RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS Marketing researchers have a choice of three nain research in in collccting primary data: questionnaires, qualitative measures, and technologi cal devices
Q u e s t i o n n a i r e s A questionnaire consists of a set of questions presented to re spondents. Because its it is by far the most common instrument u to collect of flexibility, primary data. Researchers need to carefully develop, test, and debug questionnaires before them on large scale. The form, wording, and s of the question can all influence the response. Closed-end questions specify all the possible answers and provide answers that are easier to interpret and tabulate. Open-end questions allow respondents to answer in their own words and often reveal more about how people think. They are especially useful in exploratory research, where the res is looking for insight into how people think rather than measuring how many people think a certain way. Table 4.1 provides exam ples of both types of questions; also sce"Marketing Memo: Questionnaire Dos and Don'ts.
Qualitative M e a s ure s some narketers prefer more qualitative methods for gauging consumer opinion, because consumer actions don't always match their answers to survey questions. Qualitative research techniques are relatively unstructured measurement approaches that permit a range of possible responses. Their variety is limited only by the cre ativity of the marketing researcher.