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Standards & Principles
Decision Analyst conducts its Internet research to the same high
standards that it demands for other data collection methodologies-sophisticated
probability sampling, precise project control, rigorous quality-control
procedures, advanced questionnaire programming, and insightful analyses.
Decision Analyst's Procedures For Internet Research
We've developed precise procedures for conducting Internet research that adhere
to strict scientific discipline, ethical principles, and quality standards,
including:
- Representative Panels. Balanced to match the demographic
profile of the U.S. or the relevant target market.
- Sophisticated Sampling Systems. Samples are simultaneously
balanced on multiple variables (geography, age, ethnicity, gender, etc.) with
random selection in each cell. Icion™
our proprietary sampling system.
- No "Volunteer" Samples. The risks of nonrepresentative
samples are simply too great.
- No Spamming. The risks of sabotage by angry respondents
are a serious threat to the accuracy of any "spammed" survey.
- Security. We capture the IP address from each respondent's
computer to prevent multiple participants from a given household. Additionally,
each study is password-protected, our web server is encrypted, and all data
is pulled behind our firewall every few hours.
- Privacy Each of our panels has a home website for recruiting
and information purposes. Included on each site is our explicit, detailed
privacy policy, guaranteeing our panelists that we will not sell or advertise
to them, or share their email addresses with any other company.
- Advanced Questionnaire Programming. Logician®
is our proprietary programming system. It's the most powerful and flexible
system currently available. With Logician®, visual and audio stimuli can
be easily incorporated into questionnaires.
- Quality Control We have developed a staff of Internet specialists
and created quality-control systems to ensure consistently reliable data from
Internet surveys.
- Bandwidth Because our web server is on the backbone of
the Internet, we can accept thousands of simultaneous "hits," so that everyone
has an equal chance of participating in a survey. When bandwidth is inadequate,
a large share of respondents can be blocked by heavy traffic on the web server.
This is a potential source of sampling error.
- Time Zone Controls. Samples are carefully controlled by
the different time zones across the U.S., so that samples are not inadvertently
biased toward earlier (i.e., Eastern) responders.
- Reminder Emails. These are sent to nonresponders, a process
analogous to callback interviews in telephone surveys or postcard reminders
for mail surveys.
- Online Help Desk. As surveys are posted on the Internet,
live, real-time support is provided via our online help desk to answer respondents'
questions and to solve any problems they might encounter in completing the
survey.
- Data Cleaning. Once an Internet survey is completed, the
data file is cleaned to eliminate any duplicate questionnaires. Respondents
are cross-checked against the original sample to make sure all participants
are legitimate.
- Data Weighting. The composition of the final sample is
checked against target demographics to determine if data weighting is necessary.
- Real-Time Toplines. Survey results can be viewed online
in real-time as respondents complete the questionnaires.
- Analysis. Decision Analyst has the experience and insight
to analyze the resultant data and to provide actionable marketing recommendations.
Additional Resources From Decision Analyst
If you would like more information on Online Research, please contact
Jerry W. Thomas by email
or call 1.800.ANALYSIS (262.5974).
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