Background Memo  

The most recent survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind was conducted by telephone from March 27 through April 2 using a randomly selected statewide sample of 685 registered voters aged 18 and over. Of those, 678 respondent “heard of a store called Wal-Mart” and answered this battery of questions. The sampling error for 678 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. PublicMind interviews are conducted by TMR, Inc. of Parsippany, NJ.  Professionally trained interviewers use a CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) System. Random selection is achieved by computerized random-digit dialing. This technique gives every person with a phone number (including those with unlisted numbers) an equal chance of being selected. Registered voters are screened through a series of questions. Results are mathematically weighted to match known demographics.

The questions included in this release are as follows:

Question:  Have you heard of a store called Wal-Mart?

Question: Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Wal-Mart? Would that be very or somewhat…?

Question: About how often, if at all, have you shopped at Wal-Mart in the past year…?

Question: Some people say Wal-Mart is…[good because it provides shoppers with the lowest price and saves them money]. Others say Wal-Mart is… [bad because it drives other business out and doesn't pay its workers well enough]. Which comes closest to your view?

see also:
Survey Analysis
Tabular Results