METHODOLOGY FOR MEASURING POPULATIONS OF INSTITUTIONS

ALTHOUGH THE ART OF ESTIMATING HUMAN POPULATIONS IS MATURE, INSTITUTIONAL ESTIMATION RELIES ON RESEARCHERS' INTUITIONS OR ILL-FITTING ADAPTATIONS OF CONSUMER RESEARCH. THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A DATA GATHERING AND ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY FOR MEASURING FEATURES OF A POPULATION OF INSTITUTIONS (E.G., DEMAND FOR A NEW MANUFACTURING PROCESS). WE PROPOSE FOUR SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS, WHOSE FORMULATIONS, FEASIBILITY TESTING AND RESEARCH PLANNING CONSTITUTE PHASE I TASKS: (1) BASIC METHODOLOGY FOR EVALUATING ESTIMATION STRATEGIES AND RESULTING ESTIMATES (E.G., USING "DECOMPOSED ERROR ANALYSIS" AND "PLURAL ANALYSIS"). (2) INNOVATIVE DATA GATHERING AND ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES FOR: TASK FORMULATION AND ALLOCATION OF EFFORT; SAMPLING FRAMES; POPULATION CONTROL DATA; SAMPLE SPECIFICATION; UNIT MEASUREMENT. (3) A COMPUTERIZED DATABASE OF ESTABLISHMENTS. (4) DEMONSTRATION OF AN INTEGRATED METHODOLOGY IN THE CONTEXT OF INDUSTRIAL MARKETING RESEARCH OR OTHER CASE STUDIES. THE PROJECT TEAM CONTRIBUTES: AWARD-WINNING INNOVATIVE RESEARCH CREDENTIALS IN THIS FIELD (BROWN - P.I.); EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE OF INSTITUTIONAL STUDIES AND INDUSTRIAL MARKET RESEARCH (BROWN, LILIEN, JACKSON); STATISTICAL EXPERTISE (LINDLEY); AND ACCESS TO THE RESOURCES OF THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF BUSINESS MARKETS (LILIEN).