BUSN 2028 - S 1

Tutorial Preparation - Week 3

1- Consider each of the following survey designs; discuss their possible merits and shortcomings:

1. A text message survey asks potential respondents to indicate yes or no whether they are driving or not, whether they are alone, and whether they believe the roads in the area can adequately handle traffic, whether more money should be spent on better roadways, whether or not traffic is effectively policed, and whether or not automatic cameras should be used to issue speeding tickets. The sample is drawn from people who have agreed to be contacted via mobile phone regarding road traffic conditions.

2. A researcher suggests mailing a small safe (a metal file box with a built-in lock) without the lock combination to respondents, with a note explaining that respondents will be called in a few days for a telephone interview. During the telephone interview, the respondent is given the combination and the safe may be opened.  

3. A shopping mall that wishes to evaluate its image places packets (including a questionnaire, cover letter and a stamped return envelope) in the mall where customers can pick it up if they wish.

2- The following question was asked of a sample of television viewers:

We are going to ask you to classify the type of fan you consider yourself to be for differentsports and sports programs.

• Diehard Fan: Watch games, follow up on scores and sports news multiple times a day.

• Avid Fan: Watch games, follow up on scores and sports news once a day.

• Casual Fan: Watch games, follow up on scores and sports news occasionally.

• Championship Fan: Watch games, follow up on scores and sports news only duringchampionships or finals.

• Non-Fan: Never watch games or follow up on scores.

• Anti-Fan: Dislike, oppose or object to a certain sport.

Question: Does this question do a good job of avoiding ambiguity?

3- Written case 8.2: New Zealand consumer confidence remained low in 2011

The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence survey is based on consumers' confidence in the job market, status of their personal finances and their readiness to spend. The survey for the second quarter of 2011 shows that New Zealand consumer confidence remains relatively low despite increasing two index points compared to the last quarter. In addition,Australian consumer confidence fell to its lowest point since June 2009. The Nielsen Global Online Consumer Confidence Survey tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions among more than 31 000 internet consumers across 56 countries. Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism. While overall confidence levels in New Zealand remain strong relative to the global benchmark, many New Zealand consumers remain cautious, with 46 per cent putting spare cash they have into savings and 37 per cent channeling surplus cash into paying off debts, credit cards and loans. Many New Zealand

consumers said they were saving on gas and electricity(68 per cent), switching to cheaper grocery brands (67 per cent),cutting down on take-away meals (64 per cent) and cutting back on out-of-home entertainment (61 per cent) to reduce their household expenditure. The Nielsen survey showed 75 per cent of Kiwis think New Zealand is currently in an economic recession-higher than both the Asia-Pacific and global averages (45 per cent and 58 per cent respectively). Twenty seven per cent of Australians say they are in a recession in 2011.

Question

1. How well did this reflect the actual economic conditions of consumers in New Zealand in late 2011?