Part 3： Collaborative Discussion
Market Research Your company is planning to launch a new product. You have been asked to help plan the product launch and conduct the market research.
Discuss the situation together, and decide:
? what should be the aims of your market research?
? what factors should be included in planning the market research?
Answer cues:
1. What should be the aims of your market research
a. Identify the potential sales volume
b. Support the generation of pricing strategies c. Evaluate risk and opportunities
2. What factors should be included in planning the market research
a. Identify which of the 5 common methods of conducting market research are applicable in our case b. Choose appropriate subjects （选择适当的受试者）
c. Adopt proper statistical method （采用适当的统计方法）
Follow-up questions:
(1) What are the most commonly adopted methods in conducting market research?
The most commonly adopted methods include surveys, focus groups, personal interviews, observation, and field trials. The type of data you need and how much money you’re willing to spend will determine which techniques you choose for your business.
(2) Does market research always precede the launch of a new product?
Yes, market research always precedes the launch of a new product. Only by doing so, can it provide important information regarding the customer’s need and the potential market size. All this information will help the company identify business growth opportunities and generate feasible business strategies so that it may get an advantage over competitors.
(3) What are the factors to be considered when you conduct international market research?
When conducting international market research, we should consider such important factors as the language adopted in conducting the research, style and cultural expectations (for example, “positive bias” in certain cultures) in data analyses, choice of an appropriate moderator, and specific timing of the research.
(Positive bias, sometimes called politeness bias, in research means that respondents will often respond more positively in a research situation than in a \
2.3分类试题及答题思路 (Categorized tests & answer cues)
Testing items of Personal Particulars and answer cues
(1) Similar questions related to personality
a. What kind of person would you say you are? b. How would you describe your personality? c. What is your best quality?
d. What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses?
Expressions related to the description of one’s personal character:
introverted （内向的）/ extroverted（外向的）/ out-going（外向的）
open / frank (honest and straightforward in speech or attitude) / outspoken （坦率的，直言不讳的） optimistic （乐观的）/ pessimistic（悲观的）
easy to get along with / easygoing （脾气随和的；容易相处的） agreeable / amiable (lovely) （和蔼可亲的）
quiet（沉静的）/ talkative（饶舌的，多嘴的，爱说话的） / conversable（健谈的，乐于交谈的） / garrulous（唠叨的，喋喋不休的）
restless（焦躁不安的,不满足的） / aggressive（好斗的，有闯劲的，有进取心的） / enterprising（有事业心的，有进取心的，有魄力的，有胆量的）/ ambitious（野心勃勃的，有雄心的） headstrong （刚愎的）/ obstinate（倔强的） considerate / thoughtful（体贴的，善解人意的） understanding（聪明的，有理解力的）
（避免使用诸如cute, clever, smart, intelligent, brilliant等形容词，有过分张扬之嫌） active（积极面对生活的）/ passive（消极面对生活的）
practical（实际的，务实的）/ impractical（不切实际的，不现实的）/ positive（积极的，实际的） naughty（顽皮的，淘气的，没规矩的） / mischievous（淘气的，恶作剧的） （避免使用troublesome，因为它的意思是“总是惹是生非的”） decisive（果断的）/ indecisive（优柔寡断的，犹豫不决的） confident / self-confident（自信的） diligent / hard-working（勤奋的）
a person with a strong will（意志坚强的人）
a person with an independent mind（具有独立思想的人）
impulsive (冲动的，任性的，受感情驱使的）/ calm（平静的，沉着的）well-organized（做事有条理的）
creative（富有创造力的）/ having few new ideas（没什么新点子） patient（有耐性的，能容忍的）/ impatient（不耐心的，焦躁的） sensitive（敏感的） / insensitive（木讷的，麻木的）
emotional （情绪化的，易激动的）/ unemotional（不易动感情的，无动于衷的）
careful（办事仔细的，小心的）/ meticulous（一丝不苟的，拘泥小节的） / careless（疏忽的，粗心的）
Sample answer for your reference:
Well, my friends say I’m an amiable person; I love making friends, because I think I can learn a lot from them. I’m also a girl with a strong will; I would not yield to any difficulties or hardships. I guess being impulsive is one of my weaknesses, which often leads me to hasty actions or hasty words, but I’m trying to improve that.
(2) Similar questions related to educational background
a. Would you please give me some information on your education?
Sample answer for your reference:
已毕业的学生:
I graduated from Dalian University of Technology in 2001 with a Bachelor Degree of Arts in the field of
Scientific English.
未毕业的学生:
I’m now studying in Dalian Maritime University towards a bachelor degree (of engineering / of science / of arts), majoring in navigation.
b. What’s your major?
Answer cues: My major is … I major in …
c. Why do you choose your present specialty as your major?
Answer cues:
I chose my present specialty as my major simply because … … I saw extensive job opportunities in this area. … I found myself strongly fascinated by this subject. … my parents intended me for this.
… my middle school teacher said it suits me perfectly. … it has a promising future.
d. Could you tell me about your reasons for learning English?
Answer cues:
Actually there are several reasons for me to learn English, for example, … … to improve communication
… to be able to approach a wider range of information resources … to sharpen my competitive edge in job hunting … to satisfy my curiosity in western culture
e. Can you tell me about your experience in spoken English？
Sample answers for your reference:
I have attended a selective course on oral English given by a foreign teacher who is a native English speaker.
I have made some foreign friends so that we can exchange ideas and learn languages from each other.
I have taken part in activities held by the English Clubs in my university.
f. How long have you been studying English? Do you like English? Why?
Sample answer for your reference:
I have been learning English for about 10 years, ever since I was a little child. I like English because the language itself attracts me so much, as well as the culture it represents.
Expressions related to the description of degrees:
Bachelor / Master of Arts（文学学士、硕士） Bachelor / Master of Science（理学学士、硕士） Bachelor / Master of Engineering（工学学士、硕士） Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)（博士学位）
Master of Business Administration (MBA)（工商管理硕士）
Expressions related to the description of one’s specialty:
经济学 economics 金融学 finance 管理学 management 社会学 social science 新闻学journalism 会计学 accounting 国际关系 international relations 文学 literature 历史学 history 哲学 philosophy 语言学 linguistics 心理学 psychology 工程学 engineering 生物化学 biochemistry 建筑学 architecture
(3) Similar questions related to work experiences
a. What do you do? (c.f. How do you do? How are you? How are you faring?) b. What do you do for a living? c. What is your occupation? d. What do you do exactly? e. What is your routine work?
f. What does your job involve everyday?
Answer cues:
（回答时，建议考生除了说出自己所在的部门、担任的工作，最好也用一两句话说出具体的职责。） I’m a computer programmer. My daily work is to … I work in … department. Everyday I must …
