Chapter

15
Basic Data Analysis:
Descriptive Statistics

Learning Objectives:

To learn about the concept of

data reduction and the four
functions it provides

To appreciate the five basic

types of statistical analysis
used in marketing research

To use measures of central

tendency and dispersion
customarily used in
describing data Practitioner Viewpoint
Most market researchers will tell you that they are always gathering
To learn how to obtain descriptive data. But the successful researcher knows how to use those data to
statistics with SPSS answer diffi- cult marketing questions. Knowing what to analyze, how
to analyze, and how to interpret the results are what makes your
research worthwhile.
Understanding the basics of statistical analysis is a must for a
successful career in the marketing research field.
In this chapter, you will learn the basics of statistical data analysis in
marketing research. You will learn what data to use, how to prepare these
data for analysis, how to determine what type of analysis to perform, and
how to conduct DESCRIPTIVE analyses of your data using your statistical
analysis package—SPSS®.
Jack Noonan
President, SPSS, Inc.

20
09
93
37
59
428
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
 The Digital Divide for Hispanic U.S. CONSUMERS1 Where We Are:
Although the African American segment has been the largest minority 1. Establish the need
consumer market in the United States for a great many years, the Hispanic for marketing
population has been steadily gaining. It is estimated from census comparisons research
and other sources that the Hispanic market segment grew by more than 40 2. Define the problem
percent in the past decade. At this rate, Hispanics will overtake African 3. Establish research objectives
American consumers in total population. There are currently about 32,500,000 4. Determine research design
Hispanic U.S. residents, accounting for approxi- mately 11 percent of the 5. Identify information types and
total U.S. population. sources
What will be the consumer market impacts of the Hispanic minority 6. Determine methods of
growth? One industry that will be definitely affected is consumer electronics. accessing data
A recent sur- vey of what electronics products are owned by U.S. Hispanic 7. Design data collection forms
households revealed that although Hispanic households are equal to other 8. Determine sample plan and size
U.S. households in posses- sion of some consumer electronics products, 9. Collect data
there are several “digital divides” when its findings were compared to the 10. Analyze data
general U.S. population. Figure 15.1 is a snapshot of the divide. 11. Prepare and present the
Hispanics are significantly behind in personal computers, portable CD final research report
players, and car CD players, whereas they are equal in camcorder and
DVD player ownership. Plus, they are actually 6 percent ahead in digital
camera ownership.

23% U.S.Population
DVD player 23% Hispanics

20%
Digital camera
26%

39%
Camcorder 39%

45%
Car CD player
39%

47%
Portable CD player
37%

63%
Personal computer
39%

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Figure 15.1 Hispanic Electronics Ownership Compared to the U.S. Population

2009933759

429
430 Chapter 15 Basic Data Analysis: Descriptive
Statistics

Never 41%
More than 5 years 6%

Within 4 or 5 years 4%

Within 3 years 5%

Within 2 years 10%

Within 1 year 34%

Figure 15.2 Hispanics’ Intentions to Purchase First DVD Player

When will the Hispanic electronics purchase wave wash ashore? No

one can answer this question with certainty, but the graph in Figure 15.2 that
depicts when they intend to purchase their first DVD player gives some
insight.
This pie chart immediately reveals that about one-third of all Hispanics who
do not have a DVD player intend to buy one in the coming year. Assuming
there are 3 family members per household, the 32.5 million Hispanic U.S.
residents represent about
10.8 million households. The survey reveals that 77 percent of these households
do not own a DVD player, and 34 percent of them intend to purchase a DVD
player in the coming year. Thirty-four percent of 77 percent of 10.8 million
households translates into over 2.8 million DVD players to be purchased in the
coming year.

Hispanic consumers in the United

States represent a very large
segment of the consumer 20
electronics market. 09
93
37
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall. 59
 Coding Data and the Data Code Book 431

This chapter begins our discussion of the various statistical techniques available
to the marketing researcher. As you will soon learn, these really are devices to
convert formless data into meaningful information just as was done in the
“Hispanics Digital Divide” example. These techniques summarize and
communicate patterns found in the data sets marketing researchers analyze.
We begin the chapter by describing data coding and the code book. Then we
introduce data reduction and the four functions it accomplishes. Here we preview
five different types of statistical analyses commonly used by marketing
researchers. Next, we define descriptive analysis and discuss measures of
central tendency such as the mode, median, and mean. We also discuss measures
of variability, including the frequency distribution, range, and standard deviation.
It is important to understand when each measure is appropriate, so this topic is
addressed. Last, we show you how to obtain the various descriptive statistics
available in SPSS.

CODING DATA AND THE DATA CODE BOOK

After questionnaires are screened and exceptions are dealt with, the researcher
moves to the data entry stage of the data analysis process. Data entry refers to
the creation of a computer file that holds the raw data taken from all of the
ques- tionnaires deemed suitable for analysis. A number of data entry options
exist, ranging from manual keyboard entry of each and every piece of data to
computer scanning systems that scan entire sets of questionnaires and convert
them to a data file in a matter of minutes. There are, in fact, integrated
questionnaire design and analysis software programs, such as Websurveyor,
that include computer scanning operations in their systems.
Data entry requires an operation called data coding, defined as the identifica-
tion of codes that pertain to the possible responses for each question on the ques-
tionnaire. Typically, these codes are numerical because numbers are quick and
easy to input, and computers work with numbers more efficiently than they do
with alphanumeric codes. Recall that we discussed precoding the
questionnaire in Chapter 11. You have also encountered data codes in your work
with SPSS thus far using your SPSS Student Assistant. In large-scale projects, and
especially in cases in which the data entry is performed by a subcontractor,
Researchers utilize data coding
researchers utilize a data code book, which identifies all of the variable names
when preparing and working with
and code numbers associated with each possible response to each question that
a computer data file.
makes up the data set. With a code book that describes the data file, any
researcher can work on the data set, regardless of whether or not that researcher
was involved in the research project during its ear- lier stages.
With online surveys, such as the use of Websurveyor, the data file is built as
respondents submit their completed online questionnaires. That is, with a Web-
based survey, the codes are programmed into the html questionnaire document,
but they do not appear as code numbers such as those customarily placed on
a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. In the case of Web-based surveys, the code
book is vital as it is the researcher’s only map to decipher the numbers found
in the data file and to correlate them to the answers to the questions on the
ques- tionnaire.
With SPSS, it is easy to obtain the coding. With the data file opened, and all of
the variables and their variable labels defined, use the Utilities-File Info or
Utilities- Variables commands. The first one gives a list of all variables in the SPSS
SPSS
2009933759

output window, whereas the second one uses a window that isolates the variable
informa- tion one by one. See Figure 15.3.
432 Chapter 15 Basic Data Analysis: Descriptive
Statistics

Figure 15.3 SPSS Variables Commands Reveal the Underlying Code Book
for The Hobbit’s Choice Restaurant Survey Data

TYPES OF STATISTICAL ANALYSES

USED IN MARKETING RESEARCH
As you have learned through using SPSS, experimenting with the data sets we
have provided, and becoming familiar with how SPSS works, marketing
researchers work with data matrices. A data matrix is the coded raw data from a
survey. These data are arranged in columns, which represent answers to the
various questions on the survey questionnaire, and rows, which represent each
respondent or case. The prob- lem confronting the marketing researcher when
faced with a data matrix is data reduction, which is defined as the process of
describing a data matrix by computing a small number of measures that
characterize the data set. Data reduction condenses the data matrix while
retaining enough information so the client can mentally envi- sion its salient
characteristics.2 Data reduction is actually any statistical analysis that
accomplishes one or more of the following functions: (1) It summarizes the data;
(2) it applies understandable conceptualizations; (3) it communicates underlying
pat- terns; and (4) it generalizes sample findings to the population.3 Refer to
Table 15.1.

Table 15.1 The Four Functions of Data Reduction

FUNCTION EXAMPLE
Summarizes the data The average respondent’s age is . . .
Applies understandable conceptualizations Few respondents are younger than 30 . . .
Communicates underlying patterns Most satisfied customers recommend our brand 20
09
to their friends . . . 93
Generalizes sample findings to the population This means that from 70% to 80% of the target 37
59
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
 Types of Statistical Analyses Used in Marketing 433
Research market is . . .

Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
 Table 15.2 Five Types of Statistical Analysis Used by Marketing Researchers

TYPE DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE STATISTICAL CONCEPTS

Descriptive Data reduction Describe the typical Mean, median, mode
(Chapter respondent; describe frequency
15) distribution, how similar respondents range,
standard
are to the typical deviation
respondent
Inferential Determine population Estimate population Standard error
(Chapter parameters, test values Null hypothesis
16) hypotheses
Determine if differences Evaluate statistical t test of differences,
Differences exist between groups significance of analysis of
(Chapter variance
17) difference in the
means of two groups
in a sample
Determine associations Determine if two variables Correlation,
Associative are related in a cross-tabulation
(Chapter systematic way
18)
Forecast, based on a Estimate the level of Y, Regression
statistical model given the amount of X
Predictive
(Chapter
19)

There are five basic types of statistical analyses that can be used by is referred to as
marketing researchers to reduce a data matrix: descriptive analysis, inferential inferential analysis. In
analysis, differ- ences analysis, associative analysis, and predictive analysis (Table other words, such
15.2). Each one has a unique role in the data analysis process; moreover, they are statistical procedures
usually combined into a complete analysis of the information in order to satisfy allow a researcher to
the research objec- tives. As you can see in Figure 15.4, these techniques are draw conclusions about
progressively more com- plex, but at the same time, they convert raw data into the population based
increasingly more useful information as they increase in complexity. on information con-
These introductory comments will provide a preview of the subject matter tained in the data
that will be covered in this and other chapters. Because this is an introduction, matrix provided by
we use the names of statistical procedures, but we do not define or describe the sample. Inferential
them here. The specific techniques are all developed later in this textbook. It is statistics include
impor- tant, however, that you understand each of the various categories of
analysis available to the marketing researcher and comprehend generally
what each is about.

Descriptive Analysis
Certain measures such as the mean, mode, standard deviation, and range are
forms of descriptive analysis used by marketing researchers to describe the
sample data matrix in such a way as to portray the “typical” respondent and to
reveal the gen- eral pattern of responses. Descriptive measures are typically used
early in the analy- sis process and become foundations for subsequent analysis.

Inferential Analysis
When statistical procedures are used by marketing researchers to generalize
2009933759

the results of the sample to the target population that it represents, the process
Descriptive analysis is used to describe the variables (question responses) in a data matrix (all
respondents’ answers).

Inferential analysis is used to generate conclusions about the population’s characteristics based on the
sample data.

Difference analysis is used to
com- pare the mean of the
responses of one group to that of
another group, such as
satisfaction ratings for “heavy”
users versus “light” users of a
product or service.
Very Much
Predictive AnalysisMultiple Regression
Bivariate Regression
Cross-Tabulations and Correlations
Associative Analysis
Amount of Information
Differences Among Means
Differences Tests
Confidence Intervals and Hypothesis Tests
Statistical Inference
Means, Ranges, etc.
Frequencies and Percentages
Descriptive Analysis
Some
Simple Complex
Complexity of Analysis
Figure 15.4 Levels of Analysis Used in Marketing Research
hypothesis testing and estimating true population values based on sample
informa- tion. We describe basic statistical inference in Chapter 16.
Differences Analysis
Occasionally, a marketing researcher needs to determine whether two groups
are different. For example, the researcher may be investigating credit card
usage and want to see if high-income earners differ from low-income earners in
how often they use American Express. The researcher may statistically compare
the average annual dollar expenditures charged on American Express by high-
versus low- income buyers. Important market segmentation information may
come from this analysis. Or he or she may run an experiment to see which of
several alternative advertising themes garners the most favorable impression
from a sample of target audience members. The researcher uses differences
analysis to determine the degree to which real and generalizable differences
exist in the population in order to help the manager make an enlightened
decision on which advertising theme to use. Statistical differences analyses 20
09
include the t test for significant dif- ferences between groups and analysis of 93
variance. We define and describe them in Chapter 17. 37
59
 Associative Analysis
Other statistical techniques are used by researchers to determine systematic relation-
ships among variables. Associative analysis investigates if and how two variables Associative analysis determines
are related. For instance, are advertising recall scores positively associated with the strength and direction of rela-
inten- tions to buy the advertised brand? Are expenditures on sales force training tionships between two or more
positively associated with sales force performance? Depending on the statistic variables (questions in the survey).
used, the analy- sis may indicate the strength of the association and/or the
direction of the associa- tion between two questions on a questionnaire in a given
study. Techniques are also available if the researcher is interested in determining
complex patterns of associa- tions; these procedures are beyond the scope of this
textbook. We devote Chapter 18 to descriptions of cross-tabulations and
correlations that are basic associative analy- sis methods used in marketing
research.

Predictive Analysis
Statistical procedures and models are available to the marketing researcher to
help him or her make forecasts about future events, and these fall under the
Predictive analysis allows one to
category of predictive analysis. Regression analysis or time series analysis are make forecasts of future events.
commonly used by the marketing researcher to enhance prediction capabilities.
Because marketing managers are typically worried about what will happen in
the future given certain conditions such as a price increase, prediction is very
desirable. Regression analysis is described in depth in Chapter 19.
It is not our intention to make you an expert in statistical analysis. Rather, the
primary objective of our chapters on statistical analysis is to acquaint you with
the basic concepts involved in each of the selected measures. You will certainly
do basic statistical analysis throughout your marketing career, and it is very
likely that you will encounter information summarized in statistical terms. So
it is important for you to have a conceptual understanding of the commonly used
sta- tistical procedures. Our descriptions are intended to show you when and
where each measure is appropriately used and to help you interpret the meaning
of the statistical result once it is reported. We also rely heavily on computer
statistical program output because you will surely encounter statistical program
output in

Differences analysis will tell

you if high income owners
2009933759

use their American Express

account differently from lower
income owners.
 your company’s marketing information system and/or summarized in a
marketing research study report.

UNDERSTANDING DATA VIA DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS

RETURN TO Your Integrated Case
The Hobbit’s Choice Restaurant SPSS Data Set
SPSS
We now turn to the several tools in descriptive analysis available to the researcher
to describe the data obtained from a sample of respondents. In this chapter and in
all other data analysis chapters, we are going to use The Hobbit’s Choice Restaurant
survey data set. That way, you can reconstruct the data analysis on your own with
your Student Version of SPSS using the data set. To download this data set, go to the
following Web site, and find the data set download area.
Web site address for textbook data set is www.prenhall.com/burnsbush.
For your information and as a quick review, the questionnaire was posted on
Websurveyor, and qualified respondents answered the questions and submitted their
ques- tionnaires in the time period allotted for the online survey. The data were
downloaded, imported into SPSS, set up with variable names and value labels, and
cleaned. The final data set has a total of 400 respondents who answered all of the
questions on the question- naire. It exists as an SPSS data file called
“hobbitdata.sav.” At your earliest convenience, you should download the
“hobbitdata.sav” file and use SPSS to examine the questions and response formats
that were used in The Hobbit’s Choice Restaurant survey. We will refer to some of
these as we instruct you on the use of SPSS for various types of analyses described in
this chapter and other chapters that follow it.
From now on, you are going to “watch over the shoulder” of the marketing
researcher confronted with analyzing this data set. As you know, an SPSS data
set is made up of rows and columns (in the data view window). The columns are the
variables that corre- spond to the questions and parts of questions on the
questionnaire, and the individual rows represent each respondent. Refer to
Figure 15.5 to see The Hobbit’s Choice

20
09
93
Figure 15.5 37
59
The SPSS Data Editor View Shows a Data Matrix
 Understanding Data via Descriptive 437
Analysis
Restaurant survey data in their row and column arrangement in SPSS. Of course, it is not possible to show all of the variab

Two sets of measures are used extensively to describe the information values. That is, it is the
obtained in a sample. The first set involves measures of central tendency or value such that one-half
measures that describe the “typical” respondent or response. The second set of all of the other
involves measures of variability or measures that describe how similar values is greater than
(dissimilar) respondents or responses are to (from) “typical” respondents or the median
responses. Other types of descrip- tive measures are available, but they do not
enjoy the popularity of central tendency and variability. In fact, they are rarely
reported to clients.

MEASURES of Central Tendency: SUMMARIZING the “Typical” Respondent

The basic data reduction goal involved in all measures of central tendency is
to report a single piece of information that describes the most typical response
to a
question. The term “central tendency” applies to any statistical measure used that
somehow reflects a typical or frequent response. 4 Three such measures of central
tendency are commonly used as data reduction devices. They are the mode, the
median, and the mean. We describe each one in turn.

Mode The mode is a descriptive analysis measure defined as that value in a

string of numbers that occurs most often. In other words, if you scanned a list of
numbers constituting a field in a data matrix, the mode would be that number
that appeared more than any other. For example, in Figure 15.5, the first variable,
“eatrest,” per- tains to the qualifying question, “Do you eat at this type of
restaurant at least once every two weeks?” Respondents who said “no” were not
qualified, and they do not appear in the data set. Thus, the mode for this question
is “1,” the code for “yes.” The mode is most appropriate for categorical data such
as nominal (e.g., yes/no) or ordinal (e.g., rankings) scales.
Let’s look at a more interesting categorical question, “To which type of radio
programming do you most often listen?” The response options and their codes
are
(1) country and western, (2) easy listening, (3) rock, (4) talk/news, and (5) no
prefer- ence. A simple method is available to find the mode. First, the frequency
or percent- age distribution for each number in the string is tabulated, and then
the researcher scans for the largest incidence, or he or she may use a bar chart or
histogram as a visual aid. If you do a quick count using just the codes that can be
seen for this vari- able in Figure 15.5, you will find that there is one 1, two 2’s, two
3’s, and four 4’s. Since “4” is the most prevalent, then talk/news shows is the
mode. (There is also a period (.) which you will learn about later in this chapter.)
You should note that the mode is a relative measure of central tendency, for it
does not require that a majority of responses occurred for this value. Instead, it
simply specifies the value that occurs most frequently, and there is no
requirement that this occurrence is 50 percent or more. It can take on any value
as long as it is the most frequently occurring number. If a tie for the mode occurs,
the distribution is considered to be “bimodal.” Or it might even be “trimodal” if
there is a three- way tie.

Median An alternative measure of central tendency is the median, which

2009933759

expresses that value whose occurrence lies in the middle of an ordered set of
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
438 Chapter 15 Basic Data Analysis: Descriptive
Commonly used descriptive analy- sis measures reveal central ten- dency (typical response) and vari-
Statistics
ability (similarity of responses).

Three measures of central ten- dency are mode, median, and mean.

With a string of numbers, the mode is that number appearing most often.

The median expresses the value whose occurrence lies in the mid- dle of a set of ordered values.

Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.

The mean is the arithmetic
aver- age of a set of numbers.
and one-half of the remaining values is less than the median. Thus, the median
tells us the approximate halfway point in a set or string of numbers that are
arranged in ascending or descending order while taking into account the
frequency of each value. With an odd number of values, the median will always
fall on one of the val- ues, but with an even number of values, the median may fall
between two adjacent values.
To determine the median, the researcher creates a frequency or percentage
dis- tribution with the numbers in the string in either ascending or descending
order. In addition to the raw percentages, he or she computes cumulative
percentages and, by inspecting these, finds where the 50–50 break occurs.
Let us just take the first 10 respondents that can be seen in Figure 15.5. In
order to determine a median, the codes must be ordered, meaning that they
cannot be cat- egorical. We can use the likelihood of patronizing Hobbit’s Choice
(the variable called “likely”), which is an interval scale. There is one 2, four 3’s,
four 4’s, and one
5. This means that the median is exactly between 4 (somewhat likely) and 3
(neither likely nor unlikely) because the 2 and 3 codes account for exactly 50
percent, and the 4 and 5 codes account for the remaining 50 percent. In our 10-
respondent exam- ple, the median is 3.5.
You should notice that the median supplies more information than does the
mode, for a mode may occur anywhere in the string, but the median must be at
the halfway point. It should be pointed out that most frequency distributions are
not symmetric, and the 50–50 point often falls on a particular value rather than
between two adjacent ones.
Mean A third measure of central tendency is the mean, sometimes referred to as
the “arithmetic mean.” The mean is the average value characterizing a set of
numbers. It differs from the mode and the median in that a computation is made
to determine the average. The mean is computed through the use of the following
formula:
n
Formula for
a mean Mean (x)  xi
i 1

n
where:
n  the number of cases
xi  each individual value
 signifies that all the xi values are summed
As you can see, all of the members in the set of n numbers, each designated
by xi, are summed and that total is divided by the number of members in that set.
The resulting number is the mean, a measure that indicates the central tendency
of those values. It approximates the typical value in the set. To compute the mean
average price of a restaurant evening meal entrée, we must first sum the 10
prices visible in Figure 15.5. If you want to, you can verify that this sum is $192.
Then the sum is divided by 10 respondents to yield a mean of $19.20. Because the
mean is deter- mined by taking every member of the set of numbers into account
through this for- mula, it is more informative than the median. Means
communicate a great deal of information, and they can be plotted for quick
interpretations. Read Marketing Research Insight 15.1 for an illustration.
Just as a quick break in Marketing Research Insight 15.2, read about Richard 20
09
Brumfield, a marketing researcher who deals with basic statistical measures a 93
37
great deal of the time. 59
 A Global Perspective MARKETING RESEARCH
Global Plot Means on a Graph to Communicate tfhem Effectively INSIGHT
In global marketing, there is a debate as to whether a 15.1
local country brand (national brand), a local private Characteristics
brand, or a global brand name is most effective. To 9 Reputation Vitamins Price Texture Variety Packagin
investigate this issue, researchers in Israel asked 8 Scent 6.00
consumers to rate shampoo on nine different product 7
characteristics using a 1–7 scale where 1 meant the 6
5
lowest rating and 7 corresponded to the highest rating.5 4
The respondents rated three types of brands: private, 3
national, or global. 2
The means were calculated and plotted as shown on 1
the accompanying line graph. 3.00
4.00 5.00
The graph clearly shows that local private brands are
Mean value
at a disadvantage to national and global brand names in Private brandNational brandGlobal brand
all but one characteristic. However, global brands are
seen as more expensive (low rating on price). Global
brands are attractive to consumers who are least price
sensitive, whereas local country private brands are
attractive to those consumers who are price sensitive.

MEASURES of Variability: VISUALIZING the Diversity of Respondents

Although they are extremely useful, measures of central tendency are
incomplete descriptors of the variety of values in a particular set of numbers. That
is, they do not indicate the variability of responses to a particular question or,
alternatively, the diversity of respondents on some characteristic measured in our
survey. To gain sen-
sitivity for the diversity or variability of values, the marketing researcher must Measures of variability reveal the
turn to measures of variability. All measures of variability are concerned with typical difference between the
depicting the “typical” difference between the values in a set of values. values in a set of values.
It is one matter to know the mean or some other measure of central tendency,
but it is quite another matter to be aware of how close to that mean or measure
of central tendency the rest of the values fall. For example, we ascertained that
the average expected cost for an entrée in an upscale restaurant such as The
Hobbit’s Choice is $19.20, but until we have a notion of the variability of the price
estimates provided by our respondents, we are clueless as to the existence of
individuals who

MARKETING RESEARCH
Meet a Marketing Researcher
Learn About Richard Brumfield of Marketing Research Services, Inc.
INSIGHT
Vice President, Marketing Research Services, Inc. (MRSI) 15.2
Richard has worked in consumer research since 1978. Richard services the needs
Before joining MRSI in 1988, Richard worked with
Burke Marketing Research for seven years. While at
Burke, Richard held several positions, including group
2009933759

director of analytical and consulting services. At MRSI,

of clients in the retail, shopping center development, University of Cincinnati, with an emphasis in quantitative
and shopping center management fields. Richard holds analysis, statis- tics, research design, and scientific
an M.A. in sociology and an M.S. in marketing from the sampling techniques.

Measures of variability include
frequency distribution, range, and
standard deviation.
A frequency (percentage) distribu-
tion reveals the number
(percent) of occurrences of each
number in a set of numbers.
The range identifies the
maximum and minimum values
in a set of numbers.
A standard deviation indicates
the degree of variation in a
way that can be translated
into a bell- shaped curve
distribution.
might be expecting to pay twice or three times that much. This information is
vital to Jeff Dean’s understanding of the price sensitivity of various market
segments that might patronize The Hobbit’s Choice.
Thus, knowing the variability of the data could greatly impact a marketing
decision based on the data because it expresses how similar the respondents are
to one another on the topic under examination. There are three measures of
variabil- ity: frequency distribution, range, and standard deviation. Each measure
provides its own unique version of information that helps to describe the
diversity of responses.
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION A frequency distribution is a tabulation of the number of
times that each different value appears in a particular set of values.
Frequencies themselves are raw counts, and normally these frequencies are
converted into per- centages for ease of comparison. The conversion is arrived at
very simply through a quick division of the frequency for each value by the total
number of observations for all of the values, resulting in a percent, called a
percentage distribution. For instance, we stated in the example of a mode for
listening to the radio that in the “lisradio” column, you will find nine 1’s and
one 2 (Figure 15.5). This is the fre- quency distribution, and to determine the
percentage distribution, each frequency must be divided by the number of
respondents, or 10 in this case. So the percentage distribution is this: yes (90%) and
no (10%). Apparently, just about everyone in our 10-person example listens to the
radio regularly.
In sum, a frequency distribution affords an accounting of the responses to
val- ues in a set. It quickly communicates all of the different values in the set, and
it expresses how similar the values are. The percentage distribution is often used
here. Figure 13.2 on page 376 illustrates how quickly percentage distributions
communi- cate variability when they are converted to bar charts.6 For instance, if
our percent- age distribution happened to have only a few very similar values in
it, it would appear as a very steep, spike-shaped histogram to such as the one for
our “little vari- ability” bar graph; however, if the set of values happened to be
made up of many dissimilar numbers, the histogram would be much more
spread out, with small peaks and valleys. This is the case with the “much
variability” bar graph. This pat- tern indicates a great deal of dispersion in the
numbers, whereas the spiked distribu- tion indicates little variability in the set of
numbers.
Range The range identifies the distance between lowest value (minimum) and
the highest value (maximum) in an ordered set of values. Stated somewhat
differently, the range specifies the difference between the endpoints in a
distribution of values arranged in order. The range does not provide the same
amount of information supplied by a frequency distribution; however, it
identifies the interval in which the distribution occurs. The range also does not
tell you how often the maximum and minimum occurred, but it does provide
some information on the dispersion by indicating how far apart the extremes
are found. For example, if you scan the “tot- spent” column, representing the
estimated total dollars spent in restaurants in a typical month by each of our 10
respondents in Figure 15.5, you will find the low- est number to be $100, and the
highest one to be $300, so the range is 300  100, or $200.
Standard Deviation The standard deviation indicates the degree of variation or
diversity in the values in such a way as to be translatable into a normal or bell-
shaped curve distribution. Although marketing researchers do not always rely on
the normal curve interpretation of the standard deviation, they often encounter 20
09
the standard deviation on computer printouts, and they usually report it in their 93
tables. So it is worthwhile to digress for a moment to discuss this statistical 37
59
concept.
 Variability indicates how
different respondents are
on a common topic such
as buying fresh
vegetables.

Table 15.3 shows the properties of a bell-shaped or normal distribution of

val- ues. As we have indicated in our chapter on sample size determination, the
usefulness of this model is apparent when you realize that it is a symmetric
distribution: Exactly 50 percent of the distribution lies on either side of the
midpoint (the apex of the curve). With a normal curve, the midpoint is also the
mean. Standard deviations are standardized units of measurement that are
located on the horizontal axis. They relate directly to assumptions about the
normal curve. For example, the range of one standard deviation above and one
standard deviation below the midpoint includes 68 percent of the total area
underneath that curve. Because the bell-shaped distribu- tion is a theoretical or
ideal concept, this property never changes. Moreover, the pro- portion of area
under the curve and within plus or minus any number of standard deviations
from the mean is perfectly known. For the purposes of this presentation,
normally only two or three of these values are of interest to marketing
researchers. Specifically, 2.58 standard deviations describes the range in which
99 percent of the area underneath the curve is found, 1.96 standard deviations
is associated with 95 percent of the area underneath the curve, and 1.64 standard
deviations corresponds to 90 percent of the bell-shaped curve’s area. Remember,
we must assume that the shape of the frequency distribution of the numbers
approximates a normal curve, so keep this in mind during our following
examples.

Table 15.3 Normal Curve Interpretation of Standard Deviation

NUMBER OF STANDARD PERCENT OF AREA PERCENT OF AREA

DEVIATIONS FROM THE MEAN a b
UNDER CURVE TO RIGHT (OR LEFT)

1.00 68% 16.0%

1.64 90% 5.0%
1.96 95% 2.5%
2.58 99% 0.5%
3.00 99.7% 0.1%
a
This is the area under the curve with the number of standard deviations as the lower (left-hand) and upper
(right-hand) limits and the mean equidistant from the limits.
2009933759

b
This is the area left outside of the limits described by plus or minus the number of standard deviations. Because of the
normal curve’s symmetric properties, the area remaining below the lower limit (left-hand tail) is exactly equal to
the area remaining above the upper limit (right-hand tail).
MARKETING RESEARCH

INSIGHT
15.3
Additional Insights
Are You a Genius? (Understanding Standard Deviation)
You probably took an IQ (intelligence quotient) test individuals account for only about 2 percent of the
sometime in the past. They are regularly administered to popula- tion. To be considered a “genius,” one’s IQ
elementary school children as a means of placing them must be 145 or higher. Geniuses are quite rare as they
into appropriate learning environments or otherwise amount to less than
determining their learn- ing abilities. In addition, there 0.2 percent of the population.
are a number of online IQ tests that you can take for
fun or self-discovery.
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale is an IQ test used y
by a great many school systems, learning diagnostic 100
centers, and educational professionals. The theoretical
distribution of the Wechsler IQ scores is illustrated in the 85 115
accompanying figure. It shows that the average score is
100, meaning that 50 per- cent of the population has an
IQ of less than 100, while the other 50 percent has an Normal
IQ greater than 100. The standard deviation of this IQ
scale is 15 (see shading in figure), and as you can see in 70 130
the figure, individuals with an IQ between 85 and 115 55 145
Bright Genius
fall in the “normal” range, and as you can see, this
accounts for 68 percent of the population. The range of Gifted x
115 to 130 is sometimes referred to as the “bright” 0
level, and individuals with IQ’s in this range account for 99.87% of the population
about 14 per- cent of the population. With an IQ of
between 130 and 145, a person is in the “gifted” range,
and as you can see, these

The standard deviation

embodies the properties of a
bell-shaped distribution of
values.
Standard deviation is sometimes difficult to understand because of all the
per- centages. We have prepared Marketing Research Insight 15.3 to help you
compre- hend this statistical concept.
It is now time to review the calculation of the standard deviation. The
equation typically used for the standard deviation is as follows:
n

Formula for a  (xii 1 x)2

The squaring operation in the
standard deviation formula is
used to avoid the cancellation
effect.
standard Standard deviation (s)  n1
deviation
In this equation, xi stands for each individual observation and x stands for the
mean, as indicated earlier. We use the average price spent for an entrée in our 10-
respondent Hobbit’s Choice Restaurant survey example to illustrate the
calculations for a standard deviation. We already know that the mean amount
spent is $19.20. Applying the standard deviation formula, the computations are as
follows:

to compute a standard
deviation
Example of how
 n

 (xii 1 x)2

s
n1
(20  19.20)2  (11  19.20)2  ...  (11  19.20)2
 10  1
20
09
93
 $7.71 37
59
 It may seem strange to square differences, add them up, divide them by (n 
1), and then take the square root. If we did not square the differences, we would
have positive and negative values; and if we summed them, there would be a can-
cellation effect. That is, large negative differences would cancel out large positive
differences, and the numerator would end up being close to zero. But this result
is contrary to what we know is the case with large differences: There is variation,
which is expressed by the standard deviation. The formula remedies this problem
by squaring the subtracted differences before they are summed. Squaring
converts all negative numbers to positives and, of course, leaves the positives
positive. Next, all of the squared differences are summed and divided by 1 less
than the number of total observations in the string of values; 1 is subtracted from
the num- ber of observations to achieve what is typically called an “unbiased”
estimate of the standard deviation. But we now have an inflation factor to
worry about because every comparison has been squared. To adjust for this, the
equation spec- ifies that the square root be taken after all other operations are
performed. This final step adjusts the value back down to the original measure
(e.g., dollars rather than squared dollars). By the way, if you did not take the
square root at the end, the value would be referred to as the variance. In other
words, the variance is the standard deviation squared.
Now, whenever a standard deviation is reported along with a mean, a specific
With a bell-shaped distribution,
picture should appear in your mind. Assuming that the distribution is bell
95 percent of the values lie within
shaped, the size of the standard deviation number helps you envision how similar
1.96 times the standard devia-
or dissimilar the typical responses are to the mean. If the standard deviation is tion away from the mean.
small, the distribu- tion is greatly compressed. On the other hand, with a large
standard deviation value, the distribution is consequently stretched out at both
ends. With our 10-respondent Hobbit’s Choice sample the standard deviation was
found to be $7.71. Assuming that the responses approximate a bell-shaped
distribution, the range for 95 percent of the responses would be calculated to be
19.20  (1.96  7.71), which turns out to be
19.20  15.11, or $34.31 to $4.09. That is, 95 percent of the respondents spend
between $4.09 and $34.31.
We have prepared Marketing Research Insight 15.4 as a means of helping you
remember the various descriptive statistics concepts that are commonly used by
marketing researchers.

MARKETING RESEARCH
Additional Insights
Descriptive Statistics: What tfhey Mean and How to Compute tfhem
INSIGHT
15.4
Invariably, a researcher has to make “sense” out of a set dents answered each question. Here is a data set
of numbers that represents the ways respondents comprising the answers 10 different respondents gave when
answered the questions in the survey. The answers are asked to rate the quality of their PCS wireless phone
normally coded; that is, they are converted to numbers service.
such as 1 for “yes,” 2 for “no,” and 3 for “maybe.”
Respondent Rating Respondent Rating
Sometimes the numbers pertain to responses on a scale
1 4 6 4
such as when a respondent indicates that his or her
2 5 7 3
PCS wireless phone company rates a “4” on a 5-point
3 4 8 4
scale where 1 means “poor” service and a 5 means
4 2 9 5
“excellent” service, or the number might be the actual
5 3 10 4
number of years he or she has used that PCS wireless
phone company. Descriptive statistics are basic to To illustrate the nine descriptive statistics concepts, the
2009933759

marketing research and essential to the researcher’s ratings of our 10 respondents are analyzed in the
understanding of how the respon- following table.
(box continues)
STATISTICAL CONCEPT WHAT IS IT? HOW DO YOU COMPUTE IT? USING THE RATINGS EXAMPLE
Frequency The number of times a Count the number of The number 4’s
times frequency
number appears in the the number appears in is 5
data set the set of numbers
Frequency distribution The number of times Count the number of Rating Count
each times
different number in the each different number 2 1
set appears appears in the set, and 3 2
make a table that 4 5
shows
each number, its 5 2
count,
and the total count (all Total 10
counts totaled)
Percentage distribution The presence of each Divide each frequency Rating Percent
different number count for each rating 2 10%
expressed as a percent number by the total 3 20%
count, and report the 4 50%
result as a percent 5 20%
Total 100%
Cumulative distribution A running total of the Arrange all the different Cum.
(frequency or counts or percentages numbers in descending Rating Percent Percent
percentage)
order and indicate the 2 10% 10%
sum of the counts 3 20% 30%
(percentages) of all 4 50% 80%
preceding numbers 5 20% 100%
plus the present one Total 100%
Median The number in the set of Use the cumulative Cum.
numbers such that 50% percentage distribution Rating Percent
of the other numbers to locate where the 2 10%
are larger, and 50% of cumulative percent 3 30%
the other numbers are equals 50% or where it 4 80%  Median
smaller includes 50% 5 100%
Mode In a frequency or a By inspection, determine The number 4 accounts
percentage distribution, which number has the for 50%, the largest of
the number that has the largest frequency or any other rating
largest count or percentage in the
percentage (ties are distribution
acceptable)
Mean The arithmetic average of Add up all the (4  5  4  2  3  4  3
the set of numbers numbers and divide 
this sum by the 4  5  4)/10  3.8
total number of
numbers in the set
Range An indication of the Find the lowest and The minimum is 2, and
highest the
“spread” or span numbers in the set and maximum is 5; so the
covered by the numbers identify them as the range is 5 — 2, or 3.
minimum and maximum,
respectively
Standard deviation An indication of how Sum the square of each {((4 — 3.8)2  (5 —
similar or dissimilar number subtracted from 3.8)2  20
the numbers are in the mean, divide that . . .  (4 — 09
93
the set, interpretable sum by the total 3.8)2)/ 10 — 37
under the number 1)}1/2  .84 59

assumptions of a normal of numbers less one,

curve of that result and then take the
square root
 When to Use a PARTICULAR Descriptive MEASURE 445

WHEN TO USE A PARTICULAR

DESCRIPTIVE MEASURE
In Chapter 10, you learned that the level of measurement for a scale affects how it
The level of measurement under-
may be statistically analyzed. Remember, for instance, that nominal question lying a question determines
forms contain much less information than do those questions with interval which statistic is appropriate.
scaling assump- tions. Similarly, the amount of information provided by each of
the various mea- sures of central tendency and dispersion differs. As a general
rule, statistical mea- sures that communicate the most amount of information
should be used with scales that contain the most amount of information, and
measures that communicate the least amount of information should be used
with scales that contain the least amount of information. The level of
measurement determines the appropriate mea- sure; otherwise, the measure will
be uninterpretable.
At first reading, this rule may seem confusing, but on reflection it should
become clear that the level of measurement of each question dictates the measure
that should be used. It is precisely at this point that you must remember the
arbitrary nature of coding schemes. For instance, if on a demographic question
concerning religious pref- erence, “Catholic” is assigned a “1,” “Protestant” is
assigned a “2,” “Jewish” is assigned a “3,” and so forth, a mean could be computed.
But what would be the inter- pretation of an average religion of 2.36? It would
have no practical interpretation because the mean assumes interval or ratio
scaling, whereas the religion categories are nominal. The mode would be the
appropriate central tendency measure for these responses.
Table 15.4 indicates how the level of measurement relates to each of the
three measures of central tendency and measures of variation. The table should
remind you that a clear understanding of the level of measurement for each
question on the questionnaire is essential because the researcher must select the
statistical procedure and direct the computer to perform the procedure. The
computer cannot distinguish level of measurement because we typically convert
all of our data to numbers for ease of entry.
As you might suspect, there is a much potential for misunderstanding when a
researcher communicates the results of his or her descriptive analyses to the
market- ing manager. We have noted some of the common misconceptions held
by managers in Marketing Research Insight 15.5. If a researcher knowingly
allows these misun- derstandings, he or she is acting unethically.

Table 15.4 Appropriate Scaling Situations for Various Descriptive Statistics

Type of Scale

INTERVAL
LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT NOMINAL ORDINAL OR RATIO

Central tendency Mode Median Mean

(characterizes the most typical response)
Dispersion (variability) Frequency Cumulative Standard
2009933759

(indicates how similar the responses or percentage percentage deviation

are)
distribution distribution Range

Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
MARKETING RESEARCH

INSIGHT An Ethical Issue

15.5 Ethical Issues in Descriptive Data Analysis
It is sometimes said, “Statistics do not lie, but liars
statements that might be made by a researcher,
can use statistics.” This caution is especially
what each statement means in terms of descriptive
pertinent to communication of basic data analysis
analysis, and possible misperceptions that might
findings in which the audience is unfamiliar with
occur in a manager who is not accustomed to working
statistical concepts and misperceptions can distort
with survey findings.
meanings. Here are some

WHAT IS SAID WHAT IT MEANS POSSIBLE MISPERCEPTIONS

“The modal answer was . . .”
“A majority responded . . .”
“A plurality responded . . .”
“The median response was . . .”
“The mean response was . . .”
“There was some variability in the
the responses . . .”
“Missing values were omitted from
for the analysis.”
answer,
“The standard deviation was . . .”
The answer given by more Most or all of the respondents
respondents than any other answer gave the answer
Over 50% of the respondents Most or all of the respondents
answered this way gave the answer
The answer was given by more A majority of respondents gave the
respondents than any other answer
answer, but less than 50% gave
that answer
The answer such that 50% Most respondents gave this
answered answer
above it and 50%
answered below it
The arithmetic average of all Most respondents gave this answer
respondents’ answers or
responded very close to this
answer
Respondents gave a variety of There was no agreement among
responses with some agreement respondents
Respondents who did not answer An adjustment was made to allow
were not included and, thus, the respondents who did not
sample size for that question was but the sample size was
not reduced affected
The value was computed by applying No comprehension
the standard deviation formula

Remember, these are very basic statistical concepts, statistical con- cepts mentioned in the report.
and there are a great many more sophisticated statistics
that a researcher may use to completely analyze a
data set.
Obviously, clients will differ in their familiarity and
compre- hension of statistical concepts. Here are some
approaches that can be used to make certain that the
audience will not misunderstand the researcher’s
words.
1. Some companies have prepared handbooks or glos-
saries that define marketing research terms,
including statistical concepts. They are given to
clients at the onset of work.
2. Some researchers include an appendix in the
final report that defines and illustrates the
3. Definitions of statistical concepts are
included in the text of the final report
where the concept is first mentioned.
4. Footnotes and annotations are included in
the tables and figures that explain the
statistical concepts used.
No ethical researcher would intentionally mislead a client
in reporting findings, and because statistical concepts
have high potential for misperceptions such as those
illustrated here, ethical researchers go to
considerable lengths to prevent misunderstandings.
 RETURN TO Your Integrated Case The
SPSS
The Hobbit’s Choice Survey: Obtaining Descriptive Statistics Click
with SPSS strea
m to
Beginning with this chapter and all subsequent chapters dealing with statistical Obtai
analyses, we provide illustrations with the use of SPSS in two ways. First, in your
na
textbook descriptions, we indicate step-by-step the procedures used with SPSS to
Frequ
obtain the statistical analyses being described. Plus, we have included examples of
SPSS output in these sections. The second way is with the use of your SPSS Student
ency
Assistant Online. By now, you are well acquainted with the online Student Assistant. Distri
We prompt you to look at these statistical analysis sections that illus- trate how to butio
operate SPSS, as well as how to find specific statistical results in SPSS output. n and
the
Obtaining a Frequency Distribution and the Mode with SPSS Mode
There were many questions on The Hobbit’s Choice survey that had categorical
response options and, thus, embodied nominal scaling assumptions. With a nominal
scale, the mode is the appropriate measure of central tendency, and variation must
be assessed by looking at the distribution of responses across the various
response categories.
Earlier, to illustrate how to determine the mode of our 10-person Hobbit’s Choice
data set, we used the radio programming listening preferences variable as it is a
nominal scale. We will now use this variable with the entire 400-completions data
set to illustrate how to instruct SPSS to create a frequency distribution and find
the mode.
Figure 15.6 shows the clickstream sequence to find a mode for the radio station
listen- ing preferences using the entire Hobbit’s Choice survey data set. As you can
see, the pri- mary menu sequence is ANALYZE-DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS-
FREQUENCIES. This sequence opens up the variable selection window where you
specify the variable(s) to be analyzed, and the Statistics . . . button opens up the
Statistics window that has several sta- tistical concepts as options. Since we are
working only with the mode, you would click in the check mark box beside the
Mode. Continue will close this window and OK will close the variable selection and
cause SPSS to create a frequency distribution and to identify the
2009933759

Figure 15.6
Descriptive statistics are needed to see The Hobbit’s Choice sur- vey’s basic findings.

A frequency distribution and mode are appropriate for nominal scales. SPSS

Use the ANALYZE-DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS-FREQUENCIES proce-

dure to produce descriptive statis- tics for variables with nominal or ordinal scaling.

SPSS
SPSS Student Assistant Online
Descriptive Statistics for Nominal
Data: Frequencies, Percents, Mode
SPSS
Figure 15.7 The SPSS Output for a Frequency Distribution and the Mode
mode. You can see this output in Figure 15.7 where the code number of “3” is
specified as the mode response, and the frequency distribution shows that rock is
the most popular sta- tion format with 159 respondents selecting it, or 39.8 percent
of the total 100 percent.
As you look at the output, you should notice that the variable labels and value labels
were defined, and they appear on the output. The DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS-
FREQUENCIES proce- dure creates a frequency distribution and associated percentage
distribution of the responses for each question. Its output includes a statistics table and a
table for each variable that includes the variable label, value labels, frequencies,
percent, valid percent, and cumulative percent.
Our Hobbit’s Choice Restaurant survey data set is typical because there are missing
answers. As you learned in Chapter 14, it is not uncommon for respondents to refuse to
answer a ques- tion in a survey or for them to be unable to answer a question.
Alternatively, a respondent may be directed to skip a question if his or her previous
answer does not qualify him or her for the subsequent question. If any of these occurs,
and the respondent is still included in the data set, we have an instance of “missing
data.” This is absolutely no problem for SPSS and most other data analysis programs,
but the output will be adjusted to compensate for the missing data. Read Marketing
Research Insight 15.6 to learn about what SPSS specifies as “valid percent.”
Finding the Median with SPSS
It is also a simple matter to determine the median using the ANALYZE-DESCRIPTIVE
STA- TISTICS-FREQUENCIES menu sequence. As we indicated, in order for the median
to be a sensible measure of central tendency, the values must have some logical
order to them. In our 10-respondent example, we used the likelihood of
patronizing Hobbit’s Choice Restaurant to obtain the median from the full data
set. The procedure is very similar to the mode procedure. There are two
differences. First, the “likely” variable is selected in the variable selection window
and, second, the median is checked in the statistics window. Refer to Figure 15.6,
and just imagine that the likelihood of patronizing is the chosen vari- able, and that
the median is checked instead of the mode.
The resulting SPSS output will have the frequency distribution of our likelihood variable, 20
and it will show that code number 3, pertaining to “neither likely nor unlikely” is the 50/50 09
93
37
59
location in the scale,
or the median. You
can confirm that 3 is
the median by
running the analysis
your- self using our
Hobbit’s Choice
Restaurant survey
data set. Use Figure
15.6 as a guide, but
select the likelihood
variable for the
analysis and place a
check mark in the
median checkbox.
 an
d
th
e
R
Finding the Mean, Range, and Standard Deviation with SPSS
As we have mentioned, computer statistical programs cannot distinguish the level of an
mea- surement of various questions. Consequently, it is necessary for the analyst to ge
discern the level of measurement and to select the correct procedure(s). One
question in the survey asked, “. . . what would you expect an average evening
meal entrée item alone to be priced?” Respondents answered with a specific
dollar amount, so we have a ratio scale.
Here we do not want a frequency table for two reasons. First, the average price
variable is ratio scaled and, second, a frequency table will have to be quite large to
accommodate all of the different monthly fees. So we will use the ANALYZE-
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS- DESCRIPTIVES commands, and click on the Options button
after we have selected average price as the variable for analysis. In the Options
panel, you can select the mean, standard deviation, range, and so forth. Refer to
Figure 15.8 for the SPSS clickstream sequence.
2009933759

Figure 15.8
The SPSS Clickstream to Obtain a Mean, Standard Deviation,
With SPSS Descriptives it was found that respondents spend a little less than $19 for an
evening meal entrée.

When using SPSS DESCRIP- TIVES, always bear in mind the variables being analyzed should be interval
or ratio scaled.
SPSS

SPSS
SPSS Student Assistant Online Descriptive Statistics for Scaled Data: Mean, Standard Deviation,
Median, Range
 Figure 15.9 presents the output generated from this option. In our Hobbit’s Choice survey, the
MARKETING RESEARCH
INSIGHT
15.6
You saw in Figure 15.7 that SPSS produces a
frequency table that has four columns of statistical
information: (1) fre- quency, or raw count, (2) percent,
or frequency divided by the total respondents, (3) valid
percent, which we will dis- cuss here, and (4)
cumulative percent. When there are no missing values,
that is, when all respondents have answered the
question, the percent and the valid percent columns will
be identical. “Missing cases” are those instances in
which a respondent did not answer a particular question
because
(1) the question did not apply, (2) it was overlooked, or
(3) the respondent refused to answer that question.
Normally, missing cases are input as blanks or special
codes in the data set that the statistical analysis
software is pro- grammed to identify as missing data
and to exclude in any
Additional Insights
Valid Percents: How SPSS Handles Missing Data
analysis. With SPSS frequency distributions, this
exclusion is noted under the column called “Valid
Percent.”
However, if there are missing data items, this will be
sig- naled with the “Missing” row that appears when
missing data are encountered. When there are missing
data, the researcher should use the “Valid Percent”
column. In other words, the valid percentages are
determined after any missing values are removed. Note in
Figure 15.7 that 15 respondents are listed as missing. The
“Percent” column is as we described it. For exam- ple
159/400 is 39.8 percent, but the “Valid Percent” column
adjusts by taking out the missing values. Thus, the valid
percent is 159/385, or 41.3 percent, because 15 20
09
respondents did not answer this question because they 93
37
indicated “no” to the previ- ous question asking them if 59
they listen to the radio regularly.
 Review QUESTIONS/APPLICATIONS 451
This chapter introduced sho
SUMMARY you to the descriptive wn.
statistics researchers use
to inspect basic patterns in KE
data sets. These measures
help researchers
Y
summarize, conceptual- TE
ize, and generalize their RM
findings. We also S
previewed the five types
of statistical analysis:
descriptive, inferential,
differences, associative,
and predictive. Descriptive
analysis is performed
with measures of central
tendency such as the
mean, mode, or median,
each of which portrays
the typical respondent or
the typical answer to the
question being analyzed.
The chapter contained
formulas and examples of
how to determine these
central tendency
measures. Measures of
variability, including the
frequency distribution,
range, and standard
deviation, provide bases
for envisioning the
degree of similarity of all
respondents to the
typical respondent. The
chapter also contained
instructions and
formulas of key
variability measures.
Basically, descriptive
analysis yields a profile of
how respondents in the
sample answered the
various questions in the
survey. The chapter also
provides information on
how to instruct SPSS to
compute descriptive
analyses with SPSS using
The Hobbit’s Choice
Restaurant survey data
set. Both clickstream
sequences for setting up
the analyses and the
resulting output are
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
 “Wh Differenc
SPSS
at’s Mode (p. 437)
SPSS
This es Median (p. 437)
Student ?” analysis Mean (p. 438)
Assistant
(p. 434) M
Online Working
Associati e
with SPSS
ve a
Output,
analysis s
Including
(p. 435) u
D e Predictiv r
a e analysis e
t b (p. 435) s
a o Measures
o of central o
e k tendency f
n (p. 437)
t (
v
r p
a
y .
r
i
( 4
a
p 3
b
. 1
i
)
l
4
i
3 D
t
1 a
y
) t
a
(
D
p
a r
.
t e
a d
4
u
3
c c
9
o t
)
d i
i o
F
n n
r
g
e
(
q
( p
u
p .
e
.
n
4
c
4 3
y
3 2
1 )
d
) Descri
i
ptive
s
D analysi
t
a s (p.
r
t 433)
i
a Infere
b
ntial
u
c analysi
t
o s (p.
i
d 433)
o
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
 n . TIONS
( 4 1. Indicate what data reduction is
p 4 and why it is useful.
. 0 2. Define and differentiate each of
) the following: (a) descriptive
4 S analysis,
4 t (b) inferential analysis, (c)
0 a associative analysis, (d)
) n predictive analysis, and
d (e) differences analysis.
P a 3. I
e r n
r d d
c i
e d c
n e a
t v t
a i e
g a
e t w
i h
d o y
i n
s a
t (
r p r
i . e
b s
u 4 e
t 4 a
i 0 r
o ) c
n h
V e
( a r
p r
. i m
a i
4 n g
4 c h
0 e t
)
( r
R p e
a . f
n r
g 4 a
e 4 i
3 n
( )
p f
r
o
REVIEW m
QUESTION
S/APPLICA r
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
e y
p s
o e
r s
t
i a
n n
g d

t o
h p
e t

u f
s o
e r

o s
f i
m
h p
i l
g e
h r
l
y f
o
s r
o m
p s
h
i o
s f
t
i a
c n
a a
t l
e y
d s
i
s s
t .
a 4. What is a data matrix and how
t does it appear?
i 5. What is a measure of central
s tendency and what does it
t describe?
i 6. In
c di
a ca
l te
th
a e
n co
a n
l ce
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
 p io
t n
of
o re
f sp
o
v n
a se
r s
i to
a a
b p
i ar
l ti
i c
t ul
y ar
q
a u
n es
d ti
o
r n
e o
l n
a a
t q
e u
es
h ti
o o
w n
n
i ai
t re
.
h 7. U
e si
l n
p g
s e
x
i a
n m
pl
t es
h ,
e ill
u
d st
e ra
s te
c h
r o
i w
p a
t fr
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
e ls
q th
u e
e v
n ar
c ia
y bi
lit
d y
i in
s re
t s
r p
i o
b n
u se
t s
i to
o a
n Li
k
( er
o t-
r ty
p
a e
q
p u
e es
r ti
c o
e n
n in
t a
a lif
g es
e ty
le
d st
i u
s d
t y.
r U
i se
b t
u w
t o
i e
o xt
n re
) m
e
r e
e x
v a
e m
a pl
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
 e a
s t
a
o r
f a
n
m g
u e
c i
h s
a
v n
a d
r w
i h
a e
b r
i e
l it
i s
t h
y o
u
a l
n d
d b
e
l u
i s
t e
t d
l a
e s
a
v n
a i
r n
i d
a i
b c
i a
l t
i o
t r
y o
. f
8. I t
n h
d e
i a
c m
a o
t u
e n
t
w o
h f
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
 d m
i u
s l
p a
e
r f
s o
i r
o
n a

i s
n t
a
a n
d
s a
a r
m d
p
l d
e e
. v
9. W i
2009933759

i a
t t
h i
o
e n
x ,
p
l s
i h
c o
i w
t
h
r o
e w
f
e i
r t
e
n m
c e
e a
s
t u
o r
e
t s
h
e h
o
f w
o
r d
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
 i
f a
f n
e
r i
e n
n a
t p
p
r r
e o
s p
p r
o i
n a
d t
e e
n
t m
s e
a
a s
r u
e r
e
f
r o
o f
m c
e
o n
n t
e r
a
a l
n t
o e
t n
h d
e e
r n
. c
10. W y
h
y i
n
i
s e
a
t c
h h
e
o
m f
e t
a h
n e
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
 e
f )
o ;
l (
l b
o )
w m
i a
n r
g i
t
c a
a l
s s
e t
s a
: t
u
( s
a
)

g
e
n
d
e
r

o
f

r
e
s
p
o
n
d
e
n
t

(
m
a
l
e

o
r

f
e
m
a
l
Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
452 Chapter 15 Basic Data Analysis: Descriptive
Statistics
(single, married, divorced, separated, widowed, other); (c) a taste test in
which subjects indicate their first, second, and third choices of Miller Lite,
Bud Light, and Coors Silver Bullet?
11. For each of the cases in question 10, what is the appropriate central
tendency measure?
12. In a survey on magazine subscriptions, respondents write in the number of
magazines they subscribe to regularly. What measures of central tendency
can be used? Which is the most appropriate and why?
13. If you use the standard deviation as a measure of the variability in a
sample, what statistical assumptions have you implicitly adopted?
14. A manager has commissioned research on a special marketing problem. He
is scheduled to brief the board of directors on the problem’s resolution in a
meeting in New York tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, the research has
fallen behind schedule, but the research director works late that night in
the downtown San Francisco headquarters and completes the basic data
analy- sis, which will be sufficient for the presentation. However, he now
has stacks of computer output and less than an hour before the manager
calls him for an early-morning briefing on the survey’s basic findings. The
researcher looks around at the equipment in his office and an idea flashes
in his head. He immediately grabs a blank questionnaire. What is he about
to do to facilitate the quick communication of the study’s basic findings to
the manager?

INTERACTIVE LEARNING
Visit the Web site at www.prenhall.com/burnsbush. For this chapter, work
through the Self-Study Quizzes, and get instant feedback on whether you need
additional studying. On the Web site, you can review the chapter outlines and
case information for Chapter 15.

CASE 15.1 Tinseltown Theaters Improvement Survey

Mary Smith graduated from college in June 2002. On graduation, she took a job as a
market- ing research assistant with Tinseltown Theaters, a movieplex theater chain located
in the mid- western United States, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. It was not
the position she wanted, but she did want to work in a large company, and Tinseltown
had 25 cineplex theaters in the Midwest, and she figured she would be promoted into a
marketing management posi- tion in a year or two if she did well.
When Mary began working, the marketing research department was in the middle of
a huge telephone survey of Tinseltown moviegoers across its five-state market area. The
objec- tives of the survey included (1) to determine why people select a movie theater, (2)
to identify how many and why people use more than one movie theater, (3) to
investigate satisfaction or dissatisfaction with Tinseltown Theaters, (4) to generate
suggestions for improved Tinseltown services, and (5) to compare profiles of Tinseltown
“regular” customers with the profiles of customers who are “regulars” at competing
movie theaters.
Mary was assigned the responsibility of data analysis because she was fresh out of
college.
She was informed that Tinseltown headquarters uses a statistical analysis program
called WINSTATS for its data analysis. All of the 5,000 respondents’ answers have been
20
put on the computer, and all that is left is for someone to use WINSTATS to perform the 09
necessary analy- ses. Of course, someone has to interpret the results, too. It is Mary’s 93
responsibility to do the analysis and to interpret it. 37
59
 The questionnaire designers created a code sheet of the scales used in the survey.
This code book is duplicated in the following table:

VARIABLE RESPONSE SCALE USED

Age Actual age in years
Income Ranges in $10,000 increments
Gender Male, female
Marital status Single, married, other
Satisfaction with service 10-point scale from “poor” to
“excellent” 10 possible improvements in service A 5-point, disagree–agree
scale for each
improvement
Preferred movie theater Tinseltown or “some other”
Usage of various services Yes or no for each of 15 different services such
as purchase tickets over the phone, receive
mail listings of upcoming movies, use
coupons, etc.
Movie theater loyalty Total number of different services used at
that preferred movie theater (0 to 15)
Exposure to mail advertising Yes or no to recall receiving mail advertising last
month from Tinseltown Theaters

1. What type of descriptive data analysis should Mary instruct WINSTATS to

perform to determine basic patterns in the factors listed on the code sheet?
For each variable, identify the type of descriptive analysis, describe its
aspects, and indicate why it is appropriate.
2. Give an example of what each result might “look like” and how it should be
interpreted.

CASE 15.2 Auto Online Web Site Usage Survey (Part I) SPSS
Auto Online is a Web site where prospective automobile buyers can find information
about the various makes and models. Individuals can actually purchase a make and
model with specific options and features online. Recently, Auto Online posted an online
questionnaire on the Internet, and it mailed invitations to the last 5,000 automobile
buyers who visited Auto Online. Some of these buyers bought their car from Auto Online,
whereas the remaining individuals bought their autos from a dealership. However, they
did visit Auto Online at least one time prior to that purchase.
The questionniare that was posted online is produced here, and its code
numbers are included for your information.

AUTO Online Online Survey Questionnaire

Please answer the following questions to the best of your ability. When you have
answered all questions, click on the “Submit” button at the end. Please do not respond
to this question- naire more than one time.
1. Have you visited the Auto Online Web site in the past 3 months?
Yes (1) No (2)
2. How often do you make purchases through the Internet?
Very Often Often Occasionally Almost Never Never
5 4 3 2 1
3. Indicate your opinion on each of the following statements. For each one,
2009933759

please indi- cate if you strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, are neutral,
somewhat agree, or strongly agree.

Marketing Research: Online Research Applications, Fourth Edition, by Alvin C. Burns and Ronald F. Bush. Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
 STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY
NEUTRAL AGREE
I like using the Internet. 1 2 3 4 5
I use the Internet to research purchases I make. 1 2 3 4 5
I think purchasing items from the Internet is safe. 1 2 3 4 5
The Internet is a good tool to use when 1 2 3 4 5
researching
an automobile purchase.
The Internet should not be used to purchase 1 2 3 4 5
vehicles.
Online dealerships are just another way of getting 1 2 3 4 5
you into the traditional dealership.
I like your
the process of buying
did youavisit
newthe
vehicle.
Auto Online Web1site?2 3 4 5
4. About how many times before you bought automobile
times
5. How did you find out about Auto Online? Indicate all of the ways that you can recall.
From a friend (0,1) Web surfing (0,1) Theater (0,1)
Billboard (0,1) Search engine (0,1) Newspaper (0,1)
Internet banner ad (0,1) Television (0,1) Other (0,1)
6. What is your reaction to the following statements about the Auto Online Web
site?
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY
NEUTRAL AGREE
The Web site was easy to use. 1 2 3 4 5
I found the Web site was very helpful in my purchase. 1 2 3 4 5
I had a positive experience using the Web site. 1 2 3 4 5
I would use this Web site only for research. 1 2 3 4 5
The Web site influenced me to buy my vehicle. 1 2 3 4 5
I would feel secure to buy from this Web site. 1 2 3 4 5
7. Did you buy your new vehicle on the Auto Online Web site?
Yes (1) No (2)
a. If yes, was it a better experience than buying at a traditional dealership visit?
Yes (1) No (2)
b. If yes, indicate how much better.
A great deal better (1) Somewhat better (3)
Much better (2) Just a bit better (4)
8. The next six statements are possible reasons why people may not buy a car from
start to finish off the Internet. Please indicate the degree to which you agree or
disagree with each statement.
STRONGLY STRONGLY
DISAGREE NEUTRAL AGREE
People feel that the Internet is not a safe 1 2 3 4 5
place for personal information.
People want to test the performance of the 1 2 3 4 5
vehicle before buying it.
People feel they can negotiate a better price 1 2 3 4 5
by talking with a sales representative in
person.
People usually have trade-ins that are too 1 2 3 4 5
complicated to deal with online.
People like to have a “hands-on” situation 1 2 3 4 5 20
when buying different options for their 09
vehicle. 93
37
People want to see the vehicle before they buy 1 2 3 4 5 59
it to check for imperfections.
 The next few questions pertain to the vehicle you just purchased.
9. For how many weeks were you actively searching for your vehicle? weeks
10. If you traded in a vehicle, approximately how much was it worth? $
11. What was the approximate sticker price of your new vehicle? $
12. What was the approximate actual price you paid for it? $
There are only a few more questions for clarification purposes.
13. What is your age? years
14. What is your marital status?
Single (1) Married (2) Widowed (3) Divorced (4) Separated (5)
15. How many children under the age of 18 are living with you?
16. What is the highest level of education you have completed?
Less than high school (1) High school (2) Some college (3)
Undergraduate degree (4) Graduate degree (5) Other (Specify: ) (6)
17. What is your race?
Caucasian (1) Black (2) Asian (3) American Indian (4)
Hispanic (5) Other (6)
18. What range includes your total household income before taxes for last year?
Under $35,000 (1) $35,000–$50,000 (2) $50,000–$65,000 (3)
$65,000–$80,000 (4) $80,000–95,000 (5) $95,000–$110,000 (6)
Over $110,000 (7)
19. Your gender is . . .
Male (1) Female (2)

A total of 1,400 respondents answered the Auto Online survey, and the SPSS data
set is named AutoOnline.sav. To download this data set, go to the following Web site,
and find the dataset download area at www.prenhall.com/burnsbush.
Perform the proper descriptive analysis with SPSS Student Version on all of the
questions on the questionnaire.

CASE 15.3 Your Integrated Case SPSS

This is your integrated case, described on pages 42–43. The Hobbit’s Choice Restaurant
Survey SPSS data set can be downloaded from the text Web site
www.prenhall.com/burnsbush.

The Hobbit’s Choice Restaurant Survey Descriptive Analysis

Cory Rogers was happy to call Jeff Dean to inform him that The Hobbit’s Choice
Restaurant survey data were collected and ready for analysis. Of course, Cory had
other marketing research projects and meetings scheduled with present and
prospective clients, so he called in his marketing intern, Celeste Brown. Celeste was a
senior marketing major at Able State University, and she had taken marketing
research in the previous semester. Celeste had “aced” this class, which she enjoyed a
great deal. Her professor had invited Cory Rogers to give a talk on “a typical day in the
life of a market researcher,” and Celeste had approached Cory the very next day about
a marketing research internship. Like every dedicated marketing major, Celeste had
kept her Burns and Bush marketing research textbook for future reference.
Cory called Celeste into his office, and said, “Celeste, it is time to do some analysis
on the survey we did for Jeff Dean. For now, let’s just get a feel for what the data look
like. I’ll leave it up to your judgment as to what basic analysis to run. Let’s meet
tomorrow at 2:30 P.M. and see what you have found.”
Your task in Case 15.3 is to take the role of Celeste Brown, marketing intern. As we
indicated in this chapter, the file name is HobbitData.sav, and it is in SPSS data file
format. We have used this data set in some of the examples of various types of
descriptive analysis in this chapter.
2009933759

1. Determine what variables are categorical (either nominal or ordinal scales),

perform the appropriate descriptive analysis, and interpret it.
2. Determine what variables are metric scales (either interval or ratio scales), perform
the appropriate descriptive analysis, and interpret it.