A researcher is pondering what survey mode to use for a client that markets a home security system. The system consists of tiny motion sensors that are pressed onto all of the windows and doors. Once connected with Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod, or another digital assistant, when a sensor is activated, the system turns on lights, emits a warning sound, activates webcams, and texts the owner, depending on what devices and capabilities are linked. The client wants to know how many homeowners in the United States are aware of the system, what they think of it, and how likely they are to buy it in the coming year. Which consideration factors are positive, and which are negative for each of the following survey modes: (a) in-home interview; (b) mall intercept, (c) online survey; (d) drop-off survey; and (e) CATI survey?
Case 7.1: In Peru there are many ruins of the temples and palaces of the Incas, who attained what some historians consider to be the highest pre-European accomplishments in the Americas in agriculture, engineering, monument building, and craftsmanship. Unfortunately, the Incas were no match for Spanish explorers who, armed with guns and horses, defeated the entire Incan Empire in just a few years in the 1530s. In 1913, U.S. explorer Hiram Bingham rediscovered the Incan complex called Machu Picchu, one of the only such places not plundered by the Spanish. It is the bestpreserved Incan ruin of its type, and it is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/274). Located 8,000 feet above sea level on the border between the Andes mountains and the Peruvian jungle, Machu Picchu is still very difficult to access, requiring a three-hour train ride from Cusco, the closest city. Normally, tourists board the train very early in the morning in Cusco and arrive at the Machu Picchu village train station around 10 a.m. They then board buses that take 30 minutes to climb up the 6-mile switchback dirt road to the entrance of Machu Picchu. Once there, with guides or on their own, tourists wander the expansive Machu Picchu ruins, have lunch at the Machu Picchu lodge located at the top of the mountain, and hurry to catch the bus back down the mountain so they will not miss the one train that leaves around 3 p.m. to return to Cusco. Some tourists stay overnight at the Machu Picchu Lodge, or in one of the six hotels located in Machu Picchu village. Because of the site’s global popularity, the Peruvian government implements a limit of 2,500 visitors per day to Machu Picchu by way of admission ticket control. Machu Picchu is a Peruvian national park, and since it is one of the top tourist attractions in the world, the national park department wishes to conduct a survey to research the satisfaction of tourists with the park’s many features, and with their total experience on their visit to Peru. With the help of a marketing researcher who specializes in tourism research, park department officials have created a selfadministered questionnaire for their survey. Now they must choose from several options for gathering the data. Using concepts in this chapter and your knowledge of data collection methods and issues, answer the following questions.
