Marketing Research Design, Measurement, and Validity

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering research designs, questionnaire development, validity classifications, sampling biases, and measurement scales from the lecture.

Information-Systems-Based Research

Ongoing analysis of incoming data on a regular basis that utilizes discovery-oriented methods to identify associations, such as pulling daily sales reports.

Project-Based Research

A one-time, structured analysis of primary or newly gathered secondary data with a typical tendency toward hypothesis testing.

Exploratory Research

Research used to formulate problems more precisely, develop hypotheses, establish priorities for further research, eliminate impractical ideas, and clarify concepts using methods like literature searches, focus groups, and interviews.

Descriptive Research

Research used to describe segment characteristics, estimate the proportion of people who behave in a certain way, and make specific predictions using longitudinal studies, panel surveys, or databases.

Relational Research

Research that examines relationships between variables by means of correlation and the time order in which variables occur.

Causal Research

Research that provides evidence regarding causal relationships by means of concomitant variation, time order of variables, and elimination of other explanations.

Population

The entire universe from which a sample is drawn.

Sampling Frame

A complete list of all the items, individuals, or entities in a target population that a researcher wants to study.

Sampling Procedure

The specific method used to choose sample items or individuals from the sampling frame.

Sample Size

The total number of items or individuals selected for a sample, calculated to achieve statistical significance.

Disguised Question

A question format in which the participant is not aware of the research purpose.

Undisguised Question

A question format in which the participant is aware of the research purpose.

Structured Question

A question format that provides predefined answers for the respondent to choose from.

Unstructured Question

A question format that allows participants to provide open-ended, free-response answers.

Dichotomous Question

A question format that allows only two possible mutually exclusive answers, such as Yes/No or Agree/Disagree.

Multichotomous Question

A question format that provides multiple possible response options, commonly formatted as multiple choice.

Likert Scale

A multi-point scale used to measure the strength of attitudes or opinions, where an even number of points forces a side choice and an odd number allows neutrality.

Internal Validity

The ability to attribute an observed effect to the experimental variable rather than other factors, verifying that a construct is operationalized correctly and is distinct from other constructs.

Construct Validity

A sub-type of validity that evaluates whether an instrument is accurately measuring the intended construct.

Concurrent Validity

A form of validity that determines whether a measurement's findings match the results of other established research.

Convergent Validity

A form of validity assessing whether multiple distinct operationalizations of the same construct produce identical results.

Divergent Validity

A form of validity assessing whether a measurement produces distinct results from other, potentially similar constructs.

Causal Validity

The ability to demonstrate a causal effect between the independent variable ($\text{IV}$) and dependent variable ($\text{DV}$) while ruling out alternative hypotheses.

External Validity

The extent to which observed experimental effects and relationships can be generalized to other contexts and populations.

Generalizability

The degree to which study results apply across other contexts, over time, and throughout an entire population.

Predictive Validity

The extent to which future outcomes can be accurately forecast based on research results.

Robustness

The quality of research results holding up across multiple methods of calculation and across all subsets of a dataset.

Non-Response Bias

A form of sampling bias that occurs when selected participants are unable or unwilling to participate in a study.

Under-Coverage Bias

A form of sampling bias that occurs when certain segments of the target population are not adequately represented in the sample.

Voluntary Response Bias

A form of sampling bias that arises when the sample consists entirely of self-selected volunteers.

Response Bias / Demand Effects

A measurement bias defined by the tendency of respondents to provide inaccurate or false answers on self-report questionnaires or interviews.

Communication Method

A primary data collection technique involving direct questioning of respondents, required for assessing non-observable attributes like attitudes, awareness, and motivations.

Observation Method

A naturalistic primary data collection technique entailing systematic recording of facts or actions to obtain objective behavioral data.

Nominal Scale

A measurement scale composed of mutually exclusive, labeled categories that lack numerical rank or order.

Ordinal / Rank Scale

A measurement scale that ranks objects or arranges items in an ordered sequence without specifying the exact distance between ranks.

Interval Scale

A measurement scale in which numbers rank objects and represent equal increments of the attribute being evaluated, but without a true zero point.

Ratio Scale

An open-ended variation of an interval scale that features a meaningful, absolute zero point.