Chapter 10—Survey Research: Communicating with Respondents TRUE/FALSE Interactive survey approaches are those that allow spontaneous two-way interaction between the interviewer and the respondent ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 208 One of the most important advantage of personal interviews is the opportunity for feedback ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 209 The personal interview is especially useful for obtaining unstructured information ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 210 The interaction between an interviewer and a respondent decreases the chances that the respondent will answer all of the survey questions over what would be likely to occur in a mail survey ANS: F The social interaction between a well-trained interviewer and a respondent in a personal interview increases the likelihood that the respondent will answer all the items on the questionnaire PTS: REF: p 211 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking The presence of an interviewer typically decreases the response rate over what typically happens in a mail survey ANS: F It typically increases the response rate over what typically happens in a mail survey PTS: REF: p 211 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking Personal interviews are typically less costly per respondent than telephone surveys ANS: F Personal interviews are expensive, generally substantially more costly than mail, e-mail, Internet, and phone surveys PTS: REF: p 212 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking Door-to-door interviews are still used heavily by researchers ANS: F Door-to-door interviews are becoming a thing of the past due to security reasons or executives who are too busy to grant personal interviews during business hours PTS: REF: p 212 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 Callbacks are attempts to reconnect individuals selected for the sample who were not available initially ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 213 In a mall-interview, the interviewer is trying to assemble a representative sample of the total population of people in the city ANS: F Each mall has its own target market’s characteristics, and there is likely to be a larger bias than with careful household probability sampling PTS: REF: p 213 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 10 Speed of data collection is one of the advantages of phone interviews ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 215 11 Respondents are typically less willing to answer potentially embarrassing questions in a phone interview than in a face-to-face interview ANS: F They may be more willing to answer these types of questions PTS: REF: p 215 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 12 Computer technology allows responses to telephone interviews to be entered directly into the computer in a process known as direct entry interviewing (DEI) ANS: F This is known as computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) PTS: REF: p 218 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 13 Mail surveys can reach geographically dispersed respondents who are otherwise difficult to contact ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 219 14 Mail surveys allow respondents to check facts that they may be unable to recall ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 220 15 The basic calculation for obtaining a response rate is to count the number of eligible people who were asked to participate in the survey, then divide that by the number of questionnaires returned or completed ANS: F © 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 The basic calculation for obtaining a response rate is to count the number of questionnaires returned or completed, then divide that by the number of eligible people who were asked to participate in the survey PTS: REF: p 221 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 16 The first paragraph of a cover letter that accompanies a questionnaire should explain why the study is important ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 222 17 One way to increase response rates in mail surveys is through multiple contacts with the potential respondents ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 223 18 An Internet survey is the same thing as an e-mail survey ANS: F E-mail surveys involve making the questionnaire available to a potential respondent via e-mail, whereas an Internet survey is a self-administered questionnaire posted on a Web site An e-mail can include a hyperlink within the body of an e-mail that directs the respondent to a Wet site that contains the questionnaire, in essence, making the e-mail an Internet survey at this point PTS: REF: pp 226-228 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 19 The Internet is an excellent medium for the presentation of visual materials in surveys ANS: T PTS: REF: p 227 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 20 One major advantage of Internet surveys is the computer's ability to sequence questions based on previous responses ANS: T PTS: REF: p 229 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 21 Internet surveys have real-time data capture, which allows for real-time data analysis ANS: T PTS: REF: p 229 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 22 Internet surveys allow researchers to personalize invitations to potential respondents to try to increase the response rate for the survey ANS: T PTS: REF: p 229 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 23 Self-selection is a problem when a computer with a touch screen is used at a kiosk at a trade show to collect survey information © 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 ANS: T PTS: REF: p 231 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 24 A mixed-mode survey is a study that employs any combination of survey methods ANS: T PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 231 25 Scanning involves a trial run with a group of colleagues or actual respondents to iron out fundamental problems in the instructions or design of a questionnaire ANS: F This is pretesting PTS: REF: p 233 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking MULTIPLE CHOICE Candi received a research questionnaire in the mail She completed it and sent it back to the researcher Which type of survey approach is this researcher using? a mixed-mode survey approach b simple survey approach c noninteractive survey approach d interactive survey approach ANS: C PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 208 A personal interview may be conducted in which of the following locations? a respondent's home b shopping malls c telephone d all of the above ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 209 "Can you tell me more about what you mean by that?" is an example of: a a mall intercept b a self-administered questionnaire c a probe d the drop-off method ANS: C PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 210 All of the following are advantages of personal interviews EXCEPT: a interviewer influence b opportunity for feedback c probing complex answers d high participation rate ANS: A PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: pp 209-211 © 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 5 Interviews with respondents that take place in shopping malls are called: a pretesting b mall intercept interviews c the drop-off method of surveys d mixed-mode surveys ANS: B PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 213 Which of the following has been considered the mainstay of commercial survey research for years? a mall-intercept interviews b Internet surveys c telephone interviews d e-mail surveys ANS: C PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 214 Which of the following is FALSE regarding mobile phone interviews? a Phones have varying abilities for automated responses and differing keypads b Area codes for mobile phones are not necessarily tied to geography c Telemarketing calls can be directed toward mobile phone numbers in the United States, but it is illegal to so in Europe d The recipient of a mobile phone call is even more distracted than the recipient of a home or office call ANS: C PTS: REF: pp 214-215 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology For which of the following phone survey situations should a callback procedure be used? a a busy signal b a respondent who does not answer the phone c a respondent who is not at home d all of the above ANS: D PTS: REF: p 217 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology When a research agency conducts all telephone interviews from one location where they can hire a staff of professional interviewers and supervise and control the quality of interviewing more effectively, this is an example of: a central location interviewing b single-mode interviewing c synergistic interviewing d quick-response interviewing ANS: A PTS: REF: p 217 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 10 Call Interactive, Inc is a telephone survey research firm Telephone interviewers sit at computer monitors that display the questions one question at a time along with precoded possible responses for each question The interviewer reads the question, and when the respondent answers, the interviewer enters his or her answers directly into the computer This is an example of: a voice-activated telephone interviewing © 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 b computer-assisted telephone interviewing c random digit dialing d noninteractive interviewing ANS: B PTS: REF: p 218 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 11 Surveys in which the respondent takes the responsibility for reading and answering questions are called: a self-administered questionnaires b independent questionnaires c stand-alone surveys d interactive questionnaires ANS: A PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 219 12 For mail surveys, the time period between the first mailing and the cut-off date after which no additional surveys will be analyzed is typically about: a 1-2 weeks b 2-3 weeks c 3-5 weeks d 6-8 weeks ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 221 13 The number of questionnaires returned or completed divided by the number of eligible people who were asked to participate in the survey is called: a churn b return ratio c response rate d success rate ANS: C PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 221 14 Suppose that a mail survey is sent to 220 people and 20 surveys are returned because they were mailed to the wrong address If completed surveys are received from 60 people, the response rate for this study was: a 27.3 percent b 30 percent c 40 percent d 55.6 percent ANS: B PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 222 15 The cover letter for a mail survey should include: a a description of the incentive for participating in the study b a comment on the postage-paid reply envelope to use to return the survey c a description of how the person was selected for the study d all of the above ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 222 © 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 Which of the following has typically been shown to produce the highest response rates in mail surveys as an incentive for participation in the study? a an enclosed ball-point pen b a monetary incentive c an appeal for help d a donation to a charity ANS: B PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 222 17 For mail surveys, the _ attempts made to try to obtain a returned survey from a potential respondent, the _ their chance of their responding to the survey a more; less b fewer; greater c more; greater d none of the above ANS: C PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 223 18 All of the following are ways to increase response rates for mail surveys EXCEPT: a cover letter b interesting questions c advance notification d always revealing the sponsor of the research ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: pp 222-225 19 Which of the following is an advantage of including a questionnaire in an e-mail? a lower distribution costs than a mail survey b faster turnaround time than a mail survey c faster speed of distribution d all of the above ANS: D PTS: REF: p 226 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 20 Clark was asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire posted at MySurvey.com What type of survey did Clark complete? a Internet survey b mixed-mode survey c computer-assisted interactive survey d networked survey ANS: A PTS: REF: p 227 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 21 All of the following are advantages of Internet surveys EXCEPT: a random sampling b speed c visual appeal d accurate real-time data capture ANS: A PTS: REF: pp 227-230 © 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| AACSB: Technology 22 John was called by a researcher and asked a few questions about his television viewing habits The researcher then asked him to go to a Web site to complete a more comprehensive survey This type of study that employs a combination of survey methods is called a: a two-stage survey b pre- and posttest c multi-media survey d mixed-mode survey ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 231 23 Which of the following methods offers the lowest degree of geographic flexibility? a telephone interview b door-to-door personal interview c Internet survey d mail survey ANS: B PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 232 24 Which of the following survey research methods offers the lowest degree of respondent anonymity? a telephone interview b mail survey c mall intercept interview d Internet survey ANS: C PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 232 25 Which of the following survey research methods is the most expensive? a door-to-door personal interview b mall intercept personal interview c telephone interview d mail survey ANS: A PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 232 26 A trial run of a survey with a group of respondents who are representative of the target group for the survey is called a: a callback b pretest c drop-off method d dry run ANS: B PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 233 27 Which of the following can be considered to be a pretest? a screening the questionnaire with other research colleagues b screening the questionnaire with a client or the research manager who ordered the research c a trial run with data collected from a small number of respondents d all of the above © 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 ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 233 COMPLETION A face-to-face communication in which an interviewer asks a respondent questions is called a(n) ANS: personal interview PTS: REF: p 209 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking When an interviewer asks a respondent to clarify what he or she meant by a response, this is known as ANS: probing PTS: REF: p 210 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking When a respondent fails to answer a survey question in a personal interview, this is called an item ANS: nonresponse PTS: REF: p 211 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking When a respondent is asked to participate in a research study while walking through a shopping mall, this is an example of a(n) ANS: mall intercept interview PTS: REF: p 213 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking An attempt to re-contact a potential respondent in a phone survey when no one answered the phone on a previous attempt is called a(n) ANS: callback PTS: REF: p 213 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking When a table of random numbers is used to generate phone numbers that will be called to contact potential respondents in a phone survey, this is called ANS: random digit dialing PTS: REF: p 217 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology When answers to a phone survey can be entered directly into a computer to speed up the time needed for data processing, this is called ANS: CATI © 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 computer-assisted telephone interviewing PTS: REF: p 218 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology When a respondent is asked to read the questions on a survey and to answer them by himself or herself in writing, this is an example of a(n) ANS: self-administered questionnaire PTS: REF: p 219 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking A self-administered questionnaire that is sent to potential respondents through the United States Postal Service (USPS) is called a(n) ANS: mail survey PTS: REF: p 222 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 10 The percentage found when the number of completed surveys returned in a mail survey is divided by the number of people who were mailed the survey less the people who were mailed the survey at the wrong address is known as the ANS: response rate PTS: REF: p 221 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 11 The letter that is on top of a mail survey that explains why the potential respondent should fill out the survey is called the ANS: cover letter PTS: REF: p 222 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 12 When the researcher travels to the respondent's place of business and leaves a survey to be filled out and that she will pick up the next day, this method of questionnaire distribution is called the ANS: drop-off method PTS: REF: p 225 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking 13 A self-administered questionnaire posted on a Web site is called a(n) survey ANS: Internet PTS: REF: p 227 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Technology 14 A study that employs any combination of survey methods is called a(n) ANS: mixed mode survey PTS: REF: p 231 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 15 When a researcher uses a "trial run" with a group of people to try to discover any problems with a survey before it is mailed to the sample of potential respondents, this is called a(n) of the survey ANS: pretest PTS: REF: p 233 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking ESSAY Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of conducting surveys using personal interviews ANS: A personal interview is a form of direct communication in which an interviewer asks respondents questions face-to-face It offers many unique advantages: (1) Opportunity for feedback (2) Opportunity to follow up by probing (3) Can be longer than other forms of surveys (4) Item nonresponse is low (5) Can use props and visual aids (6) High participation rate Personal interviews also have some disadvantages: (1) Respondents are not anonymous and may be reluctant to provide confidential information to another person (2) Interviewer may influence respondents’ answers (3) Expensive PTS: REF: pp 209-212 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication Explain how technology has enhanced telephone interviewing ANS: Probably the biggest impact of technology on telephone interviewing include computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) and computerized voice-activated telephone interviewing CATI technology allows answers to telephone interviews to be entered directly into a computer for processing Monitors display the questionnaires, one question at a time, along with precoded possible responses to each question The interviewer reads each question as it appears on the screen When the respondent answers, the interviewer enters the response directly into the computer Technological advances have combined computerized telephone dialing and voice-activated computer messages to allow researchers to conduct telephone interviews without human interviewers PTS: REF: p 218 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication| AACSB: Technology Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of mail surveys ANS: © 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 A traditional mail survey is a self-administered questionnaire sent to respondents through a postal service This paper-and-pencil method has several advantages and disadvantages Mail questionnaires can reach a geographically dispersed sample simultaneously because interviewers are not required They are relatively inexpensive compared with personal interviews, though they are not cheap They can be filled out when the respondents have the time, so respondents are more likely to take time to think about their replies They also allow respondents to collect facts that they may not be able to recall Anonymity of respondents may result in them being more likely to provide sensitive or embarrassing information as well as reducing social desirability bias Although the absence of an interviewer can induce respondents to reveal sensitive or socially undesirable information, this lack of personal contact can also be a disadvantage Once the respondent receives the questionnaire, the questioning process is beyond the researcher’s control While mail questionnaires are highly standardized, this could be a disadvantage due to the difficulty in changing the format of the questions If time is an issue, mail surveys may not be a good communication medium Finally, mail questionnaires can be relatively long in length PTS: REF: pp 219-221 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication Explain how response rates are determined for surveys and discuss ways to increase response rates for mail surveys ANS: The response rate is the number of questionnaires returned or completed divided by the number of eligible people who were asked to participate in the survey Typically, the number in the denominator is adjusted for faulty addresses and similar problems that reduce the number of eligible participants Ways to increase response rates for mail surveys include: (1) Include a cover letter (2) Offer monetary incentive or premiums (3) Include interesting questions (4) Conduct follow-ups, which may include a duplicate questionnaire or merely be a reminder to return the survey; use codes to key questionnaires (5) Notify respondents in advance (6) Keep survey sponsor anonymous (7) Other techniques include types of envelopes, stamps, and color of questionnaire paper PTS: REF: pp 221-225 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  ... called a: a callback b pretest c drop-off method d dry run ANS: B PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p 233 27 Which of the following can be considered to be a pretest? a screening the questionnaire... whole or in part 5 Interviews with respondents that take place in shopping malls are called: a pretesting b mall intercept interviews c the drop-off method of surveys d mixed-mode surveys ANS: B... study that employs a combination of survey methods is called a: a two-stage survey b pre- and posttest c multi-media survey d mixed-mode survey ANS: D PTS: NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking REF: p