Research Proposal

Some of you may know that I work as a phone center supervisor in a company that does market research (both phone surveys, mainly for government entities like the state Health Department, and focus groups, for a wide variety of clients). Today I sent this email to one of our vice presidents:

Hi Sue,

In my capacity as an active proponent of Esperanto (the International Language) I am interested in exploring whether it might be feasible to conduct a formal research study concerning awareness of, attitudes towards, and potential interest in Esperanto, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

My ideal study would involve a fairly high-n random-sample phone survey in several parts of the country,

New York/Massachusetts
Puget Sound/Western Washington
California (Northern/Southern)
Texas/Louisiana
Wisconsin/Minesota
Colorado/Wyoming
Alabama/Tennessee

as well as smaller parallel mail and web surveys, for example, aimed at discovering, especially,

General attitudes on language and languages
Awareness of Esperanto
Attitudes towards Esperanto
Openness to/Interest in various sales pitches for Esperanto
Membership in Focus Group categories

and then Focus Groups and/or Delphi Groups focussing mainly on

Awareness of Esperanto
Attitudes towards Esperanto
Openness to/Interest in various sales pitches for Esperanto

and targeting specifically

Budget-conscious travelers
Homeschooling parents
Language teachers

(and possibly other groups I have not identified yet; some might only be identified through analysis of the quantitative data).

I would want the n on the random part to be large enough that we would have good stats on blacks, Hispanics, and non-native English speakers.

So my initial question to you is, what sort of budget would we need to be looking at to do something like this?

I may share this query and your response with colleagues in the Esperanto movement, unless you designate particular information as my-eyes-only or something.

Yours,
Leland in Centel

By Haruo Ros at 2006-10-05 07:07
La blogo de Haruo Ros
Login or register to post comments

Preferably focus groups

Preferably focus groups instead of phone surveys, since the latter often irritate people and leave a bad taste in their mouth about the topic of the phone call. I agree the results of such research could be interesting, though!

By russ at 2006-10-06 06:21
Login or register to post comments

Doubts about focus groups for this

I think a phone survey (with the right questions) could come up with some fascinating information. I'm a bit doubtful about a focus group.

The big problem with a focus group for this, is that the results could be totally skewed by one guy who has heard of and likes (or dislikes) Esperanto. His comments (in any direction) could influence the others in the group. We could come away knowing nothing new.

Now, if you have something more specific to ask (such as, "What are your reactions to this ad campaign?"), then a focus group might be a great tool.

For finding out what people know about Esperanto and what they think about it, a phone survey would be great. We should definitely start brainstorming about what areas we are most interested in knowing more about and about what questions might provide insight into those areas.

By pbrewer at 2006-10-06 18:56
Login or register to post comments

Preferably focus groups

I hear what you're saying, Russ. And speaking as a phone center supervisor, I am no great fan of the methodology that dominates my employers' profession, disrespects the public, and fosters that sour aftertaste. There are ways around this but they cost money. But it isn't as easy as simply substituting focus groups for surveys - it's not an either/or, they're not interchangeable tools. I'll address this in more detail over at La Harublogo sometime soon (probably this weekend), though I'd like to get a reply from the Veep first and probably won't by then.

Haruo

Kiam vi vizitas Seatlon, vizitu nin!
http://www.seattleesperanto.org/

By Haruo Ros at 2006-10-06 07:53
Login or register to post comments

Mental Aerobics

That is a great project! - worthy of discussion, and perhaps worthy of a grant application.

In addition to the target groups you listed (homeschool, etc), I have had quite a lot of interest from adults who are worried about mental health. It is recommended that one learn a language to exercise the gears in the brain. I have a class in "Mental Aerobics" that I've taught a few times in my church. Of course, when I teach it, I mention Esperanto as the natural candidate for learning. It also gives one a feeling of fulfillment in the retirement years. Naturally we want to attract the younger audience, but Esperanto has a special attraction for the elderly.

The first class I taught in Esperanto was generated off a poster I left in a senior center. Several hundred emails to the media got no attention.