- Survey analysis – short answer questions
Have a look at the screen shots and then answer the questions succinctly.
Criteria for grading: correctness of response and critical thinking
- Why does CB require an access code? (5 points)
CB requires an access code to ensure that only customers who have actually visited the place participate in the survey. If there was no access code, any person can participate in the survey and give false or malicious answers. Since the access code is printed on the receipt, a person who has not used CB services will not be in a position to participate in the survey.
What is the function of this so-called “progress bar”? (5 points)
The function of the survey is to indicate the total number of questions that the customer has answered. It is very essential in an online survey with several questions, such as this CB survey. It informs the survey participant the percentage difference between the starting point and the ending point of the survey. It also serves the purpose of reducing the number of participants who drop out from the survey because customers are aware about the progress they are making.
Why is CB interested in the weekday & even the specific time of day of your visit? (5 points)
CB is interested in the weekday and the specific time of day of the customer’s service to know the specific days and specific times that are popular with customers. The days and times with the highest number of people will and the least number of people will be used to customize the nature of the services offered. CB will use the data it collects to offer more meals and services on peak days and peak times and less meals and services on off peak days and off peak times.
What is the name of this type of scale or what type of scale does this scale remind you of?
(5 points)
This type of scale is the Semantic Differential Scale.
Describe briefly the characteristics of the scale. Is there anything unusual you notice about this scale? (5 points)
The semantic-differential scale uses numbers for varied responses to the questions. One statement is placed on the far right, the other statement is placed on the far left, and there is a middle statement indicating neutrality. Numbers 5 and 4 indicate positivity in terms of satisfaction, the middle number 3 indicates neutrality while numbers 2 and 1 indicate negativity in terms of dissatisfaction. Customers can rate the experience and services as highly positive, neutral, or highly negative. There is nothing unusual about the scale.
What are the advantage(s) and disadvantage(s) of NOT having a scale point labeled “Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied” in a survey scale? (5 points)
The main advantage of not including the “Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied” scale point is that one is able to get a definite number of the people who are satisfied and those who are dissatisfied. The other advantage is that one will be able to clearly determine whether satisfaction exceeds dissatisfaction and vice versa since consumers have no choice but to commit to the available options.
The main disadvantage of failing to include the neither “Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied” scale point is the introduction of a possibility of bias since responses are left without an option for neutrality. Respondents are then forced to chose between a more negative or positive response. In most cases, such respondents opt for the negative one. The other disadvantage is that failing to use the score point leaves the researcher without a standard point for making comparisons after calculating the weighted average rating.
What is the difference between a scale point labeled “Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied” and “Neutral”? Why would you use one and not the other? (5 points)
The difference is that “Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied” implies that the participant did not experience any level of satisfaction neither did he or she experience any level of dissatisfaction. The scale point “Neutral”, on the other hand, implies that the customer experienced mid-way satisfaction and mid-way dissatisfaction. It is better to use “Neutral” than “Neither Satisfied or Dissatisfied” because use of the word neutral minimizes the probability of consumer bias and is easier to interpret because it is a mid-way point.
Originally, the middle scale point in Likert scales was generally labeled “Undecided”. This label has been widely substituted by “Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied” (or “Neither Agree nor Disagree”, depending on the specific scale etc).
What could be the reason for this development? What is the difference between “Undecided” and e.g. “Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied”?
(5 points)
The reason for the substitution of “undecided” with “Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied” or “Neither Agree nor Disagree” is that undecided implies that the participant does not have any opinion regarding his or her level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The difference between “Undecided” and “Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied” is that “undecided” is a unipolar scale point while “Neither Satisfied or Dissatisfied” is a bipolar scale point. The “Undecided” scale point should not feature in Likert Scales as most of them are bipolar in nature. It should be placed in a separate space outside the main scale.
In surveys you might come across a scale that includes a middle point (e.g. “Neither Agree nor Disagree” and to the right an extra point labeled “Prefer Not to answer”. Why? What is the difference between e.g. “Neither Agree nor Disagree” and “Prefer Not to Answer”? Try to offer an example! (5 points)
The difference between “Neither Agree nor Disagree” and “Prefer Not to Answer” is that “Neither Agree nor Disagree” connotes neutrality of the customer while “Prefer Not to Answer” gives the customer the option of not answering if her or she is not comfortable with the question or the answer. For instance, a question such as “Were you satisfied with the service by Waiter A” may pose a dilemma for a participant. There are participants who would go ahead and state that they were “neither satisfied or dissatisfied” implying that the service was average. However, there are customers who may feel they were extremely dissatisfied with the service, but prefer not to answer the question for fear that their response might cause Waiter A to be fired.
What are the marketing reasons for CB to have a gift shop? (5 points)
The marketing reasons for CB to have a gift shop are so that they can attract and retain customers. A customer who buys a gift at a discount from the gift shop is likely to be happy and to recommend CB to his or her friends and relatives.
An almost necessary prerequisite for creating a good survey is to be pedantic. Please look at the formatting above. What could / should they improve? (5 points)
Pedantic means that the wording of the survey has to be exact and precise. The formatting above has some issues that need to be improved to make it pedantic. The terms appeal of the merchandise, variety of the merchandise, and quality of merchandise are repetitive. They should simply be replaced with “Satisfaction with the merchandise”. Having “Overall Satisfaction with service” at the top and “Friendliness of the Sales Associate” at the bottom is repetitive and irrelevant. The latter should be scraped so that only the former remains in the survey.
Have a careful look at the wording of the scales above. Do you notice anything unusual?
(5 points)
There is something unusual in that the scale is not balanced with an equal number or negative and positive categories. The only negative category is “Not at All Likely”. The number of positive and negative categories should always be balanced.
Indicate succinctly (use the boxes) what makes the following questions / scales unusual – compared to other surveys commonly in use. (5 points)
- Questions referring to chapter 8
Question: primary vs. secondary data
- Why might a marketing researcher prefer to use secondary data rather than primary data in a study? (10 points)
A marketer might prefer to use secondary data instead of primary data because secondary data is cost and time effective as it is readily available. No extra time or cost is spent on secondary data. Secondary data is extensive as it covers a wide range of issues. A market researcher is able to get diverse perspectives on the issue they are researching and consider only the most relevant information. Chances of errors and mistakes are reduced since secondary research is often reviewed and verified by peers and professionals. A market researcher will also be able to gain ideas for primary research by identifying areas which have not yet been researched.
(b) Why might the reverse be true? (10 points)
A marketer might prefer to use primary data instead of secondary data because he or she will have complete control over the objectives, scope, and process. He or she will be able to concentrate on the specific targeted issues. Interpretation of data is better because it is done from a firsthand point of view. The data used is recent and accurate since the researcher collect current data. A marketer can copyright primary research since it has proprietary rights.
Please read:
(adopted from: http://www.socialrabbit.net/2011/01/how-can-i-use-polls-on-my-facebook-page/)
How can I use Polls on my FaceBook Page?
For anyone who is not sure what a poll on FaceBook is, below is an example, basically it is a survey question where you give people a choice of answers. When they click on the answer they are then taken to the results and they can see what others thought.
My favorite Poll application is called Poll, it is free (although there is also a paid version with no ads and a photo option) to add it to your FaceBook Page as a tab and also publish it on your wall – which means that people are more likely to click on it. There is however lots of different poll applications, so if you don’t like this one you can do a search on FaceBook to find others.
How you could use a poll on your page,
- Ask people to vote on which product you should put on special
- Ask people to vote as to what they would like to see on your page
Questions:
(a) What are the advantages of using a fixed-alternative poll question on FaceBook?
(5 points)
The advantages of using a fixed-alternative poll question is that it is easier to code such questions on FaceBook; it results in straightforward answers; it is less tedious therefore more users may reply; provides numerous clear-cut categories for determining behavior , attitude, skill, and knowledge, and it enables one to speedily conduct an analysis of a large number of responses.
- When do you think it would be better to use an open-ended question? (10 points)
It would be better to use an open-ended question one requires respondents to answer in their own words, when one wants to explore diverse perspectives; when one is conducting the survey on familiar and trustworthy participants; when one has more time to conduct the research; when one is not facing any cost constraints; when one wants more facts for interpretation of the data, and when one wants to avoid the risk of bias as multiple choices are not forced on participants.
You are DONE!
