MODULE 2: IDENTIFYING AN OPPORTUNITY

Table of Contents
MODULE 2: IDENTIFYING AN OPPORTUNITY .................................................................................................................
1
Module Overview ...........................................................................................................................................................
3
How can you know if a new product presents an opportunity? ...............................................................................
3
Learning Objectives: ..................................................................................................................................................
3
To-Do List ...................................................................................................................................................................
3
Module 2 Key Vocabulary ..............................................................................................................................................
4
Lesson 1: Market Research and Testing to Identify Opportunities ............................................................................... 9
Market research can answer the following questions: .............................................................................................
9
Informal vs. Formal Market Research .......................................................................................................................
9
Lesson 2: Informal Research: Advantages and Disadvantages ....................................................................................
11
What is informal market research? .........................................................................................................................
11
What are the advantages of informal market research? ........................................................................................
11
What are the disadvantages of informal market research? ...................................................................................
11
Summary .................................................................................................................................................................
12
Lesson 3: Formal Research: Advantages and Disadvantages (Part 1) ......................................................................... 13
Advantages of Formal Market Research .................................................................................................................
13

© 2020 by FHI 360. “Module 2: Identifying an Opportunity” for the Online Professional English
Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S.
government and administered by FHI 360. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 1
Attribution 4.0 License, except where noted. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
 Disadvantages of Formal Market Research ............................................................................................................
13
Summary .................................................................................................................................................................
13
Lesson 4: Formal Research: Advantages and Disadvantages (Part 2) ......................................................................... 14
Part 1: The Demographic Profile .............................................................................................................................
14
Part 2: Past and/or Current Experience ..................................................................................................................
14
Part 3: Future Needs ...............................................................................................................................................
14
Summary .................................................................................................................................................................
15
Lesson 5: Language Focus - Listening Strategies (Part 1)............................................................................................. 16
Strategy 1: Practice..................................................................................................................................................
16
Strategy 2: Use your background knowledge .........................................................................................................
16
Strategy 3: Focus on the Main Idea.........................................................................................................................
16
Lesson 6: Language Focus - Listening Strategies (Part 2)............................................................................................. 18
Strategy 4: Pay attention to stress ..........................................................................................................................
18
Strategy 5: Ask if you don't understand ..................................................................................................................
18 Quiz: Listening Practice: Bugs are the new
food.......................................................................................................... 19
Lesson 7: Creating a Survey (Part 1).............................................................................................................................
21
Open-ended questions ............................................................................................................................................
21
Closed Questions .....................................................................................................................................................
21
Creating a Sample Survey ........................................................................................................................................
21
Part 1: Demographic Profile ....................................................................................................................................
21
Lesson 8: Creating a Survey (Part 2).............................................................................................................................
23
Summary: ................................................................................................................................................................
24
Discussion: Survey Questions: Past or Current Experience .........................................................................................
25

2
 Part 1: Demographic Profile ....................................................................................................................................
25
Quiz: Creating Survey Questions ..................................................................................................................................
25
Lesson 9: Questions and Intonation (Part 1) ............................................................................................................... 26
Yes / No Questions ..................................................................................................................................................
26
Information questions .............................................................................................................................................
26
Summary .................................................................................................................................................................
26
Lesson 10: Questions and Intonation (Part 2) ............................................................................................................. 27
General guidelines for English intonation ...............................................................................................................
27
Summary: ................................................................................................................................................................
27
Quiz: Questions and Intonation ...................................................................................................................................
28
Lesson 11: Collecting Data ...........................................................................................................................................
28
How can I find and choose survey respondents?.................................................................................................... 28
Written vs. spoken surveys .....................................................................................................................................
28
Summary: ................................................................................................................................................................
29
Lesson 12: Evaluating Results ......................................................................................................................................
30
Part 2: Past or Current Experience ..........................................................................................................................
30
Part 3: Future Needs ...............................................................................................................................................
30
Evaluating the results ..............................................................................................................................................
30
Scattered Results .....................................................................................................................................................
31
Demographic profiles and niche markets ...............................................................................................................
31
Summary .................................................................................................................................................................
31
Module 2 Check............................................................................................................................................................

32

3
Module Overview
HOW CAN YOU KNOW IF A NEW PRODUCT PRESENTS AN
OPPORTUNITY?
In Module 2, we will learn how to conduct market research. Market research helps us identify opportunities in a
market. It helps us know the product is something that potential customers think they need. We will go over the
basic benefits and strategies of market research. We will focus specifically on survey design in this module. For our
language focus, we will explore various strategies for asking questions and listening to responses.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this module, you will:

• Identify the key steps in conducting market research

• Identify and apply strategies to improve listening comprehension
• Identify and practice using effective question form structures and strategies to conduct market research and
communicate with potential partners, clients, and customers
• Identify new fundamental vocabulary, and practice using that new vocabulary in their course activities
• Read, watch, and listen to a variety of texts and multimedia sources. Demonstrate your understanding of these
texts and key course concepts through comprehension check quizzes

TO-DO LIST
In order to successfully complete Module 2, please do the following:

1. Review: Module 2 Presentation, Videos, Articles 2.

Discuss: Participate in a discussion on survey questions
3. Check-In: Complete two quizzes:
1. Creating Survey Questions
2. Questions and Intonation
3. Module 2 Check

Module 2 Key Vocabulary

Module 2 will feature the following words. These words may appear in quizzes throughout the course.

an acquaintance (n)

4
Handshake by Evgeny Moryakov via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

An acquaintance is somebody you know, but not very well.

cheap (adj)

Cheap by Adrien Coquet via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

Cheap means not expensive. Something that is cheap costs less money than
expected.

a closed question (n)

test paper by Milinda Courey via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

Closed questions are questions that have defined answers.

a demographic profile (n)

5
Demographic by Eucalyp via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

A demographic profile is a description of a particular type of customer. It includes

identifiers like a person's sex, age, and income

a focus group (n)

Focus Group by Justin Blake via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

A focus group is a group of people that have been brought together to discuss a
particular subject in order to solve a problem or suggest ideas.

formal (adj)

"Formal Science" by Vectors Point via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

Formal research follows an agreed and official way of doing things.

a habit (n)

“Innovation” by Icongeek26 via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

A habit is a particular way of acting that you tend to do regularly.

6
Informal (adj)

“Informal Learning” by Duke Innovation Co-Lab via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

Informal means not formal or official. Informal market research is any casual
conversation about an idea for a new product.

a market niche (n)

“niche market” by Eucalyp via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

A market niche is a specific group of people who are likely to be interested in

buying a new product.

to measure (v)

Measuring by Luis Prado via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

To measure means to discover the exact size or amount of something.

persuasive (adj)

7
“Conversation” by priyanka via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

Something that is persuasive makes you want to do or believe a particular thing.

qualitative (adj)

“qualitative” by Eucalyp via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

Qualitative data is related to the quality of an experience or situation rather that

to facts that can be measured.

quantitative (adj)

"Quantitative" by Eucalyp via the Noun meProject is licensed under CC BY

Quantitative data reflects amounts that can be measured

respondent (n)

“people questions” by Silvu Ojog via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

8
A respondent is someone who answers (or responds to) a question.

a survey (n)

“survey” by Edwin PM via the Noun Project is licensed under CC BY

A survey is a set of questions that gathers data, or information, about people or

finds out their opinions.

Lesson 1: Market Research and Testing to Identify

Opportunities
Market research means collecting and studying information about what people like to
buy. Market research is an important part of new product development. It helps the
entrepreneur test people's response to a new product. It helps the entrepreneur
make decisions before investing a lot of time or money.

Market research can help the entrepreneur find a market niche. A market niche is a
group of people who would be most likely to buy a new product. Identifying a market
niche helps the entrepreneur find investors. Investors want to know that the new
product will be successful.

If people do not like or want the product, then the entrepreneur has two choices:
a market niche

"niche market" by I Putu • make changes to the new product and then do more research to test people's
Kharismayadi via the Noun responses again; or,
Project is licensed under CC • decide to develop a different idea for a new product. BY

Market research helps entrepreneurs gain information about the product. It also helps
them learn more about their customers.

MARKET RESEARCH CAN ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. What are their demographic profiles? Demographic profiles include things like sex, age, and income.
2. What are their past and current preferences?
3. What are their future needs?
4. What features and benefits do they want in a product?

9
5. Would they be willing to buy this product?
6. How much would they be willing to spend?

This information is important when deciding whether a product presents an opportunity.

INFORMAL VS. FORMAL MARKET RESEARCH

Now, let's look at the two methods for doing market research: informal and
formal.
Informal research often occurs in casual conversations.

Formal research requires using specific questions. Formal research is usually done
by a survey or through a focus group.

informal research formal research A survey is a set of questions that gathers data, or
"Informal Learning” by Duke
information, about people or finds out their opinions.
Innovation Co-Lab via the Noun "Formal Science" by Vectors Point via
Project is licensed under the Noun Project is licensed under CC
CC BY BY
Surveys are a way to collect quantitative data. Quantitative data measures
information in amounts or numbers. A survey question might ask how many times
somebody uses a product each month. This is quantitative information. We can
measure it.

A focus group is a group of people gathered to discuss a particular subject. Focus groups
might solve a particular problem or suggest ideas. Focus groups are a way to collect
qualitative data. Qualitative data is about opinions, feelings, and experience. Unlike facts,
it is not easy to measure feelings and experiences. A focus group question might ask, "What features do people in
the group like in a product and why?" These answers will vary and be difficult to measure. This is qualitative
information.

Here is a simple example to show the difference between quantitative and qualitative data.

A survey of 100 people asks the following two questions:

1. How many times do you brush your teeth per day?

2. Why?

We can quantify or count the answers to Question 1. We can analyze how many people responded with one, two,
three, or four times per day. This would be quantitative data because it is measurable. But the answers to Question
2 would be impossible to count. People could express their answers in many ways, and for many different reasons.
This would be qualitative data.

Both quantitative and qualitative data provide useful information. If you want to know whether an idea for a
product presents an opportunity, you should as both question types.

Summary:

• Market research helps entrepreneurs test people's response to a new product.

• Market research helps entrepreneurs learn more about customers. Market research can be informal or formal.
• Two formal methods of market research are surveys and focus groups.
• We also discussed quantitative and qualitative data.

10
In this module, we will learn more about both informal and formal market research. We will practice listening
strategies, question structures, and intonation. Finally, we will talk about how to how to collect and evaluate
results in a formal survey.

Lesson 2: Informal Research: Advantages and

Disadvantages
In this lesson, we will discuss informal market research in more detail. We will discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of informal market research.

WHAT IS INFORMAL MARKET RESEARCH?

Informal research includes any conversations about a new product. These conversations
could happen with a variety of people. The people could include local businesspeople, but
also family, friends, and acquaintances. An acquaintance is somebody you know, but not
very well. Informal market research includes casual conversation, in person, or over the
phone. and casual messages through email or social media.

Informal market research often looks like this:

An entrepreneur presents a one-sentence product description with a

informal research prototype, if available.

"Informal Learning” by Duke
Innovation Co-Lab via the
Then they follow with two questions:
Noun Project is licensed under
Question 1: "What do you think?"
CC BY
Question 2: "Would you buy it?"

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF INFORMAL MARKET RESEARCH?

The advantages of informal research are that it is easy, cheap, and quick.
1. Informal market research is easy.

Family, friends, and acquaintances are often willing to give their opinion. You may already know some local
businesspeople. Local businesspeople may already sell related products. Or, they may have a need for the new
product. In these situations, local businesspeople may be happy to give their opinion.

2. Informal market research is cheap.

Cheap means not expensive. Something that is cheap costs less money than is usual or expected. Often, the biggest
cost of doing research is the time away from paid work to do it. Talking with people you already know can reduce
travel costs and other expenses.

3. Informal market research is quick.

You don't need to plan much, and conversations can be short. Easy, cheap, and quick all sound good. But informal
research has some serious disadvantages.

WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF INFORMAL MARKET RESEARCH?

1. The results are usually qualitative and not easy to measure.
Think about the two questions in our example above. Here are some possible answers to the two common
questions we gave in our example above:

11
Question 1: “What do you think?”

If you ask people this question, they could respond in a variety of ways. Look at the responses below. How do you
measure these responses?

• “I like it a lot.”
• “It's okay.”
• “It's cool.”
• “It's pretty.”
• “It's different”

Question 2: "Would you buy it?”

People could respond to this question with a variety of answers as well. How would you measure these responses?

• “Sure.”
• “Yes.”
• “I think so.”
• “If I had money.”
• “Maybe.”

These responses are also difficult answers to measure because some of the words and phrases are not very clear.

2. The results may be subjective instead of objective.

Subjective means based on personal beliefs or feelings rather than based on facts. Family, friends, and
acquaintances will want to be supportive. They may say positive things when they may not like a new product at
all.

Likewise, local businesspeople may worry that a new product will compete with theirs. They may say they do not
like the product when they might like it very much.

If the results are not easy to measure or if they look subjective, there is a risk. You may not convince investors.
This means they will not provide funding. To attract investors, you should provide data that shows persuasive
market interest. You want to show investors this new product is an opportunity. This means that it is difficult to
use informal research alone to attract investors.

SUMMARY
Despite these disadvantages, informal research can be a useful part of new product development. This is especially
true in the early stages of development because it is easy, cheap, and quick. However, informal market research is
difficult to measure, could be subjective, and may not be persuasive to potential investors. Formal research is
necessary as well.

Lesson 3: Formal Research: Advantages and

Disadvantages (Part 1)
In this lesson, we will discuss formal market research in more detail. Earlier, we discussed two methods of doing
market research: surveys and focus groups. In this course, we will only have time to discuss and practice using
surveys.

Not surprisingly, the advantages and disadvantages of formal research are the opposite of informal research.

12
ADVANTAGES OF FORMAL MARKET RESEARCH
Formal research can produce more quantitative data. Surveys generally provide more
quantitative data than a focus group. But surveys also can ask for some qualitative
information.

Formal research is also more likely to be objective. Objective means based on facts rather
than based on personal beliefs or feelings. Potential investors are more likely to believe
objective results which help them see the potential value of the new product.

formal research

"Formal Science" by
Vectors Point via the
Noun Project is licensed under
CC BY

DISADVANTAGES OF FORMAL MARKET RESEARCH

Like informal research, formal research also has some serious disadvantages. First, it can be difficult to find
respondents. Researchers want objective data and so do not want to use people they know. This requires more
time in planning.

Second, formal research can be expensive. It takes more time to administer a formal survey. All respondents should
complete the same full survey. If entrepreneurs want to complete the research quickly, they often have to pay for
help. Formal surveys also often include a professional-looking prototype or visual. This adds to costs and requires
more planning. For a larger, more expensive investment proposal, you might use a marketing research firm. This
adds a lot to cost, it also requires more planning.

SUMMARY

• Advantages: Formal research surveys are more quantitative, objective, and persuasive than informal research.
• Disadvantages: Formal research requires finding respondents, costs more, and requires more planning.

Lesson 4: Formal Research: Advantages and

Disadvantages (Part 2)
Now let's look at survey organization, some sample topics, and question structures. A survey is usually divided into
three parts:

• Part 1: The Demographic Profile

• Part 2: Past or Current Experience
• Part 3: Future Needs

PART 1: THE DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE

13
 Part One helps us understand the basic demographic information about the
respondent. This can include gender, age, professional work status, income,
family, or living situation.

PART 2: PAST AND/OR CURRENT EXPERIENCE

Part Two asks for information about the respondent's past or current experience. This
demographic profile can include habits and preferences related to a new product. Habits are things that
people do regularly such as brushing their teeth.
Sample questions about a habit (brushing your teeth):
Demographic by Eucalyp via the
Noun Project is licensed
under CC BY 1. Do you ever brush your teeth?
2. What do you use to brush your teeth?
3. How long does it take you to brush your teeth?
4. Where do you brush your teeth?
5. How often do you brush your teeth?
6. How many times a day do you brush your teeth?
Sample questions about preferences:

1. What do you like best about your toothbrush?

2. What do you like least about your toothbrush?
3. Do you like your toothbrush? If no, why not?

PART 3: FUTURE NEEDS

Part Three asks for information about the respondent's future needs. Here, the
respondent reacts to the specific features and benefits of the new product. In this
section they will also be asked the perceived value of the new product. In other
words, how much the respondent would be willing to pay for the product. These are
often the hardest questions to write in the survey.

Sample questions about future needs:

1. Would you like to try New Toothbrush?

2. If yes, which New Toothbrush would you prefer?
3. Are you interested in buying New Toothbrush?
4. If yes or maybe, how much would you be willing to pay for one New Toothbrush?

SUMMARY
A new product survey has three parts: the demographic profile, past and current experience, and future needs.

14
Lesson 5: Language Focus - Listening Strategies (Part 1)
In this lesson, we will introduce listening strategies. These strategies will help you improve your listening skills and
comprehension.

There are many other strategies you can use to help you understand what you hear in English. In this lesson, we
will try some of them out with a new story, "Bugs are the New Food."

STRATEGY 1: PRACTICE
The more time you spend listening to English, the better your listening comprehension will become. Therefore,
practice is the best strategy.

STRATEGY 2: USE YOUR BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

Think about what you already know about the topic before you listen. This step will help you prepare for the
vocabulary and predict what you will hear. Does this sound familiar? We used this same strategy to improve our
reading in Module 1.

Let's try this strategy now. The title of your next listening activity is, "Bugs are the New Food"

What words come to mind as you think about this topic?

You might guess that the topic is eating bugs.

Based on your background knowledge, try to make a list of several words related to the topic. When you listen, you
can check to see if you hear any of the words on your list.

Here are some potential words:

Words about bugs: grasshoppers, spiders, worms, crickets.

Words about food: Interesting, unusual, taste, crunchy.

With your background knowledge and your word list, you can begin to predict what you will hear. When you listen,
check to see if your predictions are correct. Keeping these predictions in mind as you listen can help you stay active
and focused.

For example, you might predict that you will hear these ideas in "Bugs are the New Food".

• Bugs taste good.

• People eat bugs in some parts of the world.
• Other people think that eating bugs is a bad idea.

STRATEGY 3: FOCUS ON THE MAIN IDEA

As you listen, focus on understanding the main idea. Don't worry about understanding every detail. Focus on
important words and facts. To identify important information, listen for repeated words and ideas.

Now you try. Listen to the beginning of "Bugs are the New Food" and try to notice how the speaker repeats the
idea of bugs and food.

Americans are generally unwilling to eat bugs. But for at least 2 billion people worldwide, bugs or
insects are a normal part of the diet. For instance, friend caterpillars are popular in Tanzania. In

15
 Mexico, many people enjoy chili toasted grasshoppers, and some Thais like crunchy, giant water bugs.
Now, a business in the US state of Oregon is selling finely ground crickets as human food.

The speaker repeated different words related to bugs and food several times. This repetition helps you understand
that this is the main idea. You probably don't need to remember a detail that is only mentioned once, like, which
country likes to eat grasshoppers.

We will look at two more listening strategies in the next lesson.

16
Lesson 6: Language Focus - Listening Strategies (Part 2)
Welcome back to Part 2 of our language-focused lesson on Listening Strategies. In this lesson, we will look at two
more important listening strategies. We will use these strategies in the next listening activity, “Bugs are the New
Food”

STRATEGY 4: PAY ATTENTION TO STRESS

Pay attention to stressed words rather than individual sounds. Don't worry about unclear sounds or words. Instead,
pay attention to stressed words to get to the main point. This is helpful because the content words usually receive
the stress. Content words are the words that carry the meaning in a sentence, usually receive the stress. Stressed
words sound longer, louder, and slightly higher pitch than the unstressed words. Usually, these are the nouns,
verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. These types of words give us the most information.
Let's listen to an example, see if you can choose the content words in this sentence.

>> The company's name is Cricket Flours. That's flour, as in the white, powdery substance usually used in baking. >>

If you only listen to the content words, you'll hear:

• Cricket Flour (the name of the company)

• flour,
• white,
• powdery substance • usually used
• baking.

Even though you are missing some words, you can probably understand the speaker's idea. She is explaining the
name of the new company.

STRATEGY 5: ASK IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

Remember, your Canvas classmates are here to help you. Try these strategies first. If you still have questions, you
can always ask for help in the Content Discussion Board.

So, let's review the listening strategies we've discussed.

1. Most importantly, practice listening in English as much as possible.

2. Before listening, use your background knowledge, and try to predict what you will hear.
3. While listening, focus on the main idea
4. Pay attention to stressed words to understand what is important.
5. Ask for help.

Now, practice these strategies while listening to "Bugs are the New Food". The recording will be followed by a
comprehension check.

Quiz: Listening Practice: Bugs are the new food

All questions in this quiz refer to the audio recording "Bugs Are the New Food." The transcript of the recording has
been included to help you check your understanding.

17
>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

Americans are generally unwilling to eat bugs. But for at least two billion people worldwide, bugs or insects are a
normal part of the diet.

For instance, fried caterpillars are popular in Tanzania. In Mexico, many people enjoy chili-toasted grasshoppers.
And some Thais like crunchy giant water bugs.

Now, a business in the U.S. state of Oregon is selling finely-ground crickets as human food.

The company's name is Cricket Flours -- that's "flour" as in the white, powdery substance usually used in baking.
Charles Wilson is the founder and CEO. He says he became interested in crickets when he learned he could not eat
some common foods, including a protein powder he used to build muscle.

"So I started looking for alternative proteins and alternative food ingredients and I stumbled across cricket flour."

Wilson says he recognized crickets could be more than a replacement for protein. He sensed a business
opportunity. At the time, Wilson was attending the University of Oregon's law school. He mentioned the idea to his
friend, Omar Ellis, who was studying at the business school.

Mr. Ellis said the idea of selling cricket protein powder was terrible.

“I just spent my first year in business school basically doing market research. My intuition is that's going to fail
horribly."

Yet Charles Wilson convinced his friend to become a co-founder and leader of Cricket Flours.

At a recent conference in Oregon, Mr. Ellis gives people free samples of cricket protein powder.

"Why crickets? They're very sustainable. They take one-tenth the feed and one-sixth the water to get the same
amount of protein that you would get from beef. It's got more iron than spinach, more calcium than milk. It's quite
amazing..."

Charles Wilson and Omar Ellis buy large amounts of dried, crushed crickets. Then, the entrepreneurs sell cricket
flour, chocolate flavored cricket flour, and baking mixes online.

Mr. Wilson says cricket flour does not have a strong taste. Maybe, he says, it tastes a little like nuts.

Two people who attended the Oregon food conference were willing to try cricket flour on breakfast cereal.

"Well, it's a little bit disconcerting, clearly not going to work for a vegetarian. But ultimately there's a problem
finding good protein powders that are not flavored and this isn't."

"In any other form, I would never do this. [laughs]. But definitely it might be something for the future. You never
know."

Cricket Flours is one of more than a dozen new U.S businesses in the food insects industry. Other businesses focus
on cricket farming or snacks made from cricket powder.

Mr. Ellis says it takes about 10,000 crickets to make a kilogram of cricket flour. In other words, cricket food costs a
lot of crickets.

I’m Marsha James.

----------------------------------------------

18
This report was based on a story from reporter Tom Banse. Marsha James adapted it for VOA Learning English.
Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.

_____________________________________________________ Words in This Story

supplement – n. something that is added to something else in order to make it

complete ingredient – n. one of the things used to make a food or product alternative –

adj. offering or expressing a choice stumble – v. to find or learn about something

unexpectedly disconcert – v. to make someone upset or embarrassed

19
 Lesson 7: Creating a Survey (Part 1)
In this lesson, we will look at question types in market research surveys. Then, we will create
a sample survey for Cricket Flour.

Surveys collect objective, primarily quantitative data about respondents and

their habits and opinions. The question types we identified in Lesson 5: Organizing Your
Survey are important. Creating a way to collect and measure the answers to those questions
is just as important.
a survey
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
As we discussed in Lesson 2, informal research often uses questions like, what do you think?
This type of question is called an open-ended question. Open-ended questions are open to
“survey” by Edwin PM
many different kinds of answers. Open-ended questions are useful. They allow respondents via the
Noun Project is licensed under CC BY to use their own words to express their thoughts.

In formal market research, we often find open-ended questions in focus groups. In a focus group, the goal is for
participants to share their experiences and ideas. Focus groups are considered formal market research. Market
research companies carefully select their participants. They formally plan the questions and they lead the
discussion.

Open-ended questions do have a disadvantage, though. The answers to open-ended questions are difficult to
quantify and measure. For this reason, formal market surveys rarely include open-ended questions.

CLOSED QUESTIONS
defined answers. For example, a survey question may ask, "Do you like coffee? And then
provide the choice of two answers, yes or no.

Closed questions are common in surveys. The answers are easier to quantify and measure.
However, closed questions have a disadvantage as well. Sometimes, the defined answers
do not match a respondent's opinion or preference.

For example, I do not like hot coffee, but I do like iced coffee. It would be difficult for me to
answer the question, "do you like coffee?" with just a simple yes or no.

CREATING A SAMPLE SURVEY

Imagine we would like to do a formal market research survey about Cricket Flour. We want
© 2020 by FHI 360.
"Cricket Flour" for the to know whether Cricket flour presents an opportunity in our local market. We will use the
Online Professional English same organization and question structures we reviewed in Lesson 4. This time, we will
Network (OPEN). This focus the questions on Cricket Flour. We will design the answer choices to produce data
image is an adaptation of
that can be quantified and measured.
“grasshopper” by Iconic,
“spoon” by Yazmin Alanis,
and "protein" by Kiran PART 1: DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
Shastry via the Noun
Project under CC BY-SA. In Part 1 of our survey, we will try to get a demographic profile of our respondents. We
This derivative is licensed will collect data on gender and age. What will our questions and answer choices be?
under CC BY-SA by FHI 360
for use in OPEN, sponsored For gender, there is usually no question because respondents know what is being asked.
by the U.S. Department of
State. Age question types can be very different in different cultures. In the United States, for
Closed questions are example, we do not directly ask someone their age with a question like, how old are you?
questions that have We would only ask this if they are a close friend or family member.

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In the United States, researchers will ask a question like "what is your age range?" Then, they will offer a range of
ages or groups as answer choices. This way, the respondent does not feel pressure to share their exact age.

In other cultures, people may be very happy to share their exact age. In that case the researcher could ask the
respondent’s age and collect an exact number as the answer. This is an open-ended question, but the answer is a
number. This type of answer can be quantified and measured.

Other potential questions in Part 1 could ask a respondent's profession, income, and their family or living situation.
Like age, these topics can be difficult to ask in the United States. Often it depends on the situation and whether the
survey is given in person. For the purposes of our sample survey, we will only ask about gender and age.

Imagine you are a respondent and take Part 1 of the survey now as part of this comprehension check.

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Lesson 8: Creating a Survey (Part 2)
In this lesson, we will continue to look at the structure of questions and answers in
survey design.

In the second part of the survey, our goal is to understand the respondent's past and
current experience with healthy foods and particularly, eating bugs.

Look at these questions and answers.

3. Do you ever eat bugs? (habit)

a survey
_ Yes (skip question 5)
“survey” by Edwin PM via
the Noun Project is licensed _ No (skip question 4)
under CC BY
_These
Two questions are focused
or more times a day on data related to habit, frequency, and preference.
_ Once a day
Notice that most of the answer choices are closed or specific. The only open-ended answer choices are possibilities
_under
Oncepreference
a week questions at the end of a list of specific choices.

Researchers might include “other” with a blank as an answer if it is possible that the list of specific answers may not
_ Once a month
match the respondent's answer. Of course, the researchers hope that one of the specific answers will match the
5. If no, why not?
respondent's (preference)
answer, but many times researchers will include “other” to be safe.
_ Taste
6. Would you like to try new healthy foods in the future?

__ Yes

__ No

Question 6 asks about future habits related to a general product category. In this case, the general product
category is "healthy foods".

7. Cricket Flour has the same protein as beef, more iron than spinach, and more calcium than milk. Would you
like to try either of these Cricket Flour products?

__ Cricket Flour

__ Chocolate Flavored Cricket Flour

Notice the description of Cricket Flour in Question 7.

Cricket Flour has the same protein as beef, more iron than spinach, and more calcium than milk.

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This is not the same as the simple one-sentence product description we created in Module 1. Remember, the
survey respondents are not potential investors. Instead, the audience here is potential customers. So, we have
included a simple description of what it is and an important product feature.

• What it is: flour made from crickets

• Important product feature: health benefits (protein, iron, and calcium)

8. How much would you be willing to pay for 100 grams? ____

Question 8 is another open-ended question. This is a common question type at the end of new product surveys.

We could make it a closed question by including a list of price ranges as answers

__ under $5,

__$5 to $10,

__$10 to $15.

However, with a closed list of price ranges, there is a risk that the respondent will choose the lowest price. After all,
customers always want low prices.

We want to get a clear idea of the possible value a respondent sees in a new product. So, this kind of question is
often open-ended. The answer will be a number so it will be easy to quantify and measure.

Most surveys are much longer than this. We created this sample survey to increase our understanding of the role
of questions and answers when conducting formal market research surveys.

SUMMARY:

• Well-designed, formal market research surveys create primarily quantitative data.

• Formal market research surveys have many closed questions and very few open-ended questions.
• Objective, reliable results depend on clear, well-designed questions and answers.

Discussion: Survey Questions: Past or Current

Experience
Cricket Flour is creating a market research survey. They have completed part of the demographic profile for the
survey.

PART 1: DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE

1. Gender:
__Female

__ Male

__Decline to answer

2. Age: What is your age range?

__ Under 22

__23-35

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 __ 36-45

__46-60

__ Over 60

Now they need questions about Past / Current experience. Can you think of a question they can ask? What would
be a good question for Cricket Flour to ask about Past/Current experience? Step 1: Post one question about Past /
Current experience below in the discussion

Step 2: Find someone else's question.

Step 3: Answer that question.

Quiz: Creating Survey Questions

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

Lesson 9: Questions and Intonation (Part 1)

In this lesson, we will review some guidelines to further help you write and ask survey questions. This will include:
the basic form for yes/no questions and information questions.

YES / NO QUESTIONS
A yes / no question can be answered by yes or no. Yes / no questions are formed by the
following subject-verb word order:

helping verb + subject + main verb

For example:
• Do you
• • Did you like them? eat bugs?
closed questions
• Have they tried cricket flour?
test paper by Milinda • Is he cooking with cricket flour? Would you taste cricket flour?
Courey via the Noun These questions can all be answered with either yes or no.
Project is licensed
under CC BY

INFORMATION QUESTIONS
Information questions ask for information by using a question word: where, when, what, why, who, and how.
Information questions are formed by the following subject-verb word order:

Question word + helping verb + subject + main verb For

example:

• Where do you buy food?

• When did she try bugs?
• What have they cooked with cricket flour?

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• Why does he eat meat?
• Who do you make food for in your family?
• How would you use cricket flour?

These questions cannot be answered with a simple yes or no and instead must be answered with information.

For example, "Where do you buy food?" could be answered with "The grocery store", "The market", "The farm
stand", and so on.

SUMMARY

• In this lesson, we looked at formal written questions.

• A Yes/No Question is a question that can be answered by yes or no.
• Yes/No Question form: Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb.
• An Information Question is a question that asks for information.
• Information questions start with where, when, what, why, who, and how.
• Information Question form: Question Word + Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb.

In the next lesson, Language Focus: Questions and Intonation (Part 2 ), we will look at intonation and spoken
questions.

Lesson 10: Questions and Intonation (Part 2)

Grammar and word order are important when writing questions. When speaking questions, intonation is also
important.

Intonation is the rise and fall in the pitch of the voice. Pitch can be high or low. You can think of intonation as the
melody of speech.

Questions, statements, and lists, for example, all have their own standard speech melody. They each have their
own intonation. The melody also helps show when someone has finished speaking, or how they are feeling.

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR ENGLISH INTONATION

1. Statements generally have a falling intonation.
Make sure your intonation falls low enough at the end of sentences. Otherwise, your speech will sound unfinished
or unsure. Rising pitch at the end of sentences sounds unfinished or unsure.

See if you can hear the difference between these two.

Thank you for your time.

Can you hear a rising pitch?

Thank you for your time.

Can you hear a falling pitch? This sounds like a finished thought.

2. Information questions have a falling pitch.

For example,

• Who do you make food for in your family?

• How would you use cricket flour?
3. Yes/No Questions have a rising intonation.

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 • Do you eat bugs?
• Did you like them?
• Have they tried cricket flour?
• Is he cooking with cricket flour?
• Would you taste cricket flour?

It might be helpful to record yourself asking the questions you have written. Then listen to your recording and
check yourself. Did you follow these guidelines?

You can also practice with a friend and ask him or her to listen to your intonation.

Remember, when doing research, it is important to ask questions correctly. Be sure to use the right question form
and intonation when conducting market research.

SUMMARY:
• Statements and information questions use falling intonation.
• Yes/No questions use rising intonation.

Quiz: Questions and Intonation

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

Lesson 11: Collecting Data

In this lesson, we will discuss how to go about finding and choosing respondents. Then, we will compare written
and spoken surveys.

HOW CAN I FIND AND CHOOSE SURVEY RESPONDENTS?

Finding and choosing respondents can be difficult. Respondents have to give their time to answer survey
questions. Many people will say no to a stranger, especially if they think it will take too much time.

Where can I find respondents?

Parks, coffee shops, or community centers are good places to find respondents. People are more willing to share
their time when they are already relaxing.

How should I choose survey respondents?

Number and variety are important considerations when choosing respondents. The more people, the better.
"75% of respondents would be interested in buying my product."

This statement is more persuasive when there are 100 respondents instead of four. 75% of 100 is 75 but 75% of
four is only three.

It's important to find respondents with a variety of different demographic profiles. For example, men and women
of many different ages. This variety can help you identify market niches. For example, young women or older men.
Once you've identified a market niche, you can create surveys for that specific group.

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WRITTEN VS. SPOKEN SURVEYS
There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Written surveys
A written survey is where a respondent receives and answers questions in writing. This can be done on paper or in
an electronic file.

Advantages of written surveys:

1. Many respondents can complete the survey at the same time. This can make it easier to collect more data more
quickly.

2. It's easier to keep a record of individual responses in writing.

3. Some respondents might feel more comfortable and confident completing the survey in writing. A written
survey can feel more private.

Disadvantages of written surveys

1. You have very little interaction with the respondent. It can be difficult to judge if the respondent is a good source
of data.

2. Respondents may not answer all the questions and the data may be incomplete.

3. Respondents may not complete or return the survey, wasting your time. This is one of the biggest disadvantages
of written surveys.

Spoken surveys
In a spoken survey, you read the questions and answers aloud. The respondent listens to the question and selects
an answer.

Advantages of spoken surveys

1. In a spoken survey, you interact with the respondent much more. It is easier to judge if the respondent
is a good source of data.

2. Respondents are more likely to answer all the questions. They can also ask for further explanation or
information if needed.

3. Respondents are more likely to complete the survey. This is very important. It means that you will have the
data you are looking for.

Disadvantages of spoken surveys

1. Spoken surveys have to be done one at a time. This takes more time and can limit the number of total surveys
completed.
2. You have to take careful notes. You must record the individual responses accurately and clearly.

3. Some respondents may not feel confident listening and replying in English. They may prefer to read the
questions and respond in writing.

SUMMARY:

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• Survey data is more objective and persuasive when there are many respondents and a large variety in the
demographic profiles.
• Written surveys are easier to give to many people.
• Spoken ones allow for more interaction with the respondents. In the next video, we will learn more about how
researchers evaluate survey results.

Lesson 12: Evaluating Results

In this video, we will discuss how to evaluate survey results. Remember, we do formal market research to answer a
question: Does the new product represent an opportunity in a market?

To answer this question, we need to examine the data in Part 2 and Part 3 of the survey.

PART 2: PAST OR CURRENT EXPERIENCE

Respondents' past or current experience can provide important information. These responses can help us know
whether a new product represents an opportunity in a market.

Do respondents have habits and preferences that seem to support a new product? Or, do they have habits or
preferences that do not seem to support a new product?

For example, think about these questions:

• Do you like the toothbrush you currently have?
• Did you like a toothbrush you owned in the past?

These questions can help determine whether the respondent might try a new toothbrush. If they like their current
toothbrush a lot, they may not be interested in trying a new one. On the other hand, if they don't like their current
toothbrush, they might be very happy to try a new one.

PART 3: FUTURE NEEDS

Part 3 contains the most important information to answer our question. Does the new product represent an
opportunity in a market?

Do you remember the questions from Part 3 of the survey about New Toothbrush? In
Part 3: Future Needs, we asked

Would you like to try New Toothbrush?

_Yes
_No
If yes, which New Toothbrush would you prefer?
_Yes
_No
Are you interested in buying New Toothbrush?
_Yes
_No
_Maybe
If yes or maybe, how much would you be willing to pay for one New Toothbrush? _________

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Even though it is the last section, Part 3 usually has the most important data. This information can help you make
confident conclusions. It can help you determine if respondents will be willing to consider the new product in the
future.

EVALUATING THE RESULTS

Evaluating the responses to Part 2 and Part 3 can be very helpful. Looking at these results will help you determine
if a new product an opportunity in a market. You can do this by looking to see if there are extreme results or
scattered results.

Extreme results
Extreme results are data that is strongly positive or strongly negative. This is very useful data because it means that
respondents have clear opinions.

Example 1: 75% of respondents are not interested in buying a product.

In this case, you can quickly and easily conclude that a new product does not present an opportunity in a market.
Even though this is a negative conclusion, it will save you a lot of time and money. Hopefully, it will lead to the
development of a new product with a better chance of success.

Example 2: 40% of respondents are interested in buying a product.

Here, the results are less clear. You may have a more difficult time deciding what to do. You will probably have to
do more market research before you continue new product development.

SCATTERED RESULTS
Sometimes results from a question are unclear and show a variety of responses. These are called scattered results.
These indicate that the respondents have very different opinions. It is not possible to make a clear conclusion.

Scattered results can happen for two reasons.

1. This topic is very new for respondents. They have not yet developed clear opinions or preferences.

2. The survey question is not clear or needs to be more specific.

You can change the question to improve understanding and be more specific. However, there isn't much you can
do if respondents do not have opinions and preferences.

When you have finished looking at the data from Part 2 and Part 3, grouping the results from most extreme to
least extreme.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES AND NICHE MARKETS

Now it's time to look at part one, the demographic profile. How is this information related to the data in Parts 2
and 3? This information can help you see if there is a market niche for the new product.

Let's look at two examples.

Example 1: 75% of respondents are interested in the new product. Most of the interested respondents are men.

From this, you might conclude that the new product is more attractive to men than women. In this case, men are
the niche market.

Example 2: 25% of respondents are interested in buying a new product. All of the interested respondents are
young men and women.

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In this case, you may conclude that the new product has a niche market with young men and young women.
Usually, identifying a niche market will lead to more research with that specific market.

SUMMARY

• The purpose of a survey is to determine if a new product is an opportunity in a market.

• Part 2 and Part 3 of the survey provide evidence to answer this question.
• Extreme results are useful. Scattered results are unclear.
• Demographic profiles can be connected to the results to identify a niche market.

Module 2 Check
Please answer one question to verify that you have completed all activities in Module 2.
You must choose "Yes" in order to move on in the course.
This quiz will count as 1 point toward your grade.

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

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