Question 1. Write a classification question to determine the respondent's highest level of formal education.
1. What is your highest level of formal education?
a. Did not attend School
b. Elementary School or Equivalent
c. High School or Equivalent
d. Bachelors or Equivalent
e. Masters or Equivalent
f. Doctorate or Equivalent
Question 2. Write a closed-ended, multiple choice question to obtain a measure of the total amount of time spent at the CNN.com web site.
2. How much time in an average week do you spend on the CNN.com web site? (please round to the nearest ½ hour)
a. Less than 1 hour
b. 1 to 2 hours
c. 2 ½ to 3 hours
d. 3 ½ to 4 hours
e. 4 ½ to 5 hours
f. More than 5 hours
Question 3. You want to know what characteristics of an advertisement on the CNN.com home page are most important in attracting an individual's attention. Use a constant sum question to measure the relative influence of: ad size, ad copy (what the ad says), advertising color, and ad placement (i.e. where on the page the ad appears).
3. Think about the reasons you pay attention to certain advertisements on the CNN.com home page. Some potential advertisement characteristics are in the following list. We are interested in knowing the relative importance of these characteristics in attracting your attention to the advertisement. Assume that you have 100 points. Divide the points among the following characteristics to indicate the relative importance of each characteristic. The more points you give something, the more important it is. You can give as many or as few points as you wish to each reason. Please make certain that your total equals 100 points.
Ad Copy ____
Advertising Color ____
Ad Placement ____
TOTAL _100_
Question 4. Write a closed-ended scale question to determine how easily a respondent is able to find the specific content they are looking for on the CNN.com site.
4. How easily are you able to find the specific content you are looking for when visiting the CNN.com site?
a. Very easily
b. Easily
c. Neutral / Unsure
d. Uneasily
e. Very Uneasily
Questions 5 and 6. Determine if a respondent had clicked on any of the ads on the CNN.com home page during his or her last visit to the CNN.com site. If they did click on any of the ads, write a closed-ended question to determine if he or she had previously clicked on an ad for the same advertiser.
5. During your last visit to the CNN.com site, did you click on any of the advertisements on the CNN.com home page? (If No, please proceed to Question 7)
a. Yes
b. No
6. Recall the advertisement which you clicked on during your last visit to the CNN.com home page. Prior to clicking on that advertisement, have you clicked on another advertisement by the same advertiser?
a. Yes
b. No
Question 7. You are interested in a comparison of reactions to the content offered on the CNN.com web site versus the content that appears on the MSNBC.com web site. Write a checklist question (using a single checklist) to help you make this comparison. There should be eight items on your checklist.
Question 8. Write a rank order question to determine what is most important to the respondent in a news
Information site. Your rank order question should contain five criteria, one of which should be "advertising." The remaining four criteria can be your choice.
8. Please rank the following 5 criteria in order of what is most important to least important in a news information site. Place a '1' next to the criteria that you determine is most important in a news information site, a '2' by the criteria with the next most importance, through '5' which you would place next to the criteria of which you deem the least important in a news information site. There can be no ties and please use each number only once.
Color Scheme _____
Advertising _____
Relevance of Topics _____
Quality of News Posts _____
Speedy News Updates _____
Question 9. Write an open-ended question that probes how a respondent feels about the visual "clutter" caused by advertising on the CNN.com home page.
Questions 10 - 12. Write a closed-ended scale question to determine a respondent's perception of the usefulness of the advertising that appears on the CNN.com web site home page. (You may use the word "useful" in your question if you desire.) Then, based on the response to this closed-ended question, ask an open ended question to determine why a respondent felt the advertising either was or was not useful. (Each respondent will therefore will be presented with only two of the three questions asked in this series.)