Department of Advertising

Research Methods

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

As this web site develops, in the space below we will provide a bibliography of articles and books relevant to this topic. To the extent practical, bibliographic references will be annotated.

Anyone interested in submitting additional bibliographic material for this reference page, or for any of the others at this site, is welcome to send such material via e-mail to jef@mail.utexas.edu. Please type the references in the same format as is used here, and keep the annotations to a few sentences.

Involvement

  1. Martin P. Block, , Tamara S. Brezen and Don E. Schultz (1987). Pretesting Alternative Direct Response Creative Executions Using Multidimensional Scaling. Proceedings of the 1987 Convention of the American Academy of Advertising, Florence G. Feasley (ed.): R92-R96.

    A multidimensional approach to pretesting direct response ad executions is proposed and is employed in a study of 50 college subjects, potential target consumers for the product promoted. Results of the study indicate that the perceived clutter of a direct mail piece's appearance and the degree of personalization are key in invoking consumer response. Advantages of the approach over the traditional unidimensional approach are discussed.

  2. James B. Miller, Norman T. Bruvold, and Jerome B. Kernan (1987). Does Competitive-Set Information Affect the Results of Concept Tests? Journal of Advertising Research, 27 (April/May): 16-24.

    The research examines the impact of presenting additional competitive data in a concept test on consumer response. This study consists of 480 dog owners selected via mall-intercepts who are either shown a film execution of a new product concept for a dog food and a fact board showing package size, price, and other product information (in the standard group) or given additional information regarding competitive brands as well. Results of the study indicate that respondents exposed to additional competitive-set information tend to show higher purchase intention levels than those who are given no competitive information, while no significant difference exists between these two groups on the measure called "eventual trial (ET)" used by BASES system of Burke Marketing Inc.

  3. Ivan L. Preston (1987). Contrasting Types of Advertising Content - A Case of Terminology Gone Wild. Proceedings of the 1987 Convention of the American Academy of Advertising, Florence G. Feasley (ed.): R25-R30.

    The article examines a number of pairs of terms that have been used to describe advertising claims, such as objective-subjective, factual-evaluative, etc. It is concluded that the numerous pairs of terms can be represented by a total of four types of advertising claims with an enhanced descriptive ability.

  4. Surendra N. Singh and Gilbert A. Churchill, Jr. (1987). Response-Bias-Free Recognition Tests to Measure Advertising Effects. Journal of Advertising Research, 27 (April/May): 23-36.

    The paper discusses the problems of respondent tendencies associated with advertising recognition testing and proposes an approach based on the theory of signal detection (TSD), which can improve advertising recognition testing. The theory of signal detection and the methods of deriving nonmetric indices of response bias and sensitivity are described. An application of the approach is illustrated with hypothetical data.

  5. David W. Schumann (1987). Failure to Account for the Effects of 'Filler Ads': An Unexplored Concern for Advertising Researchers. Proceedings of the 1987 Convention of the American Academy of Advertising, Florence G. Feasley (ed.): R83-R85.

    The paper raises the issue of the effects of manipulated factors in the experimental ads confounding with filler ads or other ads surrounding them. To address the issue, an empirical investigation is conducted with a sample of college students using experimental ads with varying levels of argument strength and a group of filler ads developed professionally or by amateurs. The findings demonstrate that an element of one ad can influence a viewer's attitude toward other products he/she sees within the viewing environment. Results are discussed in the context of what is known as "contrast" effect in psychology.

  6. Charles E. Young and Michael Robinson (1987). GuidelineSM: Tracking the Commercial Viewer's Wandering Attention. Journal of Advertising Research, 27 (June/July): 15-22.

    This article presents a technique for quantifying consumer attention on a frame-by-frame basis to television commercials. As part of a standard copy test, the diagnostic technique called GuidelineSM involves the viewer sorting through a sample of still photographs taken from the commercial. The method is described with an illustrative case, together with findings of studies that have employed the technique and their relationship with recall.

  7. Raymond R. Burke and Wayne S. DeSarbo (1986). Computer-Assisted Print Ad Evaluation. Advances in Consumer Research, 14: 93-95.

    A computerized ad testing approach is presented which allows the estimation of the effects of an ad on a broad range of consumer response at a reasonable time and cost and permits precise control over stimulus material presentation. An illustrative application of the approach is provided, and limitations of the method and future directions are discussed.

  8. Peter R. Dickson and Paul L. Sauer (1986). Copytesting, Thought Elicitation and Attitude Theory: Two's Company, Three's a Crowd. Advances in Consumer Research, 14: 177-81.

    The paper reviews conventional thought elicitation coding techniques, and presents an alternative three-phase coding scheme that is based on various attitude theories. An illustrative experimental study is described that can compare three different coding schemes across several thought elicitation tack instruction sets.

  9. Joseph T. Plummer (1986). The Role of Copy Research in Multinational Advertising. Journal of Advertising Research, 26 (October/November): 11-15.

    The author emphasizes a need to treat cross-cultural advertising in a new way. Suggestions regarding test setting, focus of the testing and coordination of the research and creative team are made based on case experience and comments from sources around the world. An approach that could be useful in many cross-cultural advertising testing situations is also presented.

  10. Michael L. Rothschild, Esther Thorson, Byron Reeves, Judith E. Hirsch and Robert Goldstein (1986). EEG Activity and the Processing of Television Commercials. Communication Research, 13 (April): 182-220.

    The paper addresses complexities and problems associated with psychophysiological measures with a review of the literature on the subject. An experiment is conducted with 83 female adults, which is designed to relate the structure of television commercials for low involvement, unfamiliar products and memory for the commercials to continuously recorded EEGs of viewers. The results show correlations between level of EEG activity and the traditional memory measures such as recall ann recognition and affect measures. Practical implications of the results for advertisers are presented. The usefulness as well as methodological problems and issues are discussed of EEG measures.

  11. Surendra N. Singh and Gilbert A. Churchill, Jr. (1986). Using the Theory of Signal Detection to Improve Ad Recognition Testing. Journal of Marketing Research, 23 (November): 327-36.

    The paper describes the theory of signal detection which can be used to secure estimates of memory uncontaminated by the response biases. The potential usefulness of the theory for ad recognition testing is examined in two experiments designed to test several propositions derived from the theory. It is suggested that the signal detection theory may serve a useful tool for improving ad recognition tests. The paper also discusses potential application areas and limitations of the theory in assessing the effectiveness of advertising.

  12. David M. Zeitlin and Richard A. Westwood (1986). Measuring Emotional Response. Journal of Advertising Research, 26 (October/November): 34-44.

    The article discusses various aspects of human emotion and presents for emotional response a measurement system using verbal rating scales, which is drawn heavily from Plutchik's eight-variable theory of emotion. Eight patterns of emotional communications, such as sentimentality (acceptance plus joy) and love that product, hate that ad (acceptance, joy, or anticipation, plus anger and disgust), are discussed with related examples of commercials.

  13. Jeffrey F. Durgee (1985/1986). Depth-Interview Techniques for Creative Advertising. Journal of Advertising Research, 25 (December/January): 29- 37.

    This article reviews three in-depth interviewing techniques (laddering, hidden issue questioning, and symbolic analysis) and evaluates each in terms of the ability to identify novel product benefits and stimulate creative advertising. For each method, examples of questions to be asked and samples of creative concepts are presented based on findings from a hypothetical study of attitudes toward airlines among businessmen. The author notes that the three techniques are best used to compliment each other.

  14. Surendra N. Singh and Catherine A. Cole (1985). Forced-Choice Recognition Tests: A Critical Review. Journal of Advertising, 14 (3): 52-58.

    With a brief review of the past efforts to obtain a better recognition measure, the authors evaluate the usefulness of forced-choice recognition testing as a means of eliminating response bias. Issues to consider when a forced- choice measure is used in an advertising context are discussed.

  15. David W. Stewart, Connie Pechmann, Srinivasan Ratneshwar, Jon Stroud, and Beverly Bryant (1985). Methodological and Theoretical Foundations of Advertising Copytesting: A Review. Current Issues and Research in Advertising, 8 (2): 1-74.

    The paper provides a detailed review of four broad classes of copytesting measures presented in the literature, focusing on the measurement and evaluation of broadcasting advertising. The classes of measures reviewed include measures of memory for the advertising stimulus, attitudinal and intention measures, measures of cognitive response, and measures of choice behavior. Issues to be resolved concerning the measurement of advertising effects are also discussed.

  16. John T. Cacioppo and Richard E. Patty (1985). Physiological Responses and Advertising Effects: Is the Cup Half Full or Half Empty? Psychology and Marketing, 2 (2): 115-26.

    This conceptual paper discusses the issues and the debate concerning the utility of psychophysiological measures for evaluating the effects of advertising executions. The authors conclude that while research has not demonstrate invariant psychophysiolocial links, the psychophysiological assessments are promising as they offer a complementing perspective on consumer behavior.

  17. Ronald Jay Cohen (1985). Computer-enhanced Qualitative Research. Journal of Advertising Research, 25 (June/July): 48-53.

    The procedure involving a typical computer-enhanced interview, wherein the computer is integral to the methodology itself, is summarized with reference to three phases of the research: preparation, on-site testing, and analysis. Cases utilizing computer-enhanced qualitative research are illustrated with an interpretation of the meaning of results. Its advantages over the focus group approach and limitations are discussed.

  18. Roberto Friedman and Don Jugenheimer (1985). Copytesting through Psychological Meaning. Proceedings of the 1985 Convention of the American Academy of Advertising, Nancy Stephens (ed.): R42-R45.

    This paper presents an alternative copytesting technique which is based on the assessment of the psychological meaning of a message. The procedure and strengths and managerial implications are discussed.

  19. Joanne M. Klebba (1985). Physiological Measures of Research: A Review of Brain Activity, Electrodermal Response, Pupil Dilation, and Voice Analysis Methods and Studies. Current Issues and Research in Advertising, 8 (1): 53- 76.

    With a discussion on the major directions of physiological research in general and on the strengths and weaknesses of direct physiological measures, the specific techniques used in brain-wave, electrodermal response, pupil dilation, and voice analysis are reviewed by considering the terminology, equipment, and procedures of each. Principal advertising- related findings of each technique are also presented.

  20. Herbert E. Krugman (1985). Point of View: Measuring Memory - An Industry Dilemma. Journal of Advertising Research, 25 (August/September): 49-51.

    The author discusses the limitations of using recall as a memory measure in advertising research situations involving low-interest, low-involvement, repeat-purchase products. The need for recognition-type measures is addressed.

  21. Theodore F. Dunn (1984/1985). ARF's Copy Research Validity Project. Journal of Advertising Research, 24 (December/January): 40-42.

    The article describes ARF's project to test the predicted validity of six copy research methods differing in terms of employing a recruited vs. self- selected natural audience, on-air vs. off-air exposure, immediate vs. day- after recall measure, the measurement ordering of purchase intent and recall, or post-only vs. pre-post test design.

  22. Joseph O. Eastlack, Jr. (1984/1985). Point of View: How to Take the Controversy Out of TV Copy Testing. Journal of Advertising Research, 24, (December/January): 37-39.

    After describing six popular schools of thought about television copy testing, the author emphasizes that the goals of marketing should guide copy testing.

  23. Kirk Hollingsworth (1984/1985). The Fragility of Attribute Data. Journal of Advertising Research, 24 (December/January): 44-50.

    With an illustration of actual copy-testing data, this article addresses the issue of biases in attribute rating resulting from measuring the evaluation of concepts before product-related evaluation is measured.

  24. Esther Thorson and Rita Snyder (1984). Viewer Recall of Television Commercials: Prediction from the Propositional Structure of Commercial Scripts. Journal of Marketing Research, 21 (May): 127-36.

    This paper presents a psycholinguistically based model for predicting the viewer's recall of a television commercial based from the propositional structure of the commercial scripts. The predictive utility of the model is demonstrated in its application involving 19 commercials differing in length, execution, etc. and a total of 941 viewer protocols of immediate or day-after recall.

  25. Sidney Weinstein, Ronald Drozdenko, and Curt Weinstein (1984). Advertising Evaluation Using Brain-Wave Measures: A Response to the Question of Validity. Journal of Advertising Research, 24, (April/May): 67-70.

    The utility of brain-wave measures for message selection and evaluation of advertising is discussed. The authors, responding to the criticism made by Katz regarding the methodology of brain-wave recordings, emphasize that a potentially useful research tool should not be cast aside.

  26. George Zinkhan and Edward Blair (1984). An Assessment of the Cloze Procedure As an Advertising Copy Test. Journalism Quarterly, 61 (2): 404-8.

    This paper assess reliability and usefulness of the cloze procedure as an advertising copy testing technique. The procedure is first tested in a variety of application situations with a sample of target consumers for product categories such as cola, hotel, etc. Three different modes of ads (print ads, radio commercials, and promotional letters) are used. Results of the coefficient alpha measure indicate that the procedure may not be highly reliable with a a mean of .65 across the six application situations. Some evidence is provided, however, for predictive validity of the cloze procedure in a separate experiment by showing the cloze scores being able to differentiate an ad with a high recall score from that of a low one.

  27. Ian M. Lewis (1984). Do Concept Scores Measure the Message or the Method? Journal of Advertising Research, 24 (February/March): 54-57.

    This paper addresses the issue of contextual effects in the copy testing. Citing inconsistent concept scores between results of a two-phase test (concept only and concept/product test) conducted for a product category, the author warns of biases attributable to the method rather than the message.

  28. Arthur J. Adams (1984). Cautionary Note on the Reliability of Advertising Test-Retest Scores. Journal of Advertising, 13 (1): 41-45.

    Using some hypothetical examples this article discusses potential problems in using the test-retest correlation as a reliability measure in the copy testing or advertising literature. The author suggests that caution be taken in its use and other statistics be used, whenever possible, as supplements to the limited amount of information contained in the estimated reliability number.

  29. John W. Keon (1983/1984). Copy Testing Ads for Imagery Products. Journal of Advertising Research, 23 (December/January): 41-48.

    This paper introduces a technique which would assist in determining the best concept, in pretesting to select the best new ad, and in evaluating the post-introduction success of an ad campaign for imagery products. The technique, TRINODAL, involves the perceptual mapping of ad images, brand images, and consumer preferences. A case introducing a new ad for a new brand is followed to illustrate how to use TRINODAL mapping in each of three steps. The limitations of the technique and applications for existing brands are discussed.

  30. Arthur Adams, Sunil Mehrotra, and Stuart Van Auken (1983). Reliability of Forced-Exposure Television Copytesting. Journal of Advertising Research, 23 (June/July): 29-32.

    The paper presents an approach to measure reliability, which employs two diagnostic tests proposed by Silk to determine whether changes have occurred over time in the variance and mean of copy-test scores. Findings from a study conducted with 1200 adults over a one and a half year period indicate that the diagnostic tests for the stability of score mean and variance could yield meaningful results and should be employed whenever testing score shifts are likely.

  31. James F. Donius (1983). Campaign Simulation via Multiple Exposure On-Air Copy Testing. Journal of Advertising Research, 23 (April/May): 35-39.

    The effects of multiple exposure on ad recall, attribute ratings, and purchase intention are examined by type of commercials ("mood" vs. "straight-sell"). The experimental subjects consisting of product users living in eight cities are exposed to commercials in a natural setting and measured 24 hours after the exposure. Results indicate that the "straight-sell" commercial produces higher recall,but the two types of commercials do not differ on attribute rating or purchase interest. The study also finds that, overall, recall is most increased and benefit perception is more easily enhanced than persuasion by multiple exposure.

  32. Robert C. Grass, Wallace H. Wallace and Wayne G. Robertshaw (1983). The 'NOLAD' Concept. Journal of Advertising Research, 23 (February/March): 47- 55.

    The authors propose the NOLAD (non-listening attention demand) as a system of pretesting and evaluating radio commercials. Using actual radio commercials the NOLAD concept is tested on recall of sponsor, brand name and main idea of the commercial. An experiment is conducted with 150 adults recruited in a shopping mall. The inverse relationship is found between recall and the NOLAD level. The study shows that the measure can provide meaningful information regarding the impact of the commercial and the rate at which the performance of a commercial diminishes as the NOLAD level increases.

  33. Paul E. Green and Catherine M. Schaffer (1983). Ad Copy Testing. Journal of Advertising Research, 23 (October/November): 73-80.

    The authors propose diagnostic procedures for summarizing perceptual and executional impact in advertising copy testing which involves pre-post tests under forced-exposure conditions. The analytical procedure is described and an empirical example is presented.

  34. John L. Lastovicka (1983). Convergent and Discriminant Validity of Television Commercial Rating Scales. Journal of Advertising, 12 (2): 14-23, 52.

    This study examines convergent and discriminant validity of three copytesting concepts (Relevance, Confusion and Entertainment) by comparing three Likert-type scales of these concepts with measures obtained from the content analysis of open-ended responses. Commercials for four actual branded products are shown to a sample of college student subjects in a forced exposure setting resembling a storyboard copytest. As standards of convergent and discriminant validity, a multiconcept- multimethod covariance matrix of viewer responses is analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis. The analysis demonstrates measurement validity for two of the three scales (Relevance and Entertainment).

  35. James MacLachlan and John G. Myers (1983). Using Response Latency to Identify Commercials That Motivate. Journal of Advertising Research, 23 (October/November): 51-57.

    Response time measured by computer recording is used to examine the ability of commercials to motivate consumers to buy the advertised product. TV commercials for three product categories--cola beverage, bath soaps, and Ketchsup--are used in an experiment conducted with a sample of housewives. Analysis of response latency data using a refined version of AVD (affective value distance), a method of analyzing latencies to paired- comparison questions, suggests that when response latency is coupled with paired-comparison data, it has greater discriminatory power than other measures and AVD can show physically (graphically) the change in positioning of a brand vis-a-vis competitive brands.

  36. John D. Leckenby and Joseph T. Plummer (1983). Advertising Stimulus Measurement and Assessment Research: A Review of Advertising Testing Methods. Current Issues and Research in Advertising, 6 (2): 135-65.

    The paper identifies and describes five major controversies that have plaqued the history of advertising testing. Issues discussed concerning advertising stimulus measurement and assessment research (ASMAR) include the advertising industry's implementation of various testing methods, the dilemma associated with the method selection and some of the guidelines suggested in advertising community for an appropriate method selection, and the role of theory in guiding ASMAR methods. Major issues in the field are identified and future directions are suggested.

  37. David W. Stewart, David H. Furs, and Randall P. Kozak (1983). A Guide to Commercial Copytesting Services. Current Issues and Research in Advertising, 6 (1): 1-43.

    The paper presents a framework for describing the research procedures employed by twenty commercial copytesting services. Based on the framework, the promotional and technical information collected through a mail request is reviewed using four criteria (the characteristics of the sample, exposure, measurement, and data). The authors point out the difficulty in making meaningful comparisons among competing techniques, due to the selection bias in the information provided, and incomplete or no information on the validity and reliability of methods employed. Guidelines for the reporting of information about copytesting methods are suggested.

  38. George G. Trebbi, Jr., and Edward J. Flesch (1983). Single versus Multiple Concept Tests. Journal of Advertising Research, 23 (June/July): 21-26.

    The concurrent validity of two approaches to testing new-product concepts is assessed. The study, using 11 household product concepts and a consumer mail-panel method, shows that single versus multiple concept evaluations do not yield comparable results. Strong potential biases on evaluation ratings are suggested for testing concepts in a multiple context.

  39. Peter Weiberg and Franz-Josef Konert (1983). Emotional Facial Expressions in Advertising. Advances in Consumer Research, 11: 607- 11.

    This study attempts to determine whether the pre-setting of criteria for the mimical presentation of emotions can lead to more valid evaluation of ads than histrionic intuition alone. A set of criteria for the non-verbal presentation of emotional facial expressions is applied in an experiment involving 80 subjects. Results show that specific emotions can be defined by a set of categories for the mimicry in advertising.

  40. Christopher P. Puto and William D. Wells (1983). Informational and Transformational Advertising: The Differential Effects of Time. Advances in Consumer Research, 11: 638-43.

    This paper provides conceptual definitions of and theoretical foundations for informational and transformational advertising. Theoretical propositions regarding their differential effects of repeated exposure are also presented. A method consisting of 23 item-scales for measuring the informational and transformational levels of ads are developed and empirically tested for its reliability and validity in a laboratory experiment involving 130 students and 13 actual television commercials. The results of the study demonstrate the reliability and validity of the method.

  41. George M. Zinkhan, Betsy D. Gelb, and Claude R. Martin (1983). The Cloze Procedure. Journal of Advertising Research, 23 (June/July): 15- 20.

    A model hypothesizing the positive relationship between the ability of the audience to predict what comes next in an ad and ad liking or message recall is tested in an experiment conducted with 525 adults. Twenty-one print ads for a variety of products and services are used. The study employes the "cloze" procedure, a measurement tool for the ability to predict the structure of an ad, which involves asking subjects to "close up" the gaps (blanks) in an ad message and to write their guesses about missing words. After completing the procedure, an aided day-after recall is measured. The hypothesized relationships among the three measures are supported in the study. Various uses of the cloze procedure in an advertising testing context and directions for future research are discussed.

© 1995, 1996, 1997 Jef I. Richards
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