Rewrite of Ci3 CATI System

Sawtooth Technologies, Inc., Evanston, Ill., has released a rewritten version of its Ci3 CATI System for Computer-Aided Telephone Interviewing. The new release, Ci3 CATI for Windows, offers a number of enhancements: more advanced quota controls make it possible to design more complex studies; multiple quotas mean more respondents can be assigned to either exclusive or multiple quota cells; inbound calling capabilities let interviewers retrieve sample instantly based on any unique identifier; a commercial database permits larger sample databases and more user-definable fields within those databases as well as a wider range of import/ export formats; expanded reporting capabilities; more detailed productivity reports; password protection; finks to ACA, CBC and other modules; international interviewing capabilities; and increased station capacity.

New Internet search tool

The WebTools Company, a Vermillion, S.D., subsidiary of VisualMetrics Corp., has released Mata Hari, a desktop search tool for knowledge workers, professionals and others researching information on the Internet. The software extends features found in current metasearcher, off-line browser, filter and document management products.

Users submit queries through Mata Hari to Internet search engines such as Yahoo, Hotbot, Alta Vista or Excite. Mata Hari retrieves the actual documents identified by the engines, removes duplicates, and then filters, scores, indexes and stores results in a desktop database. Searches can be immediate, work in the background, or run during off hours when Internet connections may be faster.

Users can pose multiple queries at the same time, in simple sentences or using structured (and, or) syntax, to one or all of the 100 supported engines. Mata Hari evaluates potentially thousands of Web link references against the queries and its flexible site and document filtering. Final, accepted results can be as large as 1,000 complete Web documents and 65,000 unique terms. Users can further search and manipulate the results databases using all of Mata Hari’s features.

Mata Haft is a Windows NT or Win95 application. It is being distributed and supported solely via the Internet.

Mapping software offers 50GB of data

GeoLyfics, East Brunswick, N.J., has released of CensusCD+Maps, a demographics and mapping software product combining 50 gigabytes of data with thematic mapping capability. CensusCD+Maps lets users create colorful thematic data maps, down to the neighborhood level of census block groups, with no mapping or GIS experience required. All of the data, boundaries, and software to create results are on the one disc.

The Windows (95, NT, or 3.1x) CD-ROM of CensusCD+Maps provides:

  • Estimates (1997) and projections (2002) of demographics (65 variables for each year) and consumer spending (32 product categories for each year) for five geographic levels (block group, tract, ZIP, county & state). 1990 Census (STF-3) demographics, over 3,400, for each of 375,000+ geographic units including block groups, tracts, and ZIP codes.
  • Integrated Thematic Mapping with complete boundaries (from Tiger 95) down to block group geographic level. A built-in map viewer creates and displays thematic maps of .DBF files generated by the program. The process is seamless for the end user. Maps are customizable (themes, colors, ranges, scales, etc.) on the fly. A virtual variable calculator lets user perform mathematical functions (incl. Boolean) then automatically maps results. Viewer exports boundaries in ArcView and MapInfo, and maps as BMP. It thematically maps any imported .DBF file with an appropriate area key.
  • County Time Series Statistics - 3,000+ variables in 26 categories for all 3,141 U.S. Counties. Data is from U.S. Govt. Agencies on topics such as federal spending (AFDC, SSI, grants, contracts, payroll, etc.), crime (FBI stats), agriculture, business (types, earnings, employment, payroll), banking, building permits, vital statistics (births, deaths, etc.) and more.
  • Historical Census Counts (Total Population 1790 - 1990) by U.S. county.
  • Geocoding of an address to its corresponding census block group to extract neighborhood information. Also allows for radius reporting around a specific address for any number of miles.

Syndicated studies profile hard-to-reach markets

Greenfield Online, Westport, Conn., is offering In The Know, a series of syndicated marketing research studies to provide insights into traditionally hard-to-reach markets, starting with the college and lesbian/gay markets. The company will use its NetReach proprietary recruiting technique, to recruit low-incidence groups for the In The Know series. The series spans two areas: longitudinal studies specifically focused on meaningful market segments and vertical studies focused on specialty markets and category-driven issues. The studies will provide information on demographics, lifestyles, attitudes and purchasing dynamics, among other areas. For its first two studies, which will be available in July, Greenfield Online is partnering with two companies, Network Event Theater, Inc.,  a campus media and marketing company, and Spare Parts, Inc., a company specializing in lesbian/gay-focused consumer marketing.

Raosoft updates EZSurvey

Raosoft, Inc., Seattle, has released Raosoft EZSurvey 98 for the Internet, version two of the 32-bit electronic collection program that lets users distribute questionnaires over the Internet, intranets, or any standard e-mail system. EZSurvey will also post a questionnaire on a Web site for easy answering. The program is designed for use with Windows 95 and Windows NT. The new version extends support to Lotus Notes, cc:Mail and Internet mail by POP3 and SMTP so that the user no longer needs to go through Microsoft Exchange to distribute the questionnaires. The questionnaires are sent out in text format. When the data returns, Raosoft Postmaster automatically saves the data into a DBF database file. Analysis and reports are available from EZSurvey itself, from the Raosoft SURVEYWin program, or from any DBF-standard reporting package. If ASCII format is desired, the data can be exported from SURVEYWin in fixed, tab-delimited, or comma-delimited format.

Macro offers fragrance study

Macro International Inc., a New York research firm, is offering a new tracking survey for the fragrance industry, Consumer Intelligence- Fragrance. Macro will capture consumer response to 33 mass, prestige, and specialty fragrances, from a nationally representative sample of 1,500 women, including teens and prominent ethnic groups. The study is designed to provide data on current market, trends, future buying patterns and opportunities, competitive strengths and weaknesses (as seen by consumers), and brand strength forecasts.

Competitive intelligence Web site debuts

CISource, a new Web site devoted to competitive intelligence (CI), is now open. The site’s contents include: best practices essays by CI practitioners and suppriers; descriptions of CI products and services, with hotlinks; a searchable listing of consultants, with hotlinks; information on CI-related books and periodicals; and listings of educational conferences and seminars.

NDS adds ZD’s User Profile Data to its products

National Decision Systems, San Diego, has formed an ongoing license agreement with ZD Market Intelligence (formerly Computer Intelligence), a provider of sales and marketing solutions. The agreement allows NDS to offer the Technology User Profile Data from ZD Market Intelligence for use with NDS’ consumer segmentation systems. The ZD Technology User Profile, conducted twice annually, focuses on personal. computer, communications and home technology usage ih the U.S. ZD Market Intelligence conducted an initial screening of 50,000 individuals to identify PC users in the home, workplace and self-employed markets. Survey results are based on a 12-page written questionnaire that was mailed to more than 17,500 U.S. PC users. The ZD Technology User Profile will be used in tandem with MicroVision, NDS’ microgeographic consumer targeting system.

Readex introduces ad study

Readex, a Stillwater, Minn.-based research firm, has introduced On Target! as the fourth member of its ad readership study family. On Target! is designed to provide advertisers and agencies with a mini-diagnosis of how readers are reacting to their ad sales messages. The service delivers quantitative and qualitative feedback on how an ad performed. The key areas of the ad that are measured are: visual appeal, ease of reading, amount of information, clear communication of benefits, overall effectiveness, and verbatim comments relating to how readers feel about the ad. Advertisers and agencies can participate in an On Target! study at no charge by scheduling their ad in a sponsoring publication.