Broadcasting (Oct - Dec 1950)

A NEW IOWA SURVEY WITH RELIABILITY PLUS! Combines Large Sample ^^Interview and ^^Diary^^ Techniques 55 TT'OR years, the Iowa Radio Audience Surveys* have been recognized as thoroughly reliable and highly informative studies of Iowa listening habits. They have answered such provocative questions as "How much do people listen to car radios?" . . . "How much extra listening takes place in multiple-set homes as compared ^vith single-set homes?" . . . and "What is the listener attitude toward commercials?", as well as the more conventional questions concerning program and station preferences. The 1950 Edition of this famed Survey, now ready for distribution, was conducted with the same scientific sampling methods that distinguished the tM'elve preceding editions. However, the "interview" method of gathering facts, which was the basis of the earlier surveys, was this year combined with a new "diary" method. As a result, the 1950 Edition contains much new information and is even more reliable than in previous years. INTERVIEW TECHNIQUE The interview technique is based on a personal interview in the home, with one member of the family. It permits a large and statistically reliable sample to be interviewed at reasonable cost. It permits a correct proportion of replies from every segment of the State's population — geographical, economical, etc. It has two minor weaknesses, however; it depends upon the "recall" of the person being interviewed and it usually reaches only one member of the family. DIARY TECHNIQUE The diary technique as used in the 1950 Radio Audience Survey overcomes the handicaps inherent in the interview technique. It provides each radio set in the home with a diary which is filled in at the time of listening by the person in charge of the dial. This diary is voluntarily kept for 48 hours. The reliability of the 48-hour diary-type radio survey used in the 1950 Iowa Radio Audience survey was established by a study conducted in January, 1949, by Dr. Arthur Barnes of the State University of Iowa. He obtained a ten-day diary record from 368 families in 41 Iowa counties. A careful comparison of the first three days of listening with each corresponding day of the week (eighth, ninth and tenth days of the diary) showed no tendency on the part of diary families to ''listen more" when the diary was first started. COMBINED INTERVIEW-DIARYTECHNIQUE The 1950 Survey combines the best features of both techniques by making every seventh selected home a "diary home," as well as an "interview home." This elimi nates the weaknesses of both methods and at the same time maintains a large and scientific sampling of the whole State by farm, village, urban and other categories. The 1950 Iowa Radio Audience Survey is a "must" for every advertising, sales or marketing man who is interested in radio in general, and the Iowa market in particular. It is not only an invaluable study of Iowa listening habits, it is also an outstanding contribution to radio research in general. Write for your complimentary copy, today! *The 1950 Iowa Radio Audience Survey is the thirteenth annual study of radio listening habits in Iowa. It was conducted by Dr. F. L. Whan of Wichita University and his staff. It is based on personal interviews with 9,110 Iowa families and diary records voluntarily kept by 930 Iowa families — all scientifically selected from Iowa's cities, towns, villages and farms. WIfll© */or Iowa PLUS 4h Des Moines . . . 50,000 Watts Col. B. J. Palmer, President P. A. Loyet, Resident Manager FREE & PETERS, INC. National Representatives