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Measurement invariance is necessary before any substantive cross-national comparisons can be made. The statistical workhorse for conducting measurement invariance analyses is the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis model. This model works well if a few items exhibit clearly differential item functioning, but it is not able to capture, model, and control for measurement bias that affects all items, i.e., this model cannot account for common method variance. The presence of common method variance in cross-national data leads to poorly fitting models which in turn often results in biased, if not incorrect, results. We introduce a procedure to analyze and control for common method variance in one's data, based on a series of factor analysis models with a random intercept. The modeling framework yields constructs and factor scores free of method effects. We use marker variables to support the validity of the interpretation of the random intercept as method factor. An empirical application dealing with material values in Spain, the UK, and Brazil is provided. We compare results with those obtained for the standard multigroup confirmatory factor analysis model., Author(s): Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp [sup.1] , Alberto Maydeu-Olivares [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.10698.36, 0000000122483208, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, , Campus Box 3490, McColl Building, 27599, Chapel Hill, [...]

This paper develops a two-stage statistical analysis to identify and assess the effect of a sample bias associated with an individual's household role. Survey responses to questions about the respondent's role in household finances and a sampling design in which some households have all members take the survey enable the estimation of distributions for each individual's share of household responsibility. The methodology is applied to the 2017 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice. The distribution of responsibility shares among survey respondents suggests that the sampling procedure favors household members with higher levels of responsibility. A bootstrap analysis reveals that population mean estimates of monthly payment instrument use that do not account for this type of sample misrepresentation are likely biased for instruments often used to make household purchases. For checks and electronic payments, analysis suggests it is likely that unadjusted estimates overstate true values by 10 percent to 20 percent. JEL classification: C11, C83, D12 Key words: survey error, Bayesian interference, Survey of Consumer Payment Choice, bootstrap, household economics, Working Paper 2021-9 February 2021 1 Introduction An increasingly important aspect of survey-based inference involves recognizing and adjusting for discrepancies between respondents and the target population. For one, a general [...]

Introduction Many nonpublic well water users are unknowingly consuming water contaminated with industrial solvents, pesticides, or other contaminants at levels that are unsafe. In a study conducted by the U.S. [...], Background: Many nonpublic water well users unknowingly consume contaminated groundwater containing unsafe levels of pollutants. This has important implications for more than 13 million households in the United States that rely upon nonpublic water wells for drinking, cooking, and other household uses. Although public water quality is regulated through the Safe Drinking Water Act, there are no drinking water standards for nonpublic water well quality in Kansas, nor is there an adequate public health infrastructure in place to prevent or address potential exposures to contamination. OBJECTIVES: This project was conducted to identify promising action steps that would protect Kansans relying on nonpublic water wells for drinking, cooking, and other household purposes. METHODS: The project team consisted of public health, environmental health, and legal professionals with experience working on groundwater quality issues impacting nonpublic water wells in Kansas. From 2015 through 2018, the team established and convened an advisory group; reviewed relevant state statutes and regulations, all Kansas county environmental codes, and a representative sample of 23 city water well codes; conducted an extensive review of academic literature to identify best practices; conducted dozens of key informant interviews; proposed recommendations; engaged dozens of stakeholders through a survey of these proposed recommendations; and conducted interactive webinars to identify which organizations need to lead each of the recommendations. Discussion: The project team developed 18 recommendations. The recommendations are organized by survey respondents' perceptions of potential public health impact. There are very few standard practices in Kansas that ensure safe water for nonpublic household water wells. Although not all of the 18 recommendations may be applicable to other communities and states, many likely would be useful for governmental agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and others to consider. These recommendations offer more protections for nonpublic household water well users than any resource we have found.

To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.2009.00318.x Byline: Dan Farrell (1), James C. Petersen (2) Abstract: Between 1999 and 2004 only one article appeared in the American Sociological Review, the American Journal of Sociology, or Social Forces using primary data collected with Web-based research techniques. Since then there have been only a handful of studies published in these core sociology journals drawing on Web-based surveys or other forms of Web-based data. The use of Internet-based data has become widespread in many academic fields, especially health research and education; Web-based techniques are becoming routine in the practice and study of politics; and online commercial and market research has become a billion dollar industry. At the same time, the utility of random digit dialing surveys has eroded considerably owing to declining contact rates, increased use of technologies to screen unwanted telephone calls, and the replacement of landline telephones with cell phones. There is increasing evidence that Internet research can produce representative data. Although Web-based surveys may overrepresent some populations, Internet usage in the general population is now well over 75 per cent and is especially strong among some hard to reach populations. Internet surveys have the potential to reduce measurement error, missing data, and respondent attrition. Sociologists must overcome their fear of participation in stigmatized Internet research and actively engage in the development of techniques and refinements that will increase the utility and validity of Internet-based data collection. Author Affiliation: (1)Western Michigan University (2)University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Objectives. We identified the mass media channels that reach the most cigarette smokers in an attempt to more effectively target smoking cessation messages. Methods. Reach estimates and index scores for smokers were taken from 2002-2003 ConsumerStyles and HealthStyles national surveys of adults (N = 11 660) to estimate overall and demographic-specific exposure measures for television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. Results. Smokers viewed more television, listened to more radio, and read fewer magazines and newspapers than did nonsmokers. Nearly one third of smokers were regular daytime or late-night television viewers. Selected cable television networks (USA, Lifetime, and Discovery Channel) and selected radio genres, such as classic rock and country, had high reach and were cost-efficient channels for targeting smokers. Conclusions. Certain mass media channels offer efficient opportunities to target smoking cessation messages so they reach relatively large audiences of smokers at relatively low cost. The approach used in this study can be applied to other types of health risk factors to improve health communication planning and increase efficiency of program media expenditures. (doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.090340)

Debit card use at the point of sale has grown dramatically in recent years in the United States and now exceeds the number of credit card transactions. However, many questions remain regarding patterns of debit card use, consumer preferences when using debit, and how consumers might respond to explicit pricing of card transactions. Using a new nationally representative consumer survey, this paper describes the current use of debit cards by U.S. consumers, including how demographics affect use. In addition, consumers' stated reasons for using debit cards are used to analyze how consumers substitute between debit and other payment instruments. We also examine the relationship between household financial conditions and payment choice. Finally, we use a key variable on bank-imposed transaction fees to analyze price sensitivity of card use, and find a 12% decline in overall use in reaction to a mean 1.8% fee charged on certain debit card transactions; we believe this represents the first microeconomic evidence in the United States on price sensitivity for a card payment at the point of sale. JEL codes: D1, L0 Keywords: debt payment choice, price response, bank fees., ANNUAL DEBIT CARD transactions at the point of sale have been growing at over 20% per year since 1996 and now exceed credit card transactions. (1) In sharp contrast, the [...]

Byline: Daniel L. McFadden (1), Albert C. Bemmaor (2), Francis G. Caro (3), Jeff Dominitz (4), Byung-Hill Jun (5), Arthur Lewbel (6), Rosa L. Matzkin (7), Francesca Molinari (8), Norbert Schwarz (9), Robert J. Willis (10), Joachim K. Winter (11) Keywords: consumer surveys; survey response error; hypothetical choice; applied econometrics Abstract: Measures of households' past behavior, their expectations with respect to future events and contingencies, and their intentions with respect to future behavior are frequently collected using household surveys. These questions are conceptually difficult. Answering them requires elaborate cognitive and social processes, and often respondents report only their 'best' guesses and/or estimates, using more or less sophisticated heuristics. A large body of literature in psychology and survey research shows that as a result, responses to such questions may be severely biased. In this paper, (1) we describe some of the problems that are typically encountered, (2) provide some empirical illustrations of these biases, and (3) develop a framework for conceptualizing survey response behavior and for integrating structural models of response behavior into the statistical analysis of the underlying economic behavior. Author Affiliation: (1) Econometrics Laboratory, University of California, 549 Evans Hall, Berkeley, CA, 04720-3880 (2) ESSEC, BP 50105, 95021, Cergy-Pontoise Cedex, France (3) Gerontology Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA, 02125 (4) H. John Heinz III, School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 (5) Econometrics Laboratory, University of California, 549 Evans Hall, Berkeley, CA, 04720-3880 (6) Department of Economics, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467 (7) Department of Economics, Northwestern University, 2001 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL, 60208 (8) Department of Economics, Cornell University, 492 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853-7601 (9) Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48106-1248 (10) Department of Economics and Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48104-1248 (11) Department of Economics, University of Munich, 80539, Munich, Germany Article History: Registration Date: 01/01/2005

PHARMACEUTICAL SALES REPRESENTATIVES have incentives to 'oversell' their products. But they also benefit by providing truthful information about their drugs' benefits. In analyzing the effects of sales and promotion efforts, [...]

A study of 63 college students has examined their response to shopping for clothes on the Internet. Consumers can save time and shop outside regular hours by using the Internet. The garment industry needs to use different skills when selling in this way, and the research is useful in helping to design sites to sell apparel. Customer service is especially important for on line consumers, and return policies should be clearly set out. Consumers are more likely to buy if they already have some knowledge of the product.

Concern for ethical issues in business has dramatically increased over the last decade. Both academics and practitioners have shown an intense interest in ethical issues. For example, both the Journal [...]

The production of data, and the functioning of the market for observations, are universal concerns to all fields of positive economics. Economists, however, have typically placed greater emphasis on systematically analyzing the consumption of data than on considering its production. In the production of data through surveys, an important input market is that of labour, in which a demander trades observations with the supplying sample members. This paper analyses optimal monopsony compensation in such data markets, the important relationship it bears to estimation using the data that are obtained, and the statistical effects of implicit public wage regulations that are present in U.S. markets for observations.

Consumer response to product safety measures may take three forms. One, the precautionary stance may become lax since the consumer can now rely on a safety mechanism that comes with the product. Two, precautionary behavior remains unaffected and vigilance is maintained. Three, the effectiveness of the safety device is undermined through removal or destruction, which may even increase risk. These behaviors were observed in consumers who bought cigarette lighters that had child-protection devices. While only a few users undermined the safety device, there still is a need to promote safety.

Although consumer researchers often assume that survey responses reflect true beliefs, attitudes, and intentions, most recent research in social judgment and behavioral decision making suggests that people often construct answers to survey questions on the basis of their responses to earlier items. A framework proposed by Feldman and Lynch suggests that answers are most likely to be constructed when the respondent does not have other, more diagnostic inputs accessible in memory. Two field experiments conducted during the 1988 and 1992 presidential elections support this model. In experiment 1, when a respondent had voted for one of the candidates in the primary, voting intention was not based on earlier survey answers; when a respondent had not voted for these candidates in the primary, voting intention appeared to be constructed. Regardless of primary voting behavior, all respondents appeared to construct issue opinions. The effect of earlier answers on issue opinions decreased as the election neared, consistent with the idea that knowledge about the issues increased with time. In experiment 2, placing questions tapping primary voting behavior first affected responses to questions about specific issue opinions, with resulting carryover to a later measure of voting intention. We discuss the implications of these results for consumer judgment processes and for measurement of consumers' attitudes and intentions. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The use of multilevel models for survey analysis became popular during the 1980s. The unique features of these models have made them suitable for market surveys. They do not generate problems associated with auto-correlation. Thus, there is less risk of miscalculated precision and inferential error. Furthermore, the use of precision-weighted estimation in multilevel models solves the small number problem inherent in survey analysis. However, some multilevel software packages require considerable knowledge in computer use.

An exploratory study on the use of senior citizen discount programs was conducted with 374 women age 65 and older serving as subjects. Results revealed significant differences between consumers who frequently avail of senior citizen discounts and those who do only occasionally or do not use them at all. Heavy users were found to be generally of good health, highly educated, married and are likely to avail of discount programs for most every product or service. Certain demographic variations were noted, however, for some product and service types. Since the senior citizens make up the most definable consumer market in the US, segmentation is seen as an important promotional tool.

A brand switching model devised by Colombo and Morrison was applied to four sets of major home appliances. The model divides consumers into those who are brand loyal and those who are brand switchers. Results show that late replacers tend to be brand loyal, while early replacers are likely to switch brands. One advantage of this model is that it uses data from syndicated surveys which are readily available to manufacturers and retailers who can develop an effective marketing strategy accordingly.

Self-reports of customer satisfaction invariably possess distributions that are negatively skewed and exhibit a positivity bias. Examination of the customer satisfaction literature and empirical investigations reveal that measurements of customer satisfaction exhibit tendencies of confounding and methodological contamination and appear to reflect numerous artifacts. Implications and suggestions for research and practice are discussed. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)