Marketing textbook, chapter 4

If specifications regarding the structure of the sample have to be observed in surveys, compliance can be ensured in advance by means of a so-called screening questionnaire.

Who should take part in the survey? Are there any exclusion criteria to be considered and if so, which ones? Which characteristics of the sample are relevant for participation in the test? These and other questions arise, for example, when designing a product test in the sensory lab. The criteria that determine the selection of participants can be based on internal company information (e.g. desired target group) and/or secondary statistical material (e.g. buyer data, market shares).

The following example of a sensory test for flavoured water illustrates the recruitment of suitable participants: a partial survey with a deliberate selection of 100 participants is to be carried out using a predefined quota instruction. Available panel data provides suitable information on the distribution of the characteristics „age“ and „gender“ as well as information on the intensity of use and brand choice in the population in order to ensure the representativeness of the sample. All potential survey units must answer these screening questions.

The sample therefore includes people between the ages of 18 and 59 who drink flavoured water at least once a month and do not reject the „apple“ flavour. The note after question 4 indicates compliance with cross-quotation with regard to gender distribution within the age categories (see section 4.2.3.2). Furthermore, quotas regarding the intensity of use and the choice of brand must be taken into account. The sample comprises half intensive users and half infrequent users as well as a market share-appropriate distribution of brand users.

Sources:

• DG Sens: Vergleich sensorischer Methoden zur Bewertung der sensorischen Qualität von Nahrungs- und Genussmitteln in Deutschland, unpublished research report 2015.