Test Bank

Chapter 5: Research and Evidence-Based Practices

Multiple Choice

1. What can research do for public relations practitioners?

a. boost their credibility

b. guarantee optimal results

c. prove the critics wrong

d. increase client billings

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Is Research? How Does It Function in Public Relations?

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Not knowing how to apply research insights to our findings results in ______.

a. angry clients with inflated bills

b. correctly using gut-level hunches

c. a lot of useless data floating around

d. creative application of insights

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Is Research? How Does It Function in Public Relations?
Difficulty Level: Medium

3. From a PR career standpoint, what advantages do research skills give you over your competitors?

a. technical skill and speed

b. simplicity and lower prices

c. speed and wisdom

d. effectiveness and marketability

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: What Is Research? How Does It Function in Public Relations?

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. When Ford attempted to compete with the Tesla Cybertruck in 2019, it was an example of using research to ______.

a. double-check energy consumption levels

b. identify gaps and opportunities relative to competitors

c. gauge consumer perceptions of the two brands

d. reclaim the full-size truck market from Tesla

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Role of Research in Public Relations

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Research is crucial to building a foundation for creating effective ______.

a. client relations

b. personnel

c. balance sheets

d. strategies

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Role of Research in Public Relations

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. In which of the following areas can research assist the PR practitioner?

a. audiences and key messages

b. agency and personnel structure

c. intuition and gut-level hunches

d. billing and client relations

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Research informs our campaigns and strategies

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. The partnership between Spotify and Tic-Tac is an example of using research as the basis for ______.

a. brand building

b. competitive analysis

c. innovation

d. investor relations

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Research is the basis for innovation

Difficulty Level: Hard

8. What is the universal feature of all public relations models?

a. revenue

b. research

c. brand building

d. a client focus

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Research is central to the PR models that guide our work

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. The research acronym “EBP” stands for ______.

a. everybody participates

b. enter baseline pixels

c. exceptions by proxy

d. evidence-based practices

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Are Evidence-Based Practices for Research?

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Which of the following terms apply to evidence-based practices?

a. bottom-up, client-focused, customized

b. creative, strategy-driven, best practices

c. top-down, dollar-driven, one-size-fits-all

d. digging, diligence, detective work

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Are Evidence-Based Practices for Research?

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Evidence-based practices use research and evidence to ______.

a. separate facts from opinions

b. balance campaign budgets

c. tie together all parties

d. eliminate competing products

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: What Are Evidence-Based Practices for Research?

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. If you want to better understand attitudes, behaviors, and values of a given public, which type of audience segmentation should you choose?

a. demographics

b. psychographics

c. personas

d. personalities

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Psychographics help us understand audiences in more depth

Difficulty Level: Hard

13. If Purina wanted to create a persona for their ideal consumer, they would base it on ______.

a. demographics and psychographics

b. internal feedback and external trials

c. focus groups of satisfied customers

d. a contest among dedicated dog owners

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Personas give us representative sketches of audiences

Difficulty Level: Hard

14. ______ are immediate and direct results while ______ are more important results.

a. Internal findings; external findings

b. Opinions; facts

c. Best practices; final reports

d. Outputs; outcomes

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Outputs and Outcomes

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. When conducting research into social and digital communication, the tasks are divided between ______ and ______.

a. speaking; hearing

b. monitoring; listening

c. promotion; follow-up

d. software; hardware

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social and Digital Communications

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. How does reliability differ from validity?

a. Reliability is about replication; validity is about effectiveness.

b. Reliability is about participation; validity is about the instrument.

c. Reliability is about character; validity is about believability.

d. There is no difference between the two.

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Concepts of Reliability and Validity

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. If you asked “What impact does a CEO have on a brand’s reputation?” you would be examining ______.

a. how things are happening

b. tangible and intangible factors

c. cause and effect

d. why things are happening

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Questions to Explore

Difficulty Level: Hard

18. What is the biggest difference between formal and informal research?

a. Formal research uses the scientific method.

b. Informal research is considered to be secondary.

c. Formal research comes earlier in the process.

d. Informal research requires IRB approval at universities.

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Formal and Informal Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Secondary research is usually conducted ______.

a. at midpoint

b. first

c. rarely

d. last

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Primary and Secondary Research

Difficulty Level: Easy

20. Of the following research techniques, which one is best suited to a qualitative study?

a. double-blind panel

b. Likert-scale questionnaire

c. focus groups

d. numerical ranking tests

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Primary Research: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. If you wanted to explore what is causing consumers to choose Tic-Tacs over Altoids mints, you would conduct a(n) ______ study.

a. open-ended

b. qualitative

c. closed-ended

d. quantitative

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Quantitative research allows us to explore cause and effect

Difficulty Level: Hard

22. In order to gain the most complete picture of a topic or situation, one would conduct ______ research.

a. mixed method

b. qualitative

c. results-based

d. quantitative

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Mixed-methods research gives us a complete picture of a topic or situation

Difficulty Level: Hard

23. To learn about how members relate to one another in social media communities, which research approach would you choose?

a. social likeability scales

b. focus group debriefing

c. social network analysis

d. neuromarketing research

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Social Network Analysis (SNA)

Difficulty Level: Hard

24. Providing full transparency and supporting documentation is an example of the understanding the ______.

a. process of approval

b. ethics of research

c. client’s research needs

d. budgeting process

Learning Objective: 5-4: Determine best practices for conducting research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Best Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. From the list below, identify the biggest concern in obtaining data.

a. client unwillingness

b. trade secrets

c. software translation

d. high cost

Learning Objective: 5-4: Determine best practices for conducting research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Obtaining Data and Other Challenges

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. While the ability to conduct research is important, it is not a top skill expected of PR practitioners.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Is Research? How Does It Function in Public Relations?

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. All formal research involves information, science, and objectivity.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Is Research? How Does It Function in Public Relations?

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Research is a scientific endeavor, not a creative one.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Research is the basis for innovation

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Evidence-based practices (EBP) blend the art and science of research.

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Are Evidence-Based Practices for Research?

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Although outputs and outcomes are similar terms, they mean different things.

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Outputs and Outcomes

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. In the realm of social media research, listening enables us to report on our success.

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Monitoring allows us to report on our success

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. If you ask, “Why do Generation Z members prefer to engage in business online?”, you are looking for a cause-and-effect relationship.

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Questions to Explore

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Informal research can be useful when looking for potential ideas to implement, but it is not scientific in nature.

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Formal and Informal Research

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. Qualitative research allows us to explore cause and effect.

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Quantitative research allows us to explore cause and effect

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. As a research technique, neuromarketing has a strong connection to psychology.

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Neuromarketing Research and Analysis

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. The concept of ethics cannot be separated from the process of research.

Learning Objective: 5-4: Determine best practices for conducting research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Best Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. On a research team, it is not important to determine roles since it is a democratic process.

Learning Objective: 5-4: Determine best practices for conducting research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Best Practices

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. A major advantage of obtaining data from the outside is that it won’t cost much money.

Learning Objective: 5-4: Determine best practices for conducting research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Obtaining Data and Other Challenges

Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Categorize some of the major questions that research helps the PR professional to answer.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Define research and understand its role in public relations.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Role of Research in Public Relations

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. As a PR professional, how would you apply the principles of evidence-based practices for research (EBP) to a campaign for your client?

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: What Are Evidence-Based Practice for Research?

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Compare the various approaches to audience segmentation, and explain when to use each approach.

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Audience Segmentation

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Differentiate between monitoring and listening as a research approach in social and digital communications.

Learning Objective: 5-2: Understand evidence-based practices for research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Social and Digital Communications

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. If you were working with a client to explore initial ideas for a major campaign, why would informal research make sense? Provide an example of informal research.

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Formal and Informal Research
Difficulty Level: Hard

6. Suppose that you work with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and are launching a food safety campaign. Before starting, you want to test the impact of several different messaging approaches. Would you choose to conduct qualitative or quantitative research? Which technique might you use and why?

Learning Objective: 5-3: Understand research methods—how to conduct, evaluate and apply research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Quantitative research allows us to explore cause and effect

Difficulty Level: Hard

7. You are a manager with a major public relations agency. Your boss has asked you to lead a training session on best research practices for a group of new employees. What would be some of your major talking points?

Learning Objective: 5-4: Determine best practices for conducting research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: What Are Best Practices for Conducting, Evaluating, and Applying Research?

Difficulty Level: Hard