As a marketing researcher for soundsense, nancy bales has been asked to gather preliminary information that will create a research hypothesis about easyplay, the new music player by soundsense. nancy has the task of conducting first-hand research about the characteristics of the target group that would buy easyplay, which the company believes to be superior to i-pods and cell phones in terms of audio quality. nancy bales should conduct research at this stage. causal experimental secondary internal exploratory

The business cycle is the periodic but irregular up-and-down movement in economic activity, measured by fluctuations in real gross domestic product (gdp) and other macroeconomic variables. a business cycle is typically characterized by four phases—recession, recovery, growth, and decline—that repeat themselves over time. economists note, however, that complete business cycles vary in length. the duration of business cycles can be anywhere from about two to twelve years, with most cycles averaging six years in length. some business analysts use the business cycle model and terminology to study and explain fluctuations in business inventory and other individual elements of corporate operations. but the term "business cycle" is still primarily associated with larger (industry-wide, regional, national, or even international) business trends.