: REF: p 146 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 14 A focus group session that is conducted over the Internet is called a(n) focus group session ANS: online PTS: REF: p 148 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 15 In practice, many business decisions are based solely on the results of exploratory research, and the primary reasons for this are time, money, and ANS: emotion PTS: REF: p 155 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking ESSAY © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part 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 business 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 phenomena occur natural settings or to learn how to express some concept in colloquial terms; or (4) some behavior the researcher is studying is particularly context dependent Quantitative business research can be defined as 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: REF: pp 133-134 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication 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 (3) 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: REF: pp 137-140 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication 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 © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part 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 population, (3) may not be useful for discussing sensitive topics, and (4) expensive PTS: REF: pp 141-143| p 149 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication List the elements of a focus group discussion guide ANS: A focus group discussion guide consists of the following: Welcome and introductions should take place first Begin the interview with a broad icebreaker that does not reveal too many specifics about the interview Questions become increasingly more specific as the interview proceeds If there is a very specific objective to be accomplished (i.e., explaining why a respondent would either buy or not buy a product), that question should probably be saved for last A debriefing statement should be provided providing respondents with the actual focus group objectives and answering any questions any may have PTS: REF: p 147 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication 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 business 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: REF: pp 155-156 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part ... 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 152 29 _ are... of topics to be covered by a focus group moderator is called a: a discussion guide b TAT test c concept test © 2010 Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved May not be scanned, copied or duplicated,... 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: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 153