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Survey Design
From the outset of a proposed
project, NuStats strives to address all aspects of the
survey process to achieve the highest quality results.
A core team of survey consultants are available to work
collaboratively with individuals and organizations to
meet their research needs. We provide consultation on
sampling strategies, data collection methods, questionnaire
design, interviewing procedures, data management and
analytical techniques appropriate to the study objectives.
Our senior methodologists can assist with general population
surveys of all kinds and are particularly experienced
with surveys focusing on subsets of the general population
such as the multilinguals, elderly, students, transit
users, and families with small children. Survey protocols
designed at NuStats adhere to standardized guidelines
of the American Association of Public Opinion Research,
the Council of American Survey Research Organizations,
the American Statistical Association, and the Advertising
Research Foundation.
NuStats utilizes
mixed mode survey options when appropriate. Read
about mixed mode survey research.
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Research
Management and Analysis
NuStats provides project
management services from the consultation phase to the
preparation of deliverables. Our project managers have
comprehensive backgrounds in questionnaire design, planning
of in-house and field surveys, data management, data
analysis and report writing. Managers have extensive
experience in execution of computer-assisted surveys
via telephone, personal computer, and hand-held devices,
as well as web-based surveys. In addition, NuStats draws
from research area experts to act as consultants for
specific projects. The skills and interests of the staff
are matched with the needs of each project. Project
managers frequently subcontract with NuStats’
affiliate Datasource (link) for survey data collection
services.
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Qualitative
Research
At NuStats, qualitative
research is more than a euphemism for focus group interviews.
In its approach to qualitative research, NuStats emphasizes
qualitative testing and analysis rather than interviewing
techniques. Qualitative testing is used for assessing
question relevance, evaluating survey task difficulty,
and pretesting questionnaires. Qualitative analysis
depends on empirical interpretation and synthesis of
ideas and concepts that can be gathered through many
types of interviewing techniques: focus groups, one-on-one
interviews, telephone interviews, or intercept interviews.
Because of the potential limitations of qualitative
research, NuStats pays close attention to study design,
effective recruitment of participants, moderation skills,
and appropriate reporting of findings.
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Data
Management
NuStats constructs, cleans,
and certifies all survey data sets. A specialized data
services department provides data set construction based
on varying aggregated units of analysis – person
record, household record, and program or institutional
units, among others. Services offered include CATI,
web-based, or optical scanning and imaging programming
with built-in range and inter-item validation checks.
Our affiliate, Geostats (link), provides access to a
global network of software programmers for specialized
needs associated with data collection via hand-helds
or global positioning satellite equipment. Data set
cleaning and verification is completed using project-specific
cleaning programs. Clients benefit from our standardized,
yet project-specific, systems for survey sample management
and real-time reporting of survey progress. Staff members
code open-ended responses as appropriate and produce
composite variables as necessary. They produce detailed
documentation and, if requested, SAS or SPSS program
setups to facilitate analysis. Data sets can be converted
to a variety of statistical software and database programs.
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Statistical
Analysis
NuStats has statisticians
of national renown who function both as consultants
and statistical advisors to in-house project managers,
and as researchers themselves on specific projects.
These statisticians consult on data analysis, theoretical
and applied statistics, probability modeling, and other
statistical questions, such as interpreting confidence
intervals or calculating statistical power and sample
size necessary for surveys and project designs. A core
group of statistical analysts work with these statisticians
to provide a variety of services for the analysis of
primary or secondary data. Analyses range from basic
descriptive statistics aimed at a general audience to
more rigorous multivariate analyses.
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Geographic
Coding and Analysis
NuStats has created a GIS-department
that provides geocoding services – the assigning
of latitude/longitude coordinates to a spatial object.
NuStats can geocode any database with an intelligent
system that manages misspelling and omissions, and ensures
the highest hit rates with up-to-date address matching
databases. NuStats GIS also is capable of manipulating
and aggregating spatial data with a robust set of spatial
analysis tools. Through our affiliate, GeoStats (link),
NuStats is able to provide integrated GIS and GPS products.
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Social
Marketing
NuStats has acquired national
prominence in conducting reliable, empirical research
on fundamental social issues, such as education, healthcare,
environmental quality, and energy. Often when a social
issue has been clearly articulated the course of action
necessitates a social marketing solution. Social marketing
relies on comprehensive and aggressive communications
campaigns that help change public behaviors and improve
quality of life. To support social marketing activities,
NuStats provides consultation on strategic marketing,
interpretation of data, demographic trends, campaign
concept testing, public opinion trends, segmentation
strategies, and evaluation of the effectiveness of public
communication campaigns.
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Public
Involvement
NuStats has acquired national
prominence in conducting public involvement to engage
stakeholder groups in a variety of issues including
transportation, healthcare, environmental quality and
energy. Our reputation stems from our ability to apply
qualitative and quantitative methodologies to elicit
and analyze stakeholder input – their needs, likes
and dislikes regarding specific issues. NuStats’
research provides decision-makers with a clear understanding
of the underlying motivations, attitudes and knowledge
level on social issues and with courses of action for
ameliorating problems and for capitalizing upon opportunities.
Our innovative approach
to public involvement is through the Virtual Forum,
which deftly integrates market research, public involvement
and communications. The Virtual Forum utilizes traditional
tools such as written surveys and focus groups then
introduces Internet-based forums, telephone hotlines
and other technologies for collecting stakeholder input.
In doing so, we sidestep institutional and social barriers
that limit participation in public dialog, eliminating
traditional stakeholder “gatekeepers,” and
ensuring the minority voice is captured and listened
to.
Web-based Surveys
Web surveys are an increasingly
popular survey mode choice - respondents can complete
the them on their own schedule and not when the phone
rings. It's also convenient to complete the survey over
a few days since the software allows them to stop and
return to the same point in the survey without restarting.
This is true for household and business surveys. In
a recent multi-mode survey of State Departments of Transportation,
almost two-thirds of the respondents chose the web option
over the mailback or fax options. As some point, it
may be possible to conduct all surveys via the web.
NuStats hosts Web Surveys.
They run on a dedicated server located at our Austin
office in a highly secure and reliable environment.
These surveys can be programmed in-house using VOXCO
Interviewer software. The use of Interviewer as the
survey software allows the same program to be used for
telephone interviewing, web surveys, and data entry
- a benefit for multi-mode approaches. Interviewer allows
for formatting options and functionality including:
- Complex skips and questionnaire
branching;
- Response validation;
- Computed variables;
- Up to 999 response choices
per variable;
- Up to 2,000 variables
per survey;
- Up to 999 quota definitions
per project;
- Rotations and permutations;
- Real-time answer checking;
and
- Instant reports.
Our software also supports stated
preference, multi-lingual web surveys and rostering
capabilities. As a member of CASRO, respondent confidentiality
is important to us. Password protection, respondent
identification and tracking, and final dispositions
are standard in our web survey administration. The survey
data is easily downloaded, processed into master data
sets, and ready for analysis at a moment's notice. Additional
options include emailing respondents to notify them
of the survey and providing interim reminder notes to
non-responders.
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