MKTG 3710 WMU Midterm Study Guide, Practice Questions and Exam Review
2026
Burns, Veeck & Bush (BVB) Definition of Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔the systematic
design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation
facing an organization
AMA Definition of Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔the function that links the
consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information - information used to:
- identify and define marketing opportunities and problems
- generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions
- monitor marketing performance
- improve the understanding of marketing as a process
AMA Definition of Marketing Research; Marketing Research As A Process - correct answer ✔✔-
specifies the information required to address these issues;
- designs the method for collecting the information;
- manages and implements the data collection process;
- analyzes the results; and
- communicates the findings and their implications
Characteristics of Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔1. It is a business function
2. It is a process
- consists of a sequence of interrelated stages
- must be a systematic and objective - hallmarks of the Scientific Method
3. Its main purpose is to generate information
- Not just data (recorded facts or measures of phenomena)
,- Information must be accurate, objective, timely, relevant, and complete.
4. Has different application areas
- Marketing decision making - Applied Research
- Improving understanding of marketing as a process - Basic Research
Basic Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔Marketing research that is conducted to:
- learn more about a marketing concept or construct
- develop or test marketing theories
- expand the boundaries of generalizable marketing knowledge
Basic marketing research attempts to define and classify marketing phenomena and to develop
theories that describe, explain, and predict marketing phenomena.
Findings usually do not have immediate implications for marketing practice.
Captured in the 4th use in the AMA definition, i.e. research conducted to:
- improve understanding of marketing as a process
Who Conducts Basic Marketing Research? - correct answer ✔✔- Faculty of universities and
colleges (e.g. WMU's OVPR)
- University research centers (e.g. Univ. of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center; Univ. of
Michigan's Survey Research Center)
- Research Institutes (e.g. Marketing Science Institute)
- Foundations
Applied Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔Research that is conducted to provide
information for a specific company to:
,solve a marketing problem they are facing, or
make decisions about what marketing actions to take
The findings are intended only for that company, which typically pays for the research to be
conducted
Captured in the first three uses in the AMA definition, i.e. research conducted to:
- identify and define marketing opportunities and problems
- generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions
- monitor marketing performance
Who Conducts Applied Marketing Research? - correct answer ✔✔- Commercial marketing
research firms
- Internal research departments of advertising agencies and consulting firms
- In-house research by large U.S. corporations
Major Users of Applied Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔29% other businesses
22% media and advertising businesses
19% consumer goods businesses
17% pharmaceutical and healthcare businesses
7% finance, banking, and insurance businesses
2% government organizations
4% automotive businesses
Quantitative Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔- Marketing research studies in which the
data generated are in the form of numbers (quantitative data) that can be objectively analyzed.
, - Typically involves the use of structured questions, predetermined response options, and a
large number of respondents.
Qualitative Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔- Research in which the data generated are
in the form of text (qualitative data), i.e. non-standardized data that can only be subjectively
analyzed.
- Typically involves the use of observation or unstructured, open-ended questions and a small
number of respondents.
Exploratory Research - correct answer ✔✔Research that is conducted to gain background
information about (i.e. explore) a marketing issue, such as possible causes of a marketing
problem. E.g. why are our sales declining?
Descriptive Research - correct answer ✔✔Research that is conducted to describe marketing
phenomena, often in quantitative terms. E.g. who are our customers? What, where, when, and
how do they buy our products?
Causal Research - correct answer ✔✔Research to test cause-effect relationships among
marketing variables, e.g. what effect will a price increase have on sales of our product?
The Role of Marketing Research in an Organization - correct answer ✔✔Marketing research
helps organizations to:
- implement the marketing concept - the philosophy of modern marketing
- carry out strategic marketing - the practice of modern marketing
The Marketing Concept - correct answer ✔✔A business philosophy that holds that the key to
achieving an organization's goals is in being more effective than competitors in creating,
delivering, and communicating customer value to its chosen markets.
Implies three things:
2026
Burns, Veeck & Bush (BVB) Definition of Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔the systematic
design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation
facing an organization
AMA Definition of Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔the function that links the
consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information - information used to:
- identify and define marketing opportunities and problems
- generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions
- monitor marketing performance
- improve the understanding of marketing as a process
AMA Definition of Marketing Research; Marketing Research As A Process - correct answer ✔✔-
specifies the information required to address these issues;
- designs the method for collecting the information;
- manages and implements the data collection process;
- analyzes the results; and
- communicates the findings and their implications
Characteristics of Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔1. It is a business function
2. It is a process
- consists of a sequence of interrelated stages
- must be a systematic and objective - hallmarks of the Scientific Method
3. Its main purpose is to generate information
- Not just data (recorded facts or measures of phenomena)
,- Information must be accurate, objective, timely, relevant, and complete.
4. Has different application areas
- Marketing decision making - Applied Research
- Improving understanding of marketing as a process - Basic Research
Basic Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔Marketing research that is conducted to:
- learn more about a marketing concept or construct
- develop or test marketing theories
- expand the boundaries of generalizable marketing knowledge
Basic marketing research attempts to define and classify marketing phenomena and to develop
theories that describe, explain, and predict marketing phenomena.
Findings usually do not have immediate implications for marketing practice.
Captured in the 4th use in the AMA definition, i.e. research conducted to:
- improve understanding of marketing as a process
Who Conducts Basic Marketing Research? - correct answer ✔✔- Faculty of universities and
colleges (e.g. WMU's OVPR)
- University research centers (e.g. Univ. of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center; Univ. of
Michigan's Survey Research Center)
- Research Institutes (e.g. Marketing Science Institute)
- Foundations
Applied Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔Research that is conducted to provide
information for a specific company to:
,solve a marketing problem they are facing, or
make decisions about what marketing actions to take
The findings are intended only for that company, which typically pays for the research to be
conducted
Captured in the first three uses in the AMA definition, i.e. research conducted to:
- identify and define marketing opportunities and problems
- generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions
- monitor marketing performance
Who Conducts Applied Marketing Research? - correct answer ✔✔- Commercial marketing
research firms
- Internal research departments of advertising agencies and consulting firms
- In-house research by large U.S. corporations
Major Users of Applied Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔29% other businesses
22% media and advertising businesses
19% consumer goods businesses
17% pharmaceutical and healthcare businesses
7% finance, banking, and insurance businesses
2% government organizations
4% automotive businesses
Quantitative Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔- Marketing research studies in which the
data generated are in the form of numbers (quantitative data) that can be objectively analyzed.
, - Typically involves the use of structured questions, predetermined response options, and a
large number of respondents.
Qualitative Marketing Research - correct answer ✔✔- Research in which the data generated are
in the form of text (qualitative data), i.e. non-standardized data that can only be subjectively
analyzed.
- Typically involves the use of observation or unstructured, open-ended questions and a small
number of respondents.
Exploratory Research - correct answer ✔✔Research that is conducted to gain background
information about (i.e. explore) a marketing issue, such as possible causes of a marketing
problem. E.g. why are our sales declining?
Descriptive Research - correct answer ✔✔Research that is conducted to describe marketing
phenomena, often in quantitative terms. E.g. who are our customers? What, where, when, and
how do they buy our products?
Causal Research - correct answer ✔✔Research to test cause-effect relationships among
marketing variables, e.g. what effect will a price increase have on sales of our product?
The Role of Marketing Research in an Organization - correct answer ✔✔Marketing research
helps organizations to:
- implement the marketing concept - the philosophy of modern marketing
- carry out strategic marketing - the practice of modern marketing
The Marketing Concept - correct answer ✔✔A business philosophy that holds that the key to
achieving an organization's goals is in being more effective than competitors in creating,
delivering, and communicating customer value to its chosen markets.
Implies three things:
