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CHAPTER 7

CAUSAL RESEARCH DESIGN:


EXPERIMENTATION

FIGURES AND TABLES

Figures
Figure 7.1 A Classification of Experimental Designs
Figure 7.2 A Concept Map for Experiments

Tables
Table 7.1 Evidence of Concomitant Variation Between Purchase of Fashion
Clothing and Education
Table 7.2 Purchase of Fashion Clothing by Income and Education
Table 7.3 Sources of Invalidity of Experimental Designs
Table 7.4 An Example of a Randomized Block Design
Table 7.5 An Example of Latin Square Design
Table 7.6 An Example of a Factorial Design
Table 7.7 Laboratory Versus Field Experiments

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

1. Explain the concept of causality as defined in marketing research and distinguish between
the ordinary meaning and the scientific meaning of causality.
2. Define and differentiate the two types of validity: internal validity and external validity.
3. Discuss the various extraneous variables that can affect the validity of results obtained
through experimentation and explain how the researcher can control extraneous variables.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
1
4. Describe and evaluate experimental designs and the differences among preexperimental,
true experimental, quasi-experimental, and statistical designs.
5. Compare and contrast the use of laboratory versus field experimentation and
experimental versus nonexperimental designs in marketing research.
6. Describe test marketing and its various forms: standard test market, controlled test
market, and simulated test market.
7. Understand why the internal and external validity of field experiments conducted
overseas is generally lower than in the United States.
8. Describe the ethical issues involved in conducting causal research and the role of
debriefing in addressing some of these issues.

AUTHOR’S NOTES: CHAPTER FOCUS

This chapter provides an overview of causal research and experimentation. The concept of
causality and the conditions for causality are described. Internal and external validity in
experimentation are discussed in detail. A classification of experimental designs is presented and
preexperimental, true experimental, quasi-experimental, and statistical designs are described.
Comparisons between laboratory versus field experiments, and experimental versus
nonexperimental designs are made. Test marketing is presented as an application of experimental
designs.

This chapter covers the material on causal research contained in competing texts. Yet, the
treatment of experimentation is more extensive than that found in competing texts.

This chapter could be taught by focusing on the chapter objectives sequentially. Discuss the
concept of causality (Chapter Objective 1), internal and external validity (Chapter Objectives 2
and 3), preexperimental and true experimental designs (Chapter Objective 4), and experimental
versus nonexperimental designs (Chapter Objective 5). Quasi-experimental designs and
statistical designs may not be covered in detail. Test marketing could be discussed in detail
(Chapter Objective 6). The material on conducting experiments internationally (Chapter
Objective 7), ethical issues (Chapter Objective 8), and the Internet and computers could also be
covered. The concept map can be used to effectively and efficiently summarize experiments
(Figure 7.2).

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall


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CHAPTER OUTLINE

1. Objectives
2. Overview
3. Concept of Causality
4. Conditions for Causality
(i) Concomitant Variation
(ii) Time Order of Occurrence of Variables
(iii) Absence of Other Possible Causal Factors
(iv) Role of Evidence
5. Definitions and Concepts
(i) Independent Variables
(ii) Test Units
(iii) Dependent Variables
(iv) Extraneous Variables
(v) Experiment
(vi) Experimental Design
6. Definition of Symbols
7. Validity in Experimentation
(i) Internal Validity
(ii) External Validity
8. Extraneous Variables
(i) History
(ii) Maturation
(iii) Testing Effects
(iv) Instrumentation
(v) Statistical Regression
(vi) Selection Bias
(vii) Mortality
9. Controlling Extraneous Variables
(i) Randomization
(ii) Matching
(iii) Statistical Control
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(iv) Design Control
10. A Classification of Experimental Designs
11. Preexperimental Designs
(i) One-Shot Case Study
(ii) One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design
(iii) Static Group Design
12. True Experimental Designs
(i) Pretest-Posttest Control Group design
(ii) Posttest-Only Control Group Design
13. Quasi-Experimental Designs
(i) Time Series Design
(ii) Multiple Time Series Design
14. Statistical Designs
(i) Randomized Block Design
(ii) Latin Square Design
(iii) Factorial Design
15. Laboratory versus Field Experiments
16. Experimental versus Nonexperimental Designs
17. Limitations of Experimentation
(i) Time
(ii) Cost
(iii) Administration
18. Application: Test Marketing
(i) Standard Test Market
(ii) Controlled Test Market
(iii) Simulated Test Market
19. International Marketing Research
20. Ethics in Marketing Research
21. Summary
22. Key Terms and Concepts
23. Suggested Cases, Video Cases, and HBS Cases
24. Live Research: Conducting a Marketing Research Project
25. Acronyms
26. Exercises
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27. Internet and Computer Exercises
28. Activities

TEACHING SUGGESTIONS

Chapter Objective 1
● Discuss the concept of causality as used in marketing.

You may want to begin the class by asking a few students what the term ‘causality’
means and writing components of their definitions on the board.

Afterwards, be sure to stress to the students that marketing effects are caused by multiple
variables and the relationships tend to be probabilistic. As such, it is not possible to
conclusively prove causality. Thus, we can only infer a cause-effect relationship between
the variables.

● Via an example, explain the three necessary conditions to infer causality.

1. Concomitant variation: is the extent to which a cause, X, and an effect, Y, occur


together or vary together in the way predicted by the hypothesis under
consideration. Evidence pertaining to concomitant variation can be obtained in a
qualitative or quantitative manner. Thus, we may hypothesize that increasing
product price will lead to an increase in profits.
2. Time order of occurrence of variables: the causing event must occur either
before or simultaneously with the effect; it cannot occur afterwards. Thus, our
profits cannot increase until after we increase the price.
3. Absence of other possible causal factors: means that we can infer causality if all
other factors affecting the subject are absent, i.e., these factors are held constant.
Thus, other factors like store penetration, expanded consumer spending, or
decreased costs must be held constant.

▪ See Table 7.1 and Table 7.2 for examples of concomitant variation.

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● Review the key definitions related to experimentation.

1. Independent variable—variables or alternatives that are manipulated and whose


effects are measured and compared, such as price levels, different package
designs, and advertising themes.
2. Test units—individuals, organizations, or other entities whose response to the
independent variables or treatments is being examined, such as consumers, stores,
and geographic areas.
3. Dependent variables—variables that measure the effect of the independent
variables on the test units, such as sales, profits, and market shares.
4. Extraneous variables—all the variables other than the independent variables or
treatments that affect the response of the test units to the treatments, such as store
size, store location, and competitive effort.
5. Experiment—the process of manipulating one or more independent variables to
determine their effect on the dependent variable, controlling for the effect of
extraneous factors.
6. Experimental design—a set of procedures specifying (1) the test units and how
these units are to be divided into homogeneous subsamples, (2) independent
variables or treatments that are to be manipulated, (3) dependent variables are to
be measured, and (4) how the extraneous variables are to be dealt with.

● Introduce the symbolic notation used in marketing research.

1. X = the exposure of a group to an independent variable or treatment or event,


the effects of which are to be determined
2. O = the process of observation or measurement of the dependent variable on
the test units or group of units
3. R = the random assignment of test units or groups to separate treatments

The following conventions are associated with the symbols:


1. Movement from left to right indicates movement through time.
2. Horizontal alignment of symbols implies that all those symbols refer to a specific
treatment group.

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3. Vertical alignment of symbols implies that those symbols refer to activities or
events that occur simultaneously.

Thus, the first example in the text, X O1 O2, indicates a treatment was given to a
sample and measurements at two different points in time were made.
▪ See Question 1.

Chapter Objective 2
● Define validity and describe the difference between internal and external validity.

Start by defining validity, in an experimental setting, as the ability to draw appropriate


conclusions about the effects of independent variables and to make reasonable
generalizations to a larger population of interest. With this definition, we can distinguish
internal and external validity. Internal validity examines whether the manipulation of the
independent variables or treatments actually caused the effects on the dependent
variables, whereas external validity examines whether the cause-and-effect relationships
found in the experiment can be generalized.

Because of the conceptual difficulty in understanding validity, some examples that depict
a research design lacking one of the two types of validity would be instructive. For
example, if we hypothesize that selling through national chains will increase profits, we
must hold all other causes of increased profits constant in order to conclude internal
validity. External validity can be seen in a study that randomly selects stores from all
markets in which a national chain operates. Assuming that the study takes into account all
realistic factors, any findings that hold for all these markets will generalize to all stores in
the national chain.
▪ See Question 2.

Chapter Objective 3
● List some of the extraneous variables that affect validity.

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1. History (H)— refers to specific events that are external to the experiment but
occur at the same time as the experiment. These events may affect the dependent
variable.
2. Maturation (MA)—is similar to history except that it is concerned with the
changes in the test units themselves, where these changes are not due to the
impact of the independent variables or treatments but occur with the passage of
time. This may affect the test units.
3. Testing—is concerned with the effects that arise due to the process of
experimentation itself affecting the dependent variables. There are two kinds of
testing effects: (1) main testing effect (MT), and (2) interactive testing effect (IT).
4. Instrumentation (I)—are the changes in the calibration of the measuring
instrument or in the observers or scores themselves.
5. Statistical Regression (SR)—effects occur when test units with extreme scores
move closer to the average score during the course of the experiment. The
extreme test units may have been selected because of chance or by design.
6. Selection Bias (SB)—refers to the improper assignment of test units to treatment
conditions where the bias occurs when selection or assignment of test units results
in treatment groups that differ on the dependent variable before the exposure to
the treatment condition.
7. Mortality (MO)—refers to the loss of test units while the experiment is in
progress. This could be caused due to the refusal of test units to continue in the
experiment.

● Describe methods for controlling the effects of extraneous variables

1, Randomization—involves randomly assigning test units to experimental groups.


This should create representative samples free from bias.
2. Matching—test units are matched on a set of key background variables before
being assigned to the treatment conditions. This ensures that a population has
desirable traits that are to be studied.
3. Statistical Control—it is possible to statistically control for the extraneous
variables if these variables can be identified and measured, for example, in
ANCOVA the effects of the extraneous variable on the dependent variable are

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removed by an adjustment of the dependent variable’s mean value within each
treatment condition.
4. Design Control—using specific experimental designs that differ in the kinds of
extraneous variables that can be used to control the extraneous variables.
▪ See Questions 3 and 4.

Chapter Objective 4
● Discuss the differences in the types of experimental designs.

1. Preexperimental Designs. Do not apply randomization, thus, they can be


influenced by extraneous factors.
2. True Experimental Designs. Randomization is included, thus, allowing
researchers to randomly assign test units and treatments to experimental groups.
3. Quasi-experimental Designs. Lack control over the scheduling of treatments and
the ability to randomly expose test units to treatments.
4. Statistical Designs. A series of several basic experiments that are conducted
simultaneously. These designs suffer from the same shortcomings as the actual
designs of the basic experiments.

Figure 7.1 can be used here to organize your discussion on experimental designs.

● Describe preexperimental designs and their shortcomings.

Note that preexperimental designs include the one-shot case study, the one-group pretest-
posttest design, and the static group design. Stress that the salient feature of these designs
is that they do not employ randomization procedures to control for extraneous factors.
For example, in the one-group pretest-posttest design, an observation on attitudes toward
the brand is taken before and after watching a commercial, but randomization is not used
in selecting observers, thus, the results cannot be extended to the population as a whole.

● List the significant features of a true experimental design and provide examples.

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First, to introduce the ensuing discussion, distinguish true experimental designs by the
fact that the researcher can randomly assign test units to experimental groups and also
randomly assign treatments to experimental groups.

Examples of True Experimental Designs:


1. Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design. This design controls for most of the
extraneous variables. Selection bias is eliminated by randomization, and
interactive testing effect is not controlled due to the effect of the pretest
measurement on the reaction of units in the experimental group to the treatment.
2. Posttest-Only Control Group Design. Compared to the Solomon four-group
design, this design is fairly simple to implement because there is no
premeasurement, thus, the testing effects are eliminated. However, this design is
sensitive to selection bias and mortality.
3. Solomon Four-Group Design. The Solomon four-group design overcomes the
limitations of the pretest-posttest control group and the posttest only control group
designs in that it explicitly controls for interactive testing effect, in addition to
controlling for all extraneous variables. This design allows the researcher to
update and measure the various effects.

It will prove instructive to use a running example in explaining these designs. A standard
example is to use advertising research in the measurement of consumer attitudes toward a
commercial or the brand being advertised.

● Explain the analysis of quasiexperimental designs.

Mention that in a quasi-experimental design, the researcher can control when


measurements are taken and on whom they are taken, but the researcher is lacking control
over the scheduling of the treatments and the ability to randomly expose test units to the
treatments. Quasi-experimental designs are quicker and less expensive than true
experimentation, but should only be used when a true experimental design is not feasible.

● Explain the nature and uses of statistical designs.

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Describe statistical designs as a series of basic experiments that enable statistical control
and analysis of external variables, thus several basic experiments are conducted
simultaneously.

Advantages:
1. The effects of more than one independent variable can be measured.
2. Specific extraneous variables can be statistically controlled.
3. Economical designs can be formulated when each test unit is measured more than
once.

Examples of a randomized block design, Latin Square design, and Factorial design can be
constructed for demonstration purposes.
▪ See Table 7.4, Table 7.5, and Table 7.6

Chapter Objective 5
● Start a class discussion on whether laboratory or field experiments are more useful in
marketing research.

Begin this discussion by simply asking students which form of experimentation is better.
You may want to note that laboratory experiments make up the bulk of consumer
research because of their ability to control extraneous variables and their relative
efficiency in gathering data. However, for certain studies, field experiments are used. For
example, Coca-Cola counts the shelf space it and its competitors receive in local grocery
stores when promotional variables are manipulated. Thus, each type of experimentation
has its role to play in marketing research, but because causality cannot be inferred from
field experiments, laboratory experiments predominate.
▪ See Table 7.7 for a summary of laboratory vs. field experimentation.

● Discuss why nonexperimental designs are limited for inferring cause-effect relationships.

Mention that descriptive studies are sometimes used to infer causality, but this may not
be appropriate. In descriptive studies, prior equivalence of the groups with respect to both
the independent and dependent variables is difficult to establish, as is time order of
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
11
occurrence of the variables. Finally, it offers little control in eliminating other extraneous
factors.

● Discuss the limitations of experimentation.

Start by asserting that theoretically, experimentation is a very powerful way to uncover


causal relationships. However, in practice, real world considerations prevent it from
achieving its optimal effectiveness. These considerations are:

1. Time: experiments can be time consuming; however, the experiments should be


long enough in duration so that the post-treatment measurements include most, or
all the effects of the variables.
2. Cost: the requirements of experimental group, control group, and multiple
measurements significantly add to the cost of the experiment.
3. Administration: experiments can be difficult to administer, and it is not always
feasible to control for the effects of the extraneous variables.
▪ See Questions 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.

Chapter Objective 6
● Define and classify test marketing.

Define test marketing as an application of a controlled experiment, done in a limited but


carefully selected part of the marketplace called test markets, which involves a
replication of the planned national marketing program for a product. In a standard test
market the product is sold through regular distribution channels. The company’s own
sales force is responsible for distributing the product, stocking the shelves, and taking
inventory at regular intervals. A controlled test marketing program is conducted by an
outside research company. The research company is responsible for all activities
associated with the test market. Simulated test markets yield mathematical estimates of
market share based on initial reaction of the consumers to the new product.
▪ See Questions 13, 14, and 15.

Chapter Objective 7
● Examine the difficulties involved with international experiments.
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It is difficult to control for the time order of occurrence of variables and it is difficult to
control for the absence of other possible causal factors, two of the necessary conditions
for causality in an experiment.
o Control of extraneous variables is particularly problematic.
o It may not be possible to address this problem by adopting the most appropriate
experimental design as environmental constraints may make that design
infeasible.
o The internal and external validity of field experiments conducted overseas is
generally lower than it is in the United States.

EXAMPLE: M&M/Mars has set up massive manufacturing facilities in Russia and


advertises its candy bars on television there. Yet, sales have been low. Is Mars
advertising too much, too little, or just right? While the answer could be determined by
conducting a field experiment that manipulated the level of television advertising, such
causal research is not feasible given the tight control of television programming and
advertising by the Russian government. TV stations are owned and operated by the
government with severe restrictions on television advertising. This makes field
experiments manipulating advertising levels extremely difficult.

Chapter Objective 8
● Discuss the ethical responsibilities resulting from disguised experiments.

It is often necessary in experimentation to disguise the purpose of the research to produce


valid results. Disguising the purpose of the research should not lead to deception,
however. Although this seems like a paradox, one solution would be to disclose the
possible existence of deception before the start of the experiment and allow the
participants the right to redress at the conclusion of the experiment. The following four
items should be conveyed: (1) inform respondents that in an experiment of this nature a
disguise of the purpose is often required for valid results, (2) inform them of the general
nature of the experiment and what they will be asked to do, (3) make sure they know that
they can leave the experiment at any time, and (4) inform them that the study will be fully
explained after the data have been gathered and at that time they may request that their
information be withdrawn. The procedure outlined in item (4) is called debriefing.
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One further ethical concern in experimentation involves using the appropriate
experimental design to control errors caused by extraneous variables. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to use the most applicable experimental design for the
problem. Determining the most appropriate experimental design for the problem requires
not only an initial evaluation but also continuous monitoring.

The Internet and Marketing Research


● Indicate that the Internet and computers are helpful in the analysis of experimental design
data.

Different experimental treatments can be displayed at different Web sites. Respondents


can then be recruited to visit these sites and respond to a questionnaire that obtains
information on the dependent and extraneous variables. Thus, the Internet can provide a
mechanism for controlled experimentation, although in a laboratory type of environment.

To complement the Internet, microcomputers and mainframe software can be used in the
design and analysis of experiments. The comprehensive statistical-analysis software
packages SAS and Minitab can be used to design experiments.

ACTIVE RESEARCH

It should be noted that a variety of answers are appropriate. The ones given here are merely
illustrative. DM denotes decision maker and MR denotes marketing researcher.

DM: FTC
To ensure the smooth operation of our free market system, the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) enforces federal consumer protection laws that prevent fraud,
deception and unfair business practices. The Commission also enforces federal antitrust
laws that prohibit anticompetitive mergers and other business practices that restrict
competition and harm consumers. Whether combating telemarketing fraud, Internet
scams or price-fixing schemes, the FTC’s primary mission is to protect consumers.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
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o Information overflow, tough for customers to differentiate noise and useful
information.
o Information flow cannot be controlled or traced. This can lead to
misrepresentation of information, fraud etc.
o Dumping of products especially from foreign countries (web based selling of
drugs by Canadian and Indian companies)
o Increased possibility of collusion between companies

MR: FTC
The conditions necessary to conclude such causality are:
1. Concomitant variation- the information available has increased with increased
consumer use.
2. Time Order- Increased information lags or concurs with increased information
use.
3. Absence of other possible causes

MR: Fox News


Information on consumers’ preferences for network news channels can be obtained from
sources such as http://www.rateitall.com/t-8-tv_news_shows.aspx.

A preexperimental design would not be appropriate as there are three experimental


groups. A statistical design is called for.

DM: Fox News


o The popularity ratings for channels can be used to assess the attributes that
audiences look for in Network News Channels.
o Based on experimentation causality can be assigned to factors that make the news
more attractive.
o Improve the attributes preferred by audience
o Convey the change in form and content to audience through appropriate PR and
Advertising channels

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
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1. Students should be encouraged to visit www.bestbuys.com and identify the relevant
information.
2. Students should be encouraged to search the Internet and identify the relevant
information on consumers’ price sensitivity for digital cameras.
3. A factorial design is appropriate. The price of digital cameras could be varied and
consumers’ willingness to buy measured. It would be important to control for income
and digital camera usage.
4. It is likely that the market is segmented with respect to price sensitivity. Different
prices can be charged to the different segments with some differentiation in the
cameras offered.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall


16
DECISION RESEARCH

It should be noted that a variety of answers are appropriate. The ones given here are merely
illustrative.

The Marketing Research Decision

1. It would be useful to conduct exploratory research in form of secondary data analysis and
focus groups followed by causal research in the form of an experiment.
2. A lot of secondary data about apparel industry is available from online as well as
traditional third party databases. This can be used initially to gather information about the
success of private labels and in-house brands. The focus groups are helpful in gaining
further understanding of the conclusions drawn from the analysis of secondary data,
understanding consumer priorities, perceptions and preferences. The specific causal
design that is recommended is a factorial design. The factor, brand name can be varied at
three levels: Levi’s, Gap, and Arizona. Respondents can be randomly assigned to one of
these brands and asked to express preference for the brand rate its power. Current usage
of these brands should be controlled.
3. The causal design, as specified, will provide a direct relative measure of the power of the
three brands when the mean levels are compared.

The Marketing Management Decision

1. He should introduce another brand of lower priced jeans and sell Levi’s through discount
stores like Wal-Mart and Target.
2. Pricing appears to be one of the reasons why Levi’s is loosing the battle for market share.
It would be a good idea to launch a cheaper line of jeans to appeal to the cost conscious
market segment. To reach the new target segment, the company would want to increase
advertising spending in targeted marketing efforts. The new line of jeans should be
distributed through different channels than that of the existing high priced segment. This
will ensure the necessary reach.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall


17
PROJECT ACTIVITIES

1. The posttest-only control group design should be used. A sample of respondents would
be selected at random. The sample would be randomly split, with half the subjects
forming the experimental group and the other half constituting the control group. Only
the respondents in the experimental group would be exposed to the TV program
containing the test (Sears) commercial. Then, a questionnaire would be administered to
both groups to obtain posttest measures on attitudes toward the department store (Sears).
The difference in the attitudes of the experimental group and the control group would be
used as a measure of the effectiveness of the test commercial.
2. Only causal designs are truly appropriate for inferring cause-and-effect relationships.
Although descriptive survey data are often used to provide evidence of “causal”
relationships, these studies do not meet all the conditions required for causality. Also,
descriptive research offers little control over other possible causal factors.
Descriptive research constitutes the most popular research design in marketing research,
and we do not want to imply that it should never be used to examine causal relationships.
Indeed, some authors have suggested procedures for drawing causal inferences from
descriptive (nonexperimental) data. However given the limitations of descriptive
research, extreme caution should be exercised when using it for examining causal
relationships.

EXERCISES

Questions

1. There are three requirements or conditions that must be satisfied before a causal
relationship can be inferred. The three conditions are:
(a) Concomitant variation of the two variables.
(b) Time order of occurrence of variables.
(c) Elimination of other possible causal factors.
2. The difference between internal and external validity is that internal validity is concerned
with the question of whether the observed effects on the dependent variable have been
caused by variables other than the treatment, and control of extraneous variables is
necessary for establishing internal validity. External validity, on the other hand, is

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall


18
concerned with whether the cause-effect relationship can be generalized. More often than
not, a tradeoff is required between internal and external validity. While internal validity
can be raised in an artificial environment, this reduces the generalizability of the results
and consequently, the external validity.
3. Examples of extraneous variables that can reduce validity are:
(a) History (H): A firm is testing a new price level when a rival firm starts a
promotional campaign.
(b) Testing: A pretreatment questionnaire biases responses on the posttreatment
questionnaire.
(c) Selection Bias (SB): While assessing the market size for a new soft drink, the
sample was drawn only from households in the upper 50 percent income bracket.
(d) Mortality: 20 percent of the respondents failed to respond to the posttreatment
questionnaire.
(e) Instrumentation: In the case of a pretest-posttest control group design,
questionnaires with different formats were used to measure pretreatment and
posttreatment attitude.
(f) Statistical Regression: In an experiment, suppose two measurements are made of
a consumer’s attitude toward a test product, one before tasting it and one
afterwards. If the extreme scores move towards the average, regression has
occurred.
4. The various methods for controlling extraneous sources of variation are:
(a) Randomization. This involves randomly assigning test-units to experimental
groups by using random numbers. Treatment levels are also randomly assigned.
Such random assignment usually results in an equal representation of extraneous
variables in each treatment condition.
(b) Matching. In this case, the test units are matched on a set of key characteristics
before being assigned to the treatment conditions.
(c) Statistical Control. This involves the use of statistical methods such as
ANCOVA, which removes the effect of extraneous variables by adjusting the
mean values of dependent variables within each treatment condition.
(d) Design Control. Extraneous variables can also be controlled by using specific
experimental designs.
5. The distinguishing feature of the true experimental design, as compared to the
preexperimental design, is randomization. In true experimental designs, the researcher
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
19
can randomly assign test units to experimental groups and also randomly assign
treatments to experimental groups.
6. The steps involved in implementing the posttest-only control group design are:
(a) Select a sample of respondents at random.
(b) Randomly assign the respondents to two groups (i.e. experimental group and
control group).
(c) Respondents in the experimental group would then be exposed to a treatment.
(d) Posttreatment measurements are obtained from both groups using a measuring
instrument like a questionnaire.
The design is described symbolically as follows:
EG: R X 01
CG: R 02
Treatment effect is given by:
TE = 01 – 02
7. A time series experiment is a quasi-experimental design. It involves periodic
measurement on the dependent variable for a group of test units. Then the treatment is
administered by the researcher or occurs naturally. After the treatment, periodic
measurements are continued in order to determine the treatment effect. A time series
experiment may be symbolically described as:

01 02 03 04 05 X 06 07 08 09 010

This design is used in cases where the researcher lacks control over the scheduling of the
treatment and the ability to randomly expose test units to the treatment but can control
when measurements are taken and on whom they are taken.
8. A multiple time series design is different from the basic time series in that a multiple time
series design has an additional group of test units added to serve as a control group.
9. The advantages statistical designs have over basic designs are:
(a) In the case of basic designs, the effects of only one independent variable or
treatment can be measured while in case of a statistical design, the effects of more
than one independent variable can be measured.
(b) In the case of statistical designs, specific extraneous variables can be statistically
controlled.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall


20
(c) Economical designs can be formulated when each test unit is measured more than
once.
10. The limitations of the Latin Square design are:
(a) They require an equal number of rows, columns, and treatment levels.
(b) Only two external variables can be controlled simultaneously.
(c) They do no allow interactions of the external variables with each other or with the
independent variable.
11. A laboratory experiment is one where the researcher creates an artificial environment for
the purpose of experiment. Thus, he has a great degree of control over extraneous
variables. On the other hand, a field environment is one where the experiment is
conducted under actual conditions.
Laboratory experiments have some advantages and some disadvantages vis-à-vis field
experiments. The advantages are that there is a greater control over extraneous variables,
internal validity is high, and time required is short. It is also economical. The
disadvantages are that the environment is artificial and external validity is low. Therefore,
the results cannot be safely generalized. Also, the reactive error is high, due to
artificiality of the environment which may cause the respondent to react to the situation
itself, rather than to the independent variable.
12. Descriptive research should not be used for establishing causal relationships for the
following reasons:
(a) It is difficult to establish the prior equivalence of the groups with respect to both
the independent and dependent variables in descriptive research.
(b) It is difficult to establish time order of occurrence.
(c) It provides little control in eliminating other possible causes.
13. Test marketing is an application of a controlled experiment done in a limited but carefully
selected part of the marketplace called test markets. It involves a replication of a planned
national marketing program for a product in the test markets. The three types of test
markets are:
(a) Standard test market: The product is sold through regular distribution channels
and, typically, the company’s own sales force is responsible for distributing the
product. It involves a one-shot case study.
(b) Controlled test market: The entire test marketing program is conducted by an
outside research company, which also handles distribution and field sales
operations in the test market.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
21
(c) Simulated test market: These are also called laboratory tests and yield
mathematical estimates of market share based on initial reaction of consumers to
the new product.
14. The main difference between a standard test market and a controlled test market is that in
a standard test market the company’s own employees are responsible for the distribution
of the product; whereas in a controlled test market, the entire marketing program is
conducted by an outside research company.
15. In a simulated test market, respondents are intercepted in high-traffic locations such as
shopping malls and prescreened for product usage. The selected individuals are exposed
to the proposed new product concept and given an opportunity to buy the new product in
a real-life or laboratory environment. Those who purchase the new product are
interviewed at a later date to determine their evaluation of the product and repeat
purchase intentions. The trial and repeat-purchase estimates so generated are combined
with data on proposed promotion and distribution levels to obtain a projected share of the
market.

Problems

1. (a) Independent Variable - The commercial


Dependent Variable - Attitude towards abortion
(b) Posttest-only control group design
(c) The posttest-only control group design controls for the various sources of
invalidity, however, internal validity may be affected by the samples chosen.
Since a pretest was not conducted to measure attitudes, attitudes towards abortion
before seeing the commercial are not known, although it is hoped that
randomization has adjusted for this effect.
External validity may be affected because this was a lab experiment, not an actual
field experiment, thus, the results may not be generalizable to those obtained
when the commercial is actually viewed in home.
2. If the respondents had been selected by convenience, a static group design would result.
Any experimental effect could also be attributed to selection or mortality.

3. (a) There is a tendency towards concomitant variation in the data, as can be seen in
computing percentages.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
22
Product Use Income
High Medium Low
High 40 20 16
Medium 35 46 24
Low 25 34 60
TOTAL 100 100 100

(b) Low income consumers exhibit low product use.


4. (a) This is an example of the one-shot case study. The internal validity is threatened
by history, maturation, selection, and mortality.
(b) This is an example of the posttest-only control group design. Internal validity is
not hampered by extraneous variables.
5. Many answers are possible for each design. One solution is provided as an example.
(a) Measuring the attitude towards a new advertisement or new product.
(b) Evaluating the effectiveness of a change in a product attribute or the effectiveness
(c) Evaluating the attitude toward a new advertisement or product when time and cost
are not significant factors, forcing researchers to reduce sample size, quickly
determine results, and/or keep costs down.
(d) When great precision is needed and the effectiveness of an advertising program
needs to be monitored over time to show the process of change in the population.
(e) A new marketing program is being initiated which must be evaluated to determine
its effectiveness. The goal is to determine which of the components of the
program (price, promotion, channels, etc.) are the most important factors leading
to sales and to assess the interaction of these components on sales.

Internet and Computer Exercises

1. Computer controlled experiments are becoming increasingly popular in marketing


research. They ensure that proper technique is followed when conducting an experiment.
As such, the validity of the results is improved.
2. Several of the designs can be implemented. A two factor design where factor one denotes
the value of coupon (none, low, medium, and high) and factor two denotes product use
(none, low, medium, and high) seems to be very appropriate. Students should select a
specific product and also define the levels (low, medium, and high) for each factor.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall


23
3. The existing and the three new packages can be displayed, one at each specific location
on the Internet. Respondents can be recruited and randomly assigned to each package
location (URL), asked to view the package and answer several attitudinal and behavioral
intent questions. The package with the most favorable attitude and/or the highest
behavioral intent can then be identified.
4. The previous (existing) and the new version of EXCEL can be made available, one at
each specific location on the Internet. Respondents can be recruited and randomly
assigned to each EXCEL version, and then asked to do a specific task using that version.
Then they answer several questions relating to ease of use, performance, features, and
overall preference. The most favorable version can then be identified.
5. Respondents would be randomly recruited and randomly assigned to one of two Internet
locations (URLs). The experimental group of respondents would first see the print ad for
Toyota Camry and then respond to a battery of attitudinal and behavioral intent questions.
The control group respondents would not see the print ad but respond to the same battery
of attitudinal and behavioral intent questions. The effectiveness of the print ad can be
determined by comparing the responses of the two groups.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall


24
ACTIVITIES: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Role Playing

Q1. You are a marketing research manager for the Coca-Cola Company. The company would
like to determine whether it should increase, decrease, or maintain the current level of
advertising dollars spent on Coke Classic. Design a field experiment to address this issue.

A1. One of several designs can be used for this field experiment. A pretest-posttest control
group design is outlined below:
(a) Select three sets of test markets with similar demographic profiles, competitive
environments and sales volume of Coke Classic.
(b) Randomly increase ad budgets in one set of markets, decrease them in a second
set and maintain them in the third set of markets.
(c) Track sales volumes for three months in each set of markets.
(d) Analyze the sales results to determine differences in performance.

Q2. What potential difficulties do you see in conducting the experiment just described? What
assistance would you require from the Coca-Cola management to overcome these
difficulties?

A2. Potential difficulties include access to sales data, selecting three similar markets to test,
changing competitive dynamics and objections from bottlers in the test market where ad
expenditures will decrease.

Management can assist by ensuring corporate compliance for gathering data, allocating
the necessary funds, pacifying affected bottlers.

Fieldwork

Q1. Select two different perfume advertisements for any brand of perfume. Design and
conduct an experiment to determine which ad is more effective. Use a student sample
with 10 students being exposed to each ad (treatment condition). Develop your own
measures of advertising effectiveness in this context.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall


25
A1. The purpose of this exercise is to have the student actually design and conduct a simple
experiment in order to apply the material discussed in the chapter. They should also gain
an appreciation for the rigor of statistical testing and the assumptions a researcher must
make when conducting an experiment. Because quantitative analysis has not been
covered in the text so far, it should be interesting to see what measures students devise to
measure the advertising effectiveness. Whatever measure they choose, it should be
justifiable and valid in this setting.

Group Discussion

Q1. “Whereas one cannot prove a causal relationship by conducting an experiment,


experimentation is unscientific for examining cause-and-effect relationships.” Discuss
this statement as a small group.

A1. Issues which can be discussed include the role of inference in drawing conclusions, the
difficulty of isolating all possible sources of variation in social science experimentation,
the historic value of experimentation in deriving theories and inferring relationships, and
the nature or definition of science, (i.e., is science only limited to proofs which account
for all sources of variation?).

Note: Answers to the Running Case on Dell are provided in the case solutions

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall


26
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
He was bounced back, staggering. Regaining his balance, he turned
to address his parishioners:
"My friends, I have done all I can. I shall go now to my study and in
solitude pray for guidance. These—creatures—I cannot call them
men—have said you may worship as you choose. I invite those of
you who wish to do so to enter this house of God and pray...."
The Monolithian at the door stood aside but fewer than a dozen of
the congregation went in.
I considered talking to the Monolithians, but decided I'd better file a
story first on what I had. I figured there'd be time to talk to them later.
It looked like a long and memorable Sunday for Middle Valley.
I drove off to look for a telephone, hoping the village used the dial
system and didn't depend on an illegal paid operator.

I found an outdoor telephone booth at the closed gas station. A


young man was lounging next to it. He stepped in front of me as I
reached to push open the door.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"You must be one of the aliens," I said, though from his appearance
he could have been anyone.
"A U.S. Monolithian citizen, at your service," he said, smiling but
continuing to bar my way. "Tate is my name."
"Kent's mine," I said. "I'm with World Wide. Just let me phone in my
story, then I'd like to talk to you."
"I know who you are," he said. "But you may not telephone. It's the
law."
"Look," I said, "it's ten to one Middle Valley doesn't have a telephone
office. The call will go through Newark or someplace. Nobody in
Middle Valley would be doing anything illegal."
"No," he said, "but you would."
"Oh, come on!" I was shocked. "I don't live here. I'm just a New York
reporter. I work for an international news organization. You must
have heard of freedom of the press!"
Tate smiled and shook his head. "Mr. Kent, the law may be stupid
but it is explicit. No paid employment of any kind is permitted in
Middle Valley."
"Sure, sure," I said. "But what's it to you? This will be publicity for
you. That's what you want, isn't it?"
"You misunderstand our motives, Mr. Kent. We are your good
interplanetary neighbors, repaying your hospitality by observing all
your laws, as we are sure you would if you were to visit our country."
"What you're really trying to do," I told him, "is to reduce us to
absurdity."
"Don't put words in my mouth, Mr. Kent. Remember when you do
dictate your story—and I believe the village border is a mere half-
mile away—remember that you said that, not I."
"Half a mile? Come with me, will you? How did you know who I
was?"
"I'll join you gladly. Mr. Dorfman told me about you."
He climbed into the car and I phoned the desk from a drug store in
the neighboring community of Valley Center, N.J. The store was
doing a thriving business in Sunday papers, ice-cream sodas, hot
coffee, cigarettes and other typical druggist's goods.
I gave John Hyatt his story heavy on the quotes, the way he likes
them, adding a bit about my own encounter with the Monolithian. He
made me spin it out at length for a sidebar. I didn't tell him Tate was
standing just outside the booth, listening to every word. I was afraid
John would have interviewed the hell out of him, keeping me
hanging around all day.
I came out of the booth, perspiring from its closeness. "How about a
coke?" I asked Tate. "We won't get one back in Middle Valley."
"Good idea," he said. We sat at a table and a waitress took our
order.
"That a Bond suit?" I asked the alien. "Two pair of pants?"
"Simon Ackerman," he said, smiling. "One pair."
"Then you're not one of the original dozen from Burning Tree."
"No. I'm one of the Central Park unit."
"How do you like it here? What do you think of Earth-women?" I
figured I might as well get it asked and over with.
"Very tempting," Tate said. "Remember, we've been a long time
enroute."
"How long?"
"Three years."
The cokes came, in tall glasses, heavily iced, with straws.
"What would you do to a vending machine that sold an illegal coke?"
I asked Tate.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Never mind. I'm glad you didn't put the whammy on me back there
at the gas station. I saw what your pal did to that convertible in Times
Square."
"Did you?" He beamed. "Quite an example, wasn't it? It was a
pleasure to uphold that law."
"Rough on the car, but the idiot had it coming. Do you mean you're
not enjoying what you're doing in Middle Valley?"
"There are degrees," he said, taking a sip of his coke. "It was a pity
Mr. Marchell was prevented from holding his service. We are not
antireligious, as he asserted in the heat of his anger."
"He was prevented by your people," I reminded him.
"By our people upholding local law," he insisted.
I decided he wasn't quibbling, and said, "Let's get back to where you
came from. You said you were three years on the way. Did you know
where you were going when you started?"
"Oh, yes. Earth. Sol's third planet. You invited us in 1945."
"Invited you?"
"So to speak. That was Earth's Atomic Year One, you will recall."
"You mean you detected the first explosion?"
"We detect them all. You were the fourth known planet to achieve
that level of development. We believe we were the second, in
Monolithia."
"The second?" I asked. "Did the people from the first one visit you?"
"The first planet failed to see the potentialities for evil. It destroyed
itself. When we had achieved space travel we visited its remains. It
was a graphic example to us. We determined then that human life
was too rare a commodity to be squandered."
"You think we're too infantile to prevent our own destruction?"
"We think you need guidance. We got it second-hand from Planet I.
We were too late to help Planet III. You're IV."
"You mean Planet III destroyed itself, too?"
"So to speak. It's a dead world. Planets II and IV—Monolithia and
Earth—are the only advanced worlds left. It's our duty to preserve
them."
"What do you mean 'so to speak'?" I asked him. "What do you mean
'advanced'?" I was making full notes and Tate had been watching me
fill page after page of copy paper.
He finished his coke. "I've said enough for now." He sounded
adamant, and to keep him from drying up entirely I switched the
subject slightly:
"How come you speak such good English?"
"English, Japanese, Monolithian, Tildonian (that was one of Planet
III's languages)—they're all human tongues. It's merely a matter of
adaptation. We don't click any more, you notice. That's a Monolithian
trait, but easily de-emphasized."
I scribbled away and he watched me tolerantly, sucking on a piece of
ice.
"You know I'm going to quote you. How shall I describe you? As a
Monolithian spokesman?"
"If you like. We're all spokesmen. We have—to use a diplomatic
phrase, but an accurate one—an identity of views on this urgent
matter. Shall we go?"
I sensed that he had dried up.
"I'd pay for the cokes," he said, "but it seems too small an amount to
charge to the Monolithian Embassy."
I dropped two dimes at the cashier's counter.
We heard sirens as I drove back into Middle Valley. Smoke was
climbing into the sky. I traced it to a burning house and parked a
block away. Tate and I ran to the edge of the crowd watching the fire.
"It's the Waddell house," somebody said. It was a big house probably
worth about fifty thousand. The smoke was billowing out of a room at
the back.
"Who's Waddell?" I asked.
Tate knew. "He's president of the village council. As a matter of fact,
he's chiefly responsible for the Sunday closing law."
"That's great," I said, making notes again. "What a story! And now
his house is going to burn down because it's against the law to put
the fire out. What's his first name?"
"Everett."
A fire engine screamed around a corner and men jumped from it,
trailing a hose behind them. Other equipment followed. Within a
minute the hose was attached to a hydrant and water was pouring
on the fire.
"Hey!" I said to Tate. "What's the idea? Why aren't you stopping
them? They're working in Middle Valley on Sunday, aren't they?
Aren't they paid employees just like the minister and me?"
"No," the alien said. "Unfortunately for your story and your fine sense
of irony, these are not paid employees. They're volunteer firemen."
7 (JULY 28, MON.)
Never speak loudly to one another unless the house is on fire.
—Harold William Thompson

I'd got home pretty late, but the alarm clock went off at six, as usual,
on Monday morning. It's at this time of day that I envy my city-
dwelling brothers who can get up an hour later and reach their
offices at the same time I do. Mae and I had bought a house in High
Tor in preparation for the baby, who was scheduled to be born in late
November. ("Beautiful timing," our tax accountant once said, thinking
of the exemption which would be good for the entire year.)
I rescued the dew-soaked New York Times from the lawn. Its main
headline, across four columns, said:
ALIENS KEEP PREACHER FROM PULPIT,
CITING VILLAGE'S SUNDAY WORK BAN

The radio newscasts were hitting it hard, too. I listened to them as I


brewed a pot of coffee.
Mae shuffled into the kitchen, sleepy-eyed, in her housecoat. "Why
didn't you wake me up?" she asked.
"You have to sleep for two now," I told her.
"Nonsense," she said, giving me a kiss and looking at the front page.
"What do you want for breakfast?"
"Eggs, sunny-side up, covered with Pep." You break the yolk and the
Pep absorbs it.
"We don't have any Pep. How about corn flakes?"
"They're too big," I said. "You know that."
"I'm sure I'll never learn the fine points of these little mealtime foibles
of yours. You want bread under the eggs then?"
"Obviously," I said. It's not obvious at all, of course, but Mae is very
teasable.
"Honestly, Sam," she said as she buttered the frying pan, "you could
let a little yolk run on the plate. I don't mind washing it off. You're not
a bachelor any more, you know."
"I know that very well," I said. It isn't the washing so much as the
waste that bothers me. I think occasionally of the tons of dried egg
yolks being scraped into the garbage every morning and it gives my
frugal soul the willies. "How's Junior today?"
"He's very happy. Not a peep out of her." Mae changes its sex with
every reference to keep an open mind on the subject. She even
occasionally refers to it in the plural just in case. "You don't think our
children are going to suffer from these aliens, do you? I mean they're
not going to have to live in oppression under the heel of the invader,
are they?"
"Where did you get that, for God's sake?"
"On the radio last night before you came home. It was that Clyde
Witchburn. You know."
"Clyde Fitchburn. Don't listen to him. Listen to Ed Murrow or Eric
Sevareid. Listen to me. But don't let that doom-shouter Fitchburn
give you nightmares. It's not good for Junior."
"All right, Sam. You like the aliens, don't you?"
"I like the few I've met personally, but that doesn't mean I approve of
everything they do or are capable of doing. I don't think they plan to
grind us under the heel, though."
"Well, they're up to something. They didn't come all this way just to
obey a lot of funny laws and get people's danders up. We must have
something they want."
"Maybe we've got something they don't want," I said.
"Why would they land here, then?"
"To keep us from exporting it, now that we're on our way to the
stars."
"Like what? Germs?"
"Sort of. Uncontrolled radiation, maybe."
Mae slid the eggs from the pan onto the two pieces of bread on my
plate. She poured coffee for each of us and said, "Eat, now. It's six-
thirty."
So it was. I was out of the house in ten minutes. I bought a Herald
Tribune before I got on the bus, leaving the Times for Mae. The Trib
had a righteous editorial headed "Abuse of Hospitality." I skimmed
through it. It said about what you might expect. Lippmann wasn't in
the paper that day and Alsop was discussing something else.
I folded the paper and wriggled around in the seat. Buses are like
candy bars, I thought. The price goes up and the size goes down.
Each new bus seemed to have less leg room and a lower headrest
than its predecessor, so that you had to be a contortionist to take a
nap.
I had found a reasonably comfortable position when two men got on,
took the seats behind me and continued a discussion they'd been
having about the aliens.
"I told Alice they'd better not fool around with the church in our town."
"Damn right."
"I said you can go so far, but some things you just don't fool around
with."
"You said it."
"I told her, 'Alice,' I said, 'you mark my words, just let them try in Old
Corners what they did in Middle Valley and there'll be trouble'."
"What did she say?"
"She agreed a hundred per cent, of course. Now I'm not a fellow who
goes every week—you know; but Easter, maybe Palm Sunday, and
Christmas—but by God some things are sacred.
"I tell you I got so mad when I saw that on the television. If that's the
way things can happen, I told Alice, I said, 'Listen, if this is what they
expect us to put up with, believe me, they've got another think
coming.' You don't just take something like that sitting down."
"I should say not. Why, I said the same thing to——"
"I mean there's a limit. I don't pay much attention to what goes on at
the UN—I don't suppose anybody does—but when it gets as close
as this, I tell you, things have come to a pretty pass, my friend, a
pretty pass indeed."
"They sure have, I told Virginia—"
"I'll bet you did. It's a crying shame when a bunch of fancy Dans from
Lord knows where can walk in on us and try to upset the things we
hold sacred...."
This stimulating conversation must have put me to sleep because
the next thing I knew somebody was tapping me on the shoulder and
saying, "Last stop, Mac."
I said thanks and got out.
A bar on Eighth Avenue had a new banner up over its door.
"Welcome Monolithans," it said. My copy-reader's eye noted the
misspelling. Nobody inside looked fancy enough to be one of the
alien Dans.
The teletypes were clattering away at World Wide. The summer
doldrums were sure over.
"'Morning, Sam," the copy boy said. "How about some coffee?"
"'Morning, Herb," I said. "That's the first intelligent remark I've heard
in some time."
"Heavy on the milk?"
"That's right—Earth-style."
Charlie Price was pecking away at the typewriter.
"'Morning, Charlie. What's doing?"
"Somebody called up from an outfit called the Society for the
Prevention of Alien Domination of Earth. Ever hear of it?"
"No, but the initials spell 'spade.' Are you sure it wasn't some bright
P.R.O. for a playing-card company?"
"Never thought of that, but it could be. There's something in it about
digging in and holding the line. I'll finish it and leave it for you."
"Good." Herb brought my coffee and I sat down to read the file.
"John Hyatt's in already," Charlie said.
"Already? He was on the desk yesterday, too. He must be alien-
happy."
"How'd you make out in Middle Valley? I saw you got a byline."
"Well, I didn't get a chance to put any expense money in the
collection plate," I said.
Charlie didn't answer that and I wondered if I'd offended him. I went
back to reading the file.
I had barely taken over from Charlie when John Hyatt came into the
news room. "Hi, Sam," he said. "I've been on the phone with Riddie.
She was about as informative as an AEC handout, but I gather
something's up. I'll take the desk again today. The Chicago crowd'll
be in soon to help here. I'd like you and Stew to shoot up to the
Waldorf. I don't know what's cooking but I suspect the aliens may be
in a flap over their shenanigans yesterday. Nice story, incidentally. It
got splashed all over Europe, according to the play report."
"Good. And thanks for the byline."
"You deserved it. Sometimes I wonder why we're wasting you on the
desk."
"I like the regular hours," I said.
"Well, it looks as if regular hours are going to be out the window for
the duration."
"Where is Stew?"
"He'll be in at nine. You make a good team, you and Stew. I've
noticed that. I'd like you to keep as much of an eye on Riddie as on
the Monolithians, if you can. I suspect that little gal knows a lot more
about what's going on than she pretends. Get her off in a corner and
pump her, if you can."
"Shall I bring flowers?"
I meant it sarcastically, but John said, "She's not the bouquet type,
but Head Office has authorized extraordinary expenses for this story.
The sky's the limit. Make love to her, if you can stand it, but find out
what the hell is cooking."
Nancy Corelli had been all ears. "You never authorized him to make
love to me on the expense account," she told John. "We could have
had some high old times."
"I'm shocked, Nan," said John, who hadn't been shocked since he
climbed a high tension pole as a kid in ought-eight. "You're a married
woman."
"Sam's married, too, don't forget," Nancy said. "And here you are
egging him on to go to bed with that old broad."
"Just a figure of speech, Mrs. Corelli. Suppose you let us old
trenchcoat boys cover the story and you concentrate on sending it to
London."
Nancy accepted the rebuke in her own fashion. "I'm glad I have an
honest job, at least," she said.
Stew Macon came in. "I see by the daily press there have been a
number of developments since I left the shop last Friday," he said to
John and me. "Good morning, Nancy."
"Don't talk to them, Stew," Nancy said. "They'll corrupt you, the old
lechers."
"Now what's this all about?" Stew asked.
"Tell you in the taxi," I said. "Don't take your coat off. We're on
detached service."
"Good enough. But I hope you have a big cash reserve, Sam. I
happen to have spent—and I use the term advisedly—a very
expensive week end."
"Keep in touch," John said. "There are two of you, so let's have a
phone call every so often even if nothing's doing."
I filled Stew in as the cab driver wended us uptown.
"I wasn't kidding about being broke, Sam. This little babe I met had
very expensive tastes."
"I'm good for about thirty bucks," I said. "Then I'll have to get a refill
from petty cash."
"There's nothing petty about cash," Stew said.

Eurydice Playfair's suite was crowded to its expensive walls with


reporters, State Department people, Pentagon people—including
some high brass in uniform—and waiters. A bar was set up along
one wall.
"At this hour of the morning?" I asked her.
"It's there for them as wants it," Riddie said. She was drinking coffee
herself.
There didn't seem to be any Monolithians present yet, but then no
one could tell for sure. I asked Riddie.
"No," she said. "We're saving them for the floor show."
"Something big?"
"I didn't lay on this spread just to say hello."
"Do they know what's going to happen?" I said, meaning the U.S.A.
contingent from Washington.
"No, they're just liaison. But, believe me, they're fairly perishing to
know."
"Whatever it is, will it make them gasp in the Ginza?" I asked.
"Sam," she said, "this'll pierce them in the Place Pigalle."
"Ah," I said, "but will it crush them in the Kremlin?"
"I have no more to say right now. Why don't you have some coffee?"
"I think I'll have a weak little Scotch and soda, if it's all the same to
you."
"It's not the same as coffee, that's for sure."
A man from the Journal-American took her away and I went to the
bar. Stew was already there with a glass of something that was
neither small nor weak.
"Did you pump her, Sam?" he asked.
"She's a dry well."
"I have circumnavigated the room and there is nothing. Sealed are
the lips. Or blank are the minds, I don't know which."
"You sound as if you've been talking to the man from Time. Give
John a call, will you, Stew? He might want a little color story."
"He always wants a little color story." He went off to one of the two-
dozen telephones Riddie had provided.
I asked the barman to weaken up my drink with more soda. Caterers
are always very generous with the customer's whiskey.
Riddie got up on a chair at the end of the room and clapped her
hands.
"I guess everybody's here," she said. "I've asked you to come here
this morning, ladies and gentlemen, to meet two other members of
the ambassadorial staff from Monolithia. They will enter through this
door on my right in a moment. Before they do, you may wish to make
a note of their names. They are Mr. Quy—spelled Q-u-y but
pronounced 'Key'—and Mr. Brown."
Stew, back from the telephone, whispered, "Have you noticed how
all of them have one-syllable names?"
I nodded as I wrote them down.
Somebody asked Riddie, "Would it be correct to assume that these
gentlemen hold a higher position in the Monolithian government than
the ones we've previously met?"
"Not at all," Riddie said. "Everyone in Monolithia is equal. Each has
the rank of Ambassador."
"But," the questioner persisted, "maybe these new ones intend to
apologize for the incidents of yesterday in Middle Valley."
"Certainly not," Riddie said. "The Ambassadors who visited Middle
Valley acted in complete accordance with the law. There is not the
slightest doubt in any Monolithian mind on that score."
"So much for John Hyatt's hunch," I muttered.
Stew spoke up. "Would you say, Riddie, that there was complete and
unanimous support for the Middle Valley delegation among the
Monolithians?"
"Yes, I would. To them, laws were made to be obeyed."
"How about the groundswell of protest ..." somebody else started to
ask, but Riddie raised her hands.
"Please," she said. "What happened yesterday has no connection
with this meeting. In fact, I think you'll have a bigger story today if
you'll just let me get on with it. I'll now ask the Ambassadors I've
named to step into the room."
The door opened. The two men came in. They were dressed in the
same conservative style as their predecessors. But their faces were
different. Mr. Quy was an Oriental. Mr. Brown was a Negro.

I'd dictated my story and turned the phone over to Stew to elaborate
on it. Riddie came over carrying two drinks. She handed one to me.
"It's not weak this time," she said. "I figured you could use it."
"Thanks," I said, taking a good swallow.
"Well, Sam," she said. "Is this a story or isn't it? Do you think it'll
fracture them in France?"
"Baby," I told her, "you're too far out. This will lay them low in Little
Rock!"
8 (JULY 29, TUES.)
Scientists have reached general agreement in recognizing that
mankind is one: that all men belong to the same species, Homo
sapiens.
—UNESCO Statement on Race, 1950

We'd already had the highlights of the Mount Pelley story from the
local wire service but it had left a number of questions unanswered. I
looked in the stringer book to see who we had in Mississippi. To my
surprise I found that we had a Mr. Elbert Patterson right in Mount
Pelley. I sent him a wire asking for at least a thousand words, with
good color and quotes. His story was on my desk in less than two
hours. Here it is:
Mount Pelley, Miss., July 29.—The bus driver said,
"Move to the back of the bus." When the Negro
passenger failed to obey, the driver shouted at him:
"That's a white man's seat you're in, nigger. Get back
where you belong or I'll throw you off."
The Negro, a neatly dressed man of about thirty,
carrying a briefcase, replied quietly, "This is an
interstate bus. Under Federal law I have a right to sit
where I please."
Eleven other passengers were on the bus, which was
due to pass through this town on its way to Biloxi. Six
were whites. The other five Negroes sat without
objection in the rear section, traditionally reserved in
this state for "colored."
The Negro man who refused to move was sitting alone
in a double seat three rows back from the door. He
turned and looked out the window.
His attitude infuriated the driver, Merle Cagle, who
pulled the bus to the side of the road, slammed on the
brakes and strode down the aisle.
"I'll give you one last chance, black boy," Cagle said.
"Move back or get off."
There is confusion among the other passengers who
reported this conversation today as to whether the
Negro replied, "Don't touch me" or "You'll be sorry."
A great deal of confusion surrounds the ensuing
incidents. The bus driver claimed the Negro passenger
hit him with both fists and kicked him. The white
passengers said the Negro man hit the bus driver with
his briefcase, which they presumed contained
something heavy, using it like a club. The Negro
passengers said the lone Negro man sat still, making
no effort to defend himself.
Whatever happened, Cagle was severely cut and
bruised on his hands. In addition, the big toe of his
right foot was broken, a hospital report said late today.
Cagle went back to the driver's seat and brought the
bus here. He parked it in front of the office of Sheriff
Ellis Grout, whose name became nationally known
several years ago in connection with the fatal beating
of a 13-year-old Negro boy who was said to have
"sassed" a white woman. Grout had refused to arrest
or question the two white men who boasted that they
had administered the fatal beating, saying they were
just big-mouths "trying to take credit" for the crime.
Grout, an admitted Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan and a
leader in the local White Citizens movement, was
sitting in front of his office in a chair tipped back
against the wall when the bus stopped.
Cagle jumped out and pointed to the Negro man sitting
at the front of the bus. "I got somebody for your jail,
Sheriff," Cagle said.
Grout asked a few questions, then said through the
bus window: "You must be one of them northern
niggers. Well, this ain't the north, so suppose you just
come out of that bus."
When the Negro passenger gave no sign that he had
heard, Grout went into the bus, drawing his pistol.
"I gave you an order, nigger," he said. "Get your black
ass up off that seat."
When again there was no reply, Grout, using his pistol
as a club, brought it down toward the man's head.
Here again eyewitness accounts differ. Some say the
Negro raised his briefcase and the gun hit it, going off.
Others say the Negro did not move at all and that the
gun went off as the Sheriff was bringing it down to club
him.
What is known is that the bullet ricocheted off
something and struck Grout in the left shoulder.
Grout staggered out of the bus, bleeding profusely and
shouting that he'd been shot. A crowd gathered
quickly.
It became a mob. Somebody shouted, "That nigger
shot the Sheriff!"
The mob of whites surrounded the bus. The white
passengers got off. The Negro passengers, frightened,
huddled in the rear, with the exception of the one
Negro man who remained in his seat. He seemed
utterly calm and some said he smiled slightly.
The mob started to throw rocks at the bus. Soon all the
safety plate windows were spiderwebbed and it
became difficult to see inside.
Then someone shouted, "Let's get him!" And there was
a surge toward the door of the bus.
But no one went in. Some said no one was able to get
in—that some sort of invisible shield hurled back
anyone who mounted past the first step.
The frustrated, howling mob, seemingly in a lynching
mood, raged around the bus for half an hour until they
were dispersed by the arrival of the state police.
Cagle, the driver, was located and, with the state police
escorting him, he drove the bus to Biloxi.
There the Negro man was questioned and finally
released. He gave his name as Brown. He went to the
home of the Rev. James Evander, a prominent Negro
clergyman, to spend the night.
Cagle was reprimanded by the bus company, which
said the Negro man had been entirely within his rights.
A company spokesman said he did not know at the
moment what it planned to do about the damage to its
bus.
Sheriff Grout was reported to be in fair condition in the
hospital.
I made only minor changes in the story before I sent it on to London,
under a byline. I don't know what color Mr. Patterson, our Mount
Pelley stringer, is. It isn't one of the questions we ask at World Wide.
I suppose he'd have to be white in a place like that. But I'm sure Mr.
Brown would have been glad to know he existed, to help balance
Sheriff Grout.

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