There were some concerns that some of the questions in the 2004 Privacy Study may be influenced by the context created by the preceding questions. Three questions likely to face such a bias were re-asked in the Verification Study, using CATIBUS. The CATIBUS is a multi-client telephone Omnibus conducted by Roy Morgan Research amongst 600 Australians aged 14+ weekly. The Questions were run over two weeks, amongst respondents aged 18 years or older. The placement of these questions on the CATIBUS ensured:
The questions on the CATIBUS were unchanged from the stand alone study, however if necessary an introductory sentence was included in some instances. Sample design and weighting were performed in a manner consistent with the stand alone study. Auditing and response rates were all conducted in-line with Roy Morgan Research quality control procedures and deemed satisfactory.
For the CATIBUS, the sampling variation for the sample at the national level is 1.3% to 2.9%.
Responses for two questions verified showed an extremely high degree of similarity between the Privacy Survey 2004 and the Verification Survey.
If such a database existed, do you think inclusion of your medical information should be VOLUNTARY, or should ALL MEDICAL RECORDS be entered as a matter of course?
| Response | Privacy Survey 2004 | Verification Study (CATIBUS) |
|---|---|---|
| Inclusion Should Be Voluntary | 64% | 64% |
| All Medical Records Should be Entered as a Matter of Course | 32% | 32% |
| Other | 2% | 2% |
| Can't Say | 2% | 2% |
It has been suggested that each Australian should be given a unique number, like a tax file number, to be used for identification in ALL Commonwealth Government Departments, and to access government services on the Internet. In principle, are you in favour or against each Australian being given such a number?
| Response | Privacy Survey 2004 | Verification Study (CATIBUS) |
|---|---|---|
| Strongly in Favour | 25% | 26% |
| Partly in Favour | 28% | 27% |
| Neither in Favour nor against | 4% | 4% |
| Partly Against | 13% | 14% |
| Strongly Against | 28% | 27% |
| Can't Say | 2% | 2% |
However, the third question did show some differences.
Do you agree or disagree that businesses should be able to collect your information from the White Pages telephone directory without your knowledge for the purposes of marketing?
| Response | Privacy Survey 2004 | Verification Study (CATIBUS) |
|---|---|---|
| Strongly Agree | 12% | 6% |
| Partly Agree | 32% | 23% |
| Neither Agree nor Disagree | 8% | 4% |
| Partly Disagree | 14% | 18% |
| Strongly Disagree | 32% | 47% |
| Can't Say | 2% | 1% |
In the Verification Study, the question was asked in isolation to other questions about privacy, following completely unrelated questions commissioned by another client of Roy Morgan Research. In the Privacy 2004 Study, there were a number of related questions asked immediately prior to the question on the White Pages. These were questions on:
In this instance, it is possible that contextual bias in the Privacy 2004 study may be the reason for this difference. Contextual bias occurs when the results to one question are influenced by the context in which the question was asked. Respondents to the Privacy 2004 study may have considered using the White Pages for marketing as a 'lesser evil' than using the electoral roll, which may account for the more positive response to the use of White pages information for marketing than in the CATIBUS surveys.
^top : Last Updated : 27 October 2004