MRA Research Design & Reporting 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A researcher wants to understand the causal effect of price on purchase intent. Which research design is most appropriate?
- Cross-sectional survey
- Experimental design with randomized groups (Correct answer)
- Ethnographic observation
- Secondary data analysis
Correct answer: Experimental design with randomized groups
Experimental designs with randomized control and treatment groups allow researchers to isolate causal relationships by controlling for confounding variables.
Question 2: Which sampling method ensures every member of the population has an equal and known chance of being selected?
- Convenience sampling
- Quota sampling
- Simple random sampling (Correct answer)
- Snowball sampling
Correct answer: Simple random sampling
Simple random sampling gives each population member an equal and known probability of selection, making it the gold standard for probability sampling.
Question 3: An executive summary in a market research report should primarily:
- Reproduce all methodology details
- Present findings, conclusions, and recommendations concisely (Correct answer)
- List all raw data tables
- Describe the sampling frame in detail
Correct answer: Present findings, conclusions, and recommendations concisely
An executive summary distills key findings, conclusions, and actionable recommendations for decision-makers who may not read the full report.
Question 4: What is the purpose of a research brief in the market research process?
- To summarize final results for clients
- To define the research problem, objectives, and scope before fieldwork begins (Correct answer)
- To code and clean collected data
- To select the statistical software for analysis
Correct answer: To define the research problem, objectives, and scope before fieldwork begins
A research brief aligns the client and researcher on objectives, constraints, and deliverables before any data collection begins.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes a longitudinal research design?
- Studying multiple groups at a single point in time
- Collecting data from the same subjects repeatedly over time (Correct answer)
- Comparing two independent cross-sections
- Using only secondary historical data
Correct answer: Collecting data from the same subjects repeatedly over time
Longitudinal designs track the same respondents over multiple time periods, enabling analysis of change and trends.
Question 6: When a report chart's y-axis does not start at zero, this is most likely to cause:
- Sampling bias
- Response bias
- Visual distortion that exaggerates differences (Correct answer)
- Construct validity issues
Correct answer: Visual distortion that exaggerates differences
Truncating the y-axis visually amplifies differences between data points, potentially misleading readers about the magnitude of change.
Question 7: A market researcher reports a 95% confidence interval of [42%, 48%] for brand awareness. What does this mean?
- 95% of respondents are aware of the brand
- There is a 95% probability the true population value falls between 42% and 48% (Correct answer)
- The sample error is exactly 3%
- The result is statistically significant at p < 0.05
Correct answer: There is a 95% probability the true population value falls between 42% and 48%
A 95% confidence interval means that if the study were repeated many times, 95% of such intervals would contain the true population parameter.
MRA Research Design & Reporting 2
A researcher wants to understand the causal effect of price on purchase intent.
Which research design is most appropriate?