Background Memo  

The most recent poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind was commissioned by the Silberman College of Business and conducted by telephone from January 2 through January 7 using a randomly selected sample of 616 adults (aged 18 and over) who report that they participate in financial decisions in their household. The sampling error for 616 adults is +/- 4 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence.  Survey results are also subject to non-sampling error. This kind of error, which cannot be measured, arises from a number of factors including, but not limited to, non-response (eligible individuals refusing to be interviewed), question wording, the order in which questions are asked, and variations among interviewers. Interviews were conducted by professionally trained interviewers using a CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) system.  Random selection is achieved through computerized random-digit dialing. This technique gives every person with a phone number (including those with unlisted numbers) an equal chance of being selected. Results are also mathematically weighted to match known demographics.

The Index of Consumer Performance is a composite number of reported behavior over, and opinions of, the past year. The Index of Consumer Intentions is a composite number of consumer opinions of, and intentions for, the coming year. Each number is based on a series of questions about the economy, personal finance, and consumer intentions. Responses about the direction of the economy and personal finances account for 40% of the composite. Consumer intentions regarding a variety of major expenditures over the past and coming year make up 50% of the index. And 10% of the composite number is a reflection of consumers' comfort with personal debt. The scale can theoretically vary from 0 to 100.

The questions included in this release are as follows:

Question:  Would you say you and your family living there are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago?

Question:  Now looking ahead--do you think that a year from now you (and your family living there) will be better off financially, or worse off?

Question:  Would you say that at the present time business conditions in New Jersey are better or worse than they were a year ago?

Question:  And how about a year from now--do you expect during the next 12 months business conditions in New Jersey will be better or worse than they are at present?

Question:  Have you, or anyone of your relatives or close friends lost a job in the past year?

Question

 

Question:  Now thinking about the outstanding balance on your credit cards-- how difficult is it to make payments on the balances? Would you say it is...

Question:  During the next 12 months, do you think that housing prices in your area will go up or go down?

Question:  If you were suddenly to get an extra $1000, do you think you would

 

see also:
Survey Analysis
Tabular Results

Copyright © 2007, Fairleigh Dickinson University. All rights reserved. FDU PublicMind Poll [Latest update 070122]