University of Utah Affordable Housing in Utah Evaluating Proposal
Question Description
The editor of the Utah State Journal (USJ) has asked for proposals to conduct an opinion survey of Utah voters about affordable housing in Utah .
Specific questions include whether local governments should intervene in the housing market, in what ways they should intervene, and whether Utahns are in favor of levying a fine on cities that do not build enough affordable housing. In addition, the survey asks several demographic and socioeconomic questions (e.g., age, race, education, gender, political party affiliation, and income) for the purpose of data interpretation and quality control.
In the past, this newspaper has relied on contractors, as have many newspapers in the U.S. Typically, 500-800 households are surveyed to get a representative sample of the state population. The contractor must provide results of the survey to Utah State Journal by Jan 1three weeks before a new state legislature convenes in the new year.
The USJ has received THREE competing proposals (see below) with almost identical budget estimates. As a consultant for USJ, you will give the journal your professional recommendations regarding target population, sampling frame, sample size, and sampling strategy. Based upon what you have learned in this module through lectures, the textbook, and the information given in each proposal (see below), which is clearly the best proposal in terms of accurately reflecting the view of voters in Utah?
Proposal 1
A face-to-face survey, 10-15 minutes long, conducted by the Western Organization, using a snowball sample of pedestrians in several major cities. Interviewers will canvas the streets and public spaces starting on Dec 1one month before Jan 1 through the night of the Saturday before the new year. They will randomly ask people to participate in this survey. To incentivize participation, 100 survey participants will be randomly selected to receive a $500 gift card. A minimum of 600 completed surveys will be obtained, with an expected response rate of 40%.
Proposal 2
A mail survey of residents based on their voter registration information and addresses, conducted by Abt Associates, using the systematic sampling method. One letter and one questionnaire will be mailed to a statewide random sample of registered voters on the Wednesday, six weeks before Jan 1, with a cut-off date for returned questionnaires on the Saturday before Jan 1. Follow-up letters will be mailed to those who did not respond. Those who complete the questionnaire will receive a $10 gift certificate. The contractor expects to obtain a minimum of 1,000 completions, for an expected response rate of 25%.
Proposal 3
An Internet survey will be conducted by Harris-Interactive. The firm maintains a panel of several million volunteers with e-mail addresses who have indicated their willingness to complete opinion surveys. About 100,000 members of that panel live in the state of Utah. In the week prior to Jan 1, a quota sample of this panel (those who live in Utah) will be asked to respond. The firm will use quota sampling method to select their samples using the demographic and socioeconomic information provided by the volunteers. To incentivize participation, 10 survey participants will be randomly selected to receive a $1,000 Amazon gift card. Two email reminders will be sent subsequently to those who do not respond or do not opt out of the survey. It will obtain a minimum of 2,500 completions, or an expected response rate of 55%.
Operation
Carefully compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of each proposal and explain why one proposal is clearly superior to the other two? Review Chapter 7 again and pay a special attention to the brief history of sampling and sampling strategies. What would be the study population and the sampling frame? What would be the limitations of each proposal? The recommendation should be based on facts, NOT on your personal preferences or opinion. You must properly justify your recommendation in your text.
Requirements
This assignment is worth 5 points (selecting the correct proposal is worth 2 points). The written part should have a minimum of 600 words.
Please include a title for your report, have a brief introduction in the beginning (clearly state your recommendation upfront) and include a brief conclusion in the end (highlighting key reasons for your recommendation).
Submit your assignment by copying and pasting the text the paper from your word processing program into the textbox provided. Please spell-check and proofread before submission. Late assignments must be arranged with the instructor before the deadline. Any late submission will lose 1 point per day, unless there was a documented emergency.The editor of the Utah State Journal (USJ) has asked for proposals to conduct an opinion survey of Utah voters about affordable housing in Utah .
Specific questions include whether local governments should
