The Survey Question
The question on the right, which I used, has a number of advantages over a simple "yes" or "no" question along the lines of "would you be willing to try Asian carp?". Such advantages are as follows:
1. It specifies a cost, ensuring that those who say they are willing to buy Asian carp are willing to buy it at a reasonable price. 2. It minimizes distortion of the data by the seafood eating practices of the the respondents. That is, with a question like that above, some people could think "well, I eat fish all the time, so I guess I could try Asian carp at least once," while others could think "I barely ever even buy fish, so I doubt I'd try this one." The way the question is phrased, it forces people to imagine a single instance of fish-buying, and decide which fish, if any, they would prefer. 3. It allows respondents to qualify their willingness to eat carp. The question above would force people with only a slight preference for catfish or tilapia and people categorically opposed to buying Asian carp to respond in exactly the same way. The question as it is allows for different levels. 4. The comparison it inherently draws between Asian carp and other food fish is immensely useful. I chose catfish and tilapia specifically for a number of reasons: a. They are freshwater fish, like Asian carp. b. They are white, fairly mild fish, so from a culinary standpoint they ought to be roughly equivalent to Asian carp. c. They are popular, familiar fish. By including both of them, I ensured that most of my respondents would be familiar with at least one of the two species. Furthermore, I minimized distortion of my data by people who, for example, might have disliked tilapia, and so would have said they would prefer carp, when really they would rather have had catfish. d. Data exist concerning the annual consumption of catfish and tilapia by American individuals. By comparing the willingness of my respondents to eat Asian carp compared to these two fish, I was able to calculate an estimate for the amount of carp that Americans might consume annually in total. |
If Asian carp were being sold in a store or restaurant at a similar price to other, more popular white fish like catfish and tilapia, which would you choose to buy?
a) I would definitely choose the catfish or tilapia. b) I would probably choose the catfish or tilapia. c) I am indifferent; I might choose any of them. d) I would probably choose Asian carp. e) I would definitely choose Asian carp. Tilapia (above, from fishfarming.com) and catfish (below, from socalfishfarm.com), two food fish popular in America.
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