| In managing
a large Internet research panel, our company has had the opportunity to
learn what consumers think about a variety of issues. From time-to-time,
we have also asked questions of our panel that include issues of general
interest.
Below are a few examples
of the type of general interest studies our panel has participated in.
Y2K
-- Relive the Hype!
Bush vs. Gore -- Who will win?
(Comparison of Internet and Telephone data collection methodologies)
Y2K
-- Relive the Hype!
Take yourself back to
late 1999. Every major media outlet, government entity and computer
prognosticator is wondering what is going to happen when the clock strikes
Midnight. Computers crashing, elevators stranded between floors, airline
safety called into question, entire factories shutting down and the financial
markets were at risk...if you listened to some of the so-called experts.
With all the hype, we
were curious about what average, everyday people were doing to prepare for the
impending potential technology Armageddon.
Nearly half of our
panelists were planning to stock up on some items and were doing some
preparation for the change from 1999 to 2000. Only 10% thought there
would be major or widespread problems, but only 10% made the right prediction that nothing would happen.
When looking at these
results, be truthful and try to remember what you thought was going to happen.
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Bush
vs. Gore
It was late October,
2000 and all the political pollsters were going back and forth, arguing who
was ahead in the latest poll. We got tired of hearing all the
predictions and decided to find out for ourselves.
In a partnership with
The Cleveland State University (CSU), Cathy
Antus, a project manager with our company, developed an Internet-based
survey and asked our panelists a series of questions about the upcoming
election. At the same time, CSU conducted a telephone survey using the
same questionnaire.
Below are the results
which point to some differences in Internet vs. telephone data
collection. (For more on the differences between the two data collection
methods, contact Kurt Steigerwald of
our organization.)
What's most important is
that our poll got it right! The race was a dead heat with the candidates each
capturing 44% of the votes from those who had already made a decision. At the time of the poll, Gore had an
advantage in Florida while Pennsylvania was too close to call.
To view a larger version of this graph in Adobe Acrobat Reader, please click on this link: Importance of Issues Adobe PDF image
To view a larger version of this graph in Adobe Acrobat Reader, please click on this link: Viewing of Debate One Adobe PDF image
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