Keep the kids interested

They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well, how's this for necessity: to meet your research project's goals, you'll need the undivided attention of boys between the ages of 9 and 14 as they go through a 30-45 minute interview covering several topics. Eventually you want to make these interviews the core of a tracking program. You think computer-aided interviewing is the way to go but you want to do the interviews using mall intercepts in markets across the country and the interviewers in those mall facilities have differing levels of comfort with computers.

Those were just some of the issues facing the Youthwear Division of Levi Strauss & Co. and its research "partners," Touchstone Research and Analytical Computer Software, Inc. (ACS), over a year ago when development began on a tracking study of the youth market.

"We had been working with Levi's in tracking trends in the youth segment in the fashion related category for some time and the interview was getting more and more comprehensive and time consuming," says Steve Burch, president of Touchstone Research, Branford, Conn. "So we were looking for a way to get quite a bit of information while maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the data and the involvement and attention of the kids. Levi's wanted to both improve the procedure from a research perspective and make it a more positive experience for the kids."

After abandoning the idea of building a system from the ground up Touchstone and Levi's turned to Analytical Computer Software and used its computer-assisted interviewing program ACS-Query Solo as a foundation for inventing a system that met their needs.

"We were able to put a process into the interview so that the computer was being used in a way that wasn't simply obtaining answers but was in a format friendly for the kids," Burch says. "We developed a system that incorporated ACS software and an interview format that used both an interviewer entering data and also a segment where the children would interact with the computer. In addition we developed a videotape that explained the interview format, the purpose of the interview, and instructed the children in the use of a computer. ACS had a very creative approach and they understood what our needs were and what we were trying to do."

Accurate data

Maggie Celestini, senior analyst in Levi Strauss & Co.'s Youthwear Division, says that the system helps the clothing firm get the most accurate data that it can. "Not that we weren't before, but technology changes, and for us this is a better way. We want to be state of the art and do the best research we can.

Previously, one-on-one was the only way to go in mall intercepts. But now technology has improved.
"We used to use one-on-one surveys and we felt that boys might be a little hesitant to open up or might not tell us the exact truth. We felt that this new method would be the most accurate way of getting their true feelings, that they could be direct if they were interacting with a computer."

Another advantage, Celestini says, is continuity. "We do the interviews in several different markets and because of differences in interviewer quality when you do one-on-ones you can't always have that continuity. But with this method we feel we're getting it."

The interview covers typical subjects, including brand and product imagery, and fashion trends, and uses a videotape portion to allow for gathering of impressions of commercials.

Practice questions

The system was made "kid friendly" by using colors and sounds, for example, to guide the respondents through the interview and explain the scale they would use to indicate their feelings. Practice questions on topics such as favorite music group and favorite color help accustom them to the system. The interview also contains brief entertainment sections to give the boys a break from the questioning process, says Amy Yoffie, vice president, Westfield, New Jersey-based Analytical Computer Software.

"We spent a lot of time making it colorful and thinking of ways to make the screen display interesting. The interviewer asks questions initially, then the software instructs them when to turn it over to the kids. The interviewer stays there while they do the first screen and then once the child seems to be comfortable they can walk away. Once that section is over the child is instructed to go and get the interviewer."

Mall personnel comfortable

In addition to making sure that the respondents are comfortable using a computer, it is also important that the mall personnel who administer the surveys and work with the system are comfortable with computers. To that end, ACS and Touchstone developed a handbook for the mall personnel that gives simple instructions on everything from starting the system each day to transmitting data via modem.
"Until you've had experience with all the difficulties that can be encountered it's very difficult to anticipate the types of problems that can crop up," Burch says. "The handbook explains the procedures to the field in a way that makes it relatively fail-safe for them. You still have to do some monitoring and training, obviously, but it takes the computerese out and lays things out for them in simple language."

Overall, the computer-assisted interviewing greatly simplifies the process, Burch says. "We developed special scales for the kids to use and it's very helpful to be able to do it using the computer. In the past we relied on physical objects and that required taking time out to explain the scale and how to use it.
"You're dealing with complex situations and the computer can handle these things and present brand lists on a randomized basis. It handles the skips and instructions and eliminates errors. It pulls up screens that would not otherwise appear based on responses. You don't have to ask kids about things that aren't relevant."

Reduces tasks

The software further simplifies the interview process by reducing the number of tasks the interviewer has to handle and by offering clear instructions. For example it cues the interviewer on when to initiate the VCR section and when to pass the screen to the child. "In a mall setting when you're trying to do multiple things interviewers tend to get overwhelmed by all the pieces of paper they have to handle. This way there wasn't much of that. Instead of juggling the questionnaire and figuring out when to play the video it was all explained to them in a step by step way," ACS's Amy Yoffie says.

Burch: "The system enables us to obtain much more information than you would otherwise be able to with kids. An interview length of 30-45 minutes is pushing it, even with older kids, and with this type of approach, using the videotape presentation and the entertainment breaks, we were able to maintain their active involvement and get information that I don't feel we would have been otherwise able to do in the traditional paper and pencil interview."

Quick turnaround

The data is sent to ACS for tabbing, either on disk or via modem. The modem option means that turnaround can be quite short, though not every mall facility is equipped to handle data transmission that way.

"Everyone is taking baby steps," Yoffie says of the mall facilities, "but we have three or four groups of mall facilities that we work with who can transmit by phone. That's been a real boon. We did a study for another client involving a name test and we started Thursday and we had data to them on Monday morning because they were deciding that afternoon what to go with. It doesn't get much better than that."

New technology

Though it can be difficult to convince clients to make the leap into new technology, Burch says Levi's was comfortable with the new system. "Levi's is really a very forward looking client. Not every situation is going to be appropriate for a computerized interview with children but many are. It can be particularly advantageous with tracking situations. They were oriented toward this system, recognizing that what they wanted to do was pushing the outer limits in terms of the interview length and the attention and interest of the children. They knew there was the chance that the data toward the end of the interview would be jeopardized. So they saw the need to come up with something innovative and unique that would allow them to get as much information as they wanted to from the kids but in a way that was not onerous for the children.

"The experience has been a real positive one and shown me that computer interviews are not simply ones where the interviewers administer the questionnaire. A system where the child actually interacts with the computers themselves is suitable and appropriate for children's research and has significant advantages in certain situations. Not every project requires computerized interviews and we still do a number of traditional types of interviews. But in tracking situations, concept testing and other situations where the measurements are essentially going to be repeated, and where there's complex information to present to the respondent and tasks that challenge the interviewer in terms of their administration of the interview, this is the way to go. It can really pay some dividends."