BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS PROJECT ON GALLUP INTRODUCTION
Gallup, Inc. is a research-based, global performance-management consulting company. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became famous for its public opinion polls, which were conducted in the United States and other countries. Gallup works with major businesses and organizations around the world.
In 1988, four years after George Gallup died, Selection Research (SRI) purchased the company from its heirs. SRI wanted the Gallup name to use on its polls, which gave them more credibility and higher response rates. Today the poll is used to gain visibility. Some of Gallup's key practice areas are employee engagement, customer engagement, talent management, and well-being.
Gallup has nearly 40 offices in more than 20 countries. World headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Operational headquarters are in Omaha, Nebraska. Gallup's current Chairman and CEO is Jim Clifton.
Gallup delivers forward-thinking research, analytics, and advice to help leaders solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 75 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of the world's constituents, employees, and customers than any other organization. Gallup consultants help private and public sector organizations boost organic growth through measurement tools, strategic advice, and education. Gallup's 2,000 professionals deliver services at client organizations, through the Web, and in nearly 40 offices around the world. Gallup News reports empirical evidence about the world's 7 billion citizens based on Gallup's continuous polling in 160 countries. The Gallup Business Journal provides hard-hitting articles and insights aimed at helping executives improve business outcomes based on Gallup's experience, boosting companies' performance. Gallup also offers books with groundbreaking research on business, leadership, wellbeing, and politics, as well as coursework on the factors that drive individual and organizational performance.

Brand-Gallup
Brand Attributes: We strive to build on and reinforce the following qualities that exist throughout our organization. These qualities, which help us fulfill our mission and purpose, are our brand attributes.

Global
We are global in our presence and impact. Our focus on solving the world's foremost problems means our clients benefit from working with top experts - not just on a particular topic or subject, but also in their particular country, region, industry, and marketplace. Combining our people's knowledge and our company's science, we provide our clients with real solutions to their most pressing problems.

Inquisitive
We are driven by intense intellectual curiosity to understand everything about the human condition. Our core science, at which we are the best in the world, is asking a person a question, recording the answer, analyzing the information, and then improving the world based on what we learn.

Scientific
We are an enterprise that acquires, builds, and organizes our knowledge by employing only accepted and rigorous research methods. As the global leader in behavioral economic research, our audiences expect us to use gold-standard methodologies in all our research endeavors.

Experienced
We are extremely experienced in helping clients around the world identify and solve their biggest problems. The considerable experience amassed by Gallup consultants and scientists in researching and advising on a host of behavioral economic issues serves to position them as top experts in their field.

Trustworthy
We always act with integrity and transparency. Constituencies who place their trust in us can be confident we will never betray it. We only propose solutions we can prove our clients need, and never propose solutions they don't.

Powerful
Our experts bring impact, insight, intuition, and proven methodologies to solve the world's most complex and important problems. The solutions we offer our clients are backed by our considerable expertise in behavioral economics combined with a thorough investigation and understanding of their unique situations and challenges.
SERVICES PROVIDED * Hiring and developing employees, administrators and support staff

* Customer engagement services

* Provides sophisticated tracking and multichannel analysis of a bank's customer and employee relationships

* Finding the right people to manage at the regional, district, and individual branch levels

* Identifying top talent and leadership

* B2b customer relationship management services

* Employee engagement service

* Entrepreneurship development services

INDUSTRIES SERVED
Banking
Gallup partners with many of the world's leading banks and financial institutions to help them understand what consumers are thinking -- and use that information to improve and expand their businesses. We help our clients develop innovative solutions that do more than meet customer needs -- they drive business performance.
Gallup helps its banking clients to boost engagement and growth by: * providing sophisticated tracking and multichannel analysis of a bank's customer and employee relationships down to the local unit level * finding the right people to manage at the regional, district, and individual branch levels to engage employees and improve performance * identifying top talent and leadership to provide strategic direction * providing actionable insights to align employee behaviors with customer needs to drive profitability and growth
Healthcare
Gallup works with healthcare organizations to ensure they have great medical professionals practicing within innovative and engaging environments. This backdrop allows healthcare organizations to offer the best care, while running efficiently and profitably. And, at a time of disruption and change in the healthcare industry, Gallup provides leaders with the strategic insights they need to identify underlying barriers to success and put the right systems in place to move their organizations into the future. * Leading Through Change
Identifying and developing strong leadership -- at every level -- is essential to managing and thriving in times of great change. Healthcare executives work with Gallup to position themselves and their organizations for success amid industry upheaval. * Engaging Medical Professionals
Doctors, nurses, and the staff who support them are the healthcare industry's direct line to patients. Their success determines the physical health of patients and the fiscal health of healthcare organizations. Gallup works with healthcare providers to identify, measure, and improve the metrics that lead to deeply engaged and highly successful medical professionals. * Improving Patient Experience
In today's increasingly consumer-driven healthcare environment, it is essential that healthcare providers go above and beyond patients' basic expectations. Gallup provides solutions for healthcare leaders to not only transcend basic patient care, but also to emotionally engage patients -- spurring loyalty and better health outcomes.

* Identifying the Right People to Provide Care
It takes talented physicians, nurses, and employees to create the emotional connections with patients that are needed to run a successful healthcare operation. Gallup helps providers identify the perfect individuals for each role in the organization.
B2B
Gallup works with B2B companies around the world in many industries, from financial services to specialty manufacturing. Gallup research has identified the key factors relevant to B2B customers, including some factors that are unique from those relevant to broader consumer markets.
Driving Engagement and Impact in B2B Relationships
Gallup helps clients establish high-impact; engaging relationships with their B2B customers through an integrated approach that: * Builds a sophisticated understanding of each organization's buying center * Focuses on customer engagement and the unique drivers of engagement for each buying center * Directs the greatest attention to high-performing or high-potential accounts * Takes action at the local level to transform how client teams serve their customers * Creates business impact for customers * Aligns employee engagement, development, and management strategies with behaviors that drive client impact.
Customer Engagement
Gallup's research across hundreds of organizations in many industries shows that fully engaged customers buy more, stay with you longer, and are more profitable than average customers -- in good economic times and bad.
To thrive, leaders must: * Align their organization with a strong brand promise; * Actively engage their customers; and * Empower employees to drive change.

Education
Measuring and moving the needle on these outcomes transform educational institutions into places where students -- and educators -- thrive. Gallup experts work with leaders in education to hire and develop talented educators, identify the strengths of each individual student, and create engaging learning environments -- fostering long-term student success in the classroom and in future careers. * Improving Educator Quality
Gallup's research-based approach to hiring and developing administrators, educators, and support staff gives educational institutions -- and students -- a competitive edge. Education leaders work with Gallup to learn how to capitalize on each educator's unique talents, enabling them to take a proactive approach to managing their institutions. * Creating Engaging Learning Environments
Engaged educational institutions are places where people thrive and students grow. In addition to measuring the engagement of all employees and students, Gallup provides proven methods for using data to plan a course of action to increase engagement, ultimately improving student achievement. * Fostering Student Success, in the Classroom and Beyond
Student success is the core of any educational institution. Initiatives that are driven by subject matter or trendy techniques risk missing what really matters -- teaching the whole student -- and specifically, engaging them emotionally Gallup's strengths-based approach to student development helps educators, leaders, adults, and students understand the unique talents of every learner.
Well-Being
Gallup's global well-being metrics and improvement systems inform strategies for tracking and transforming the health of individuals, organizations, and communities.
Building Well-Being Based Organizations
Leaders work with Gallup to create cultures that boost employee health and productivity.
Gallup provides custom strategies and programs for measuring, managing, and improving five distinct elements of well-being.
By targeting employees' career, social, financial, physical, and community well-being, leaders can transform their organizations into high-performing workplaces where employees thrive.
Creating High Well-Being Societies
Public and private sector leaders use Gallup's well-being data and insights from more than 140 countries to develop and prioritize strategies to help their communities thrive and grow.
Gallup helps local and national governments and foundations worldwide improve the well-being of their constituents by: * systematically tracking well-being; * creating custom survey projects; and * Providing in-depth analysis and consulting.
Government
Gallup helps governments to run more efficiently and to serve their constituencies more effectively through survey research, consulting, and learning and development programs.
Improving How Governments Operate
Gallup helps governments worldwide, including many U.S. Federal Government agencies, to build more powerful, engaged workforces of talented employees. Gallup consultants help public leaders capitalize on the same behavioral economics principles and practices that the world's most successful organizations use. Governments that apply these practices enjoy higher levels of employee engagement, productivity, and organizational success.
Helping Leaders Track Their Efforts
Gallup's behavioral economic and wellbeing measures go beyond traditional indicators, such as GDP growth, to assess a society's health. These metrics help leaders to monitor the subtle shifts in attitudes and behaviors that may be the first signs of success-or instability-to come.
U.S. Government Certifications
Gallup can be contracted through a variety of federal contract vehicles, including the GSA Schedule for Management, Organizational, and Business Improvement Services (MOBIS), and Navy Seaport-e.
World Poll
Gallup conducts surveys in 160 countries and is committed to doing so for the entire century. The Gallup World Poll provides a scientific window into the thoughts and behaviors of 98% of the world's residents through nationally representative samples. It is the only global study of its kind in existence.
Global Survey Research Capabilities
Gallup collects data on hundreds of global and region-specific issues to allow leaders to monitor key measures worldwide and across countries. Additionally, Gallup works with governments, organizations, cities, and countries to conduct custom studies and indexes that delve more deeply into specific topics of interest.
Beyond Traditional Economics
Gallup research has clearly shown that a range of factors beyond classical economic measures affect our attitudes and behaviors. The World Poll -- created with input from renowned economists including Nobel Prize laureate Daniel Kahneman, Angus Deaton, Alan Krueger, Ed Diener, and John Helliwell -- provides leaders with better tools to examine and predict the future of economies, the performance of governments, and the momentum of the world's population overall.
The Gallup Macroeconomic Path includes global indexes leaders can use to track and impact the success of their societies.
These indexes include: * Law and Order * Food and Shelter * Institutions and Infrastructure * Good Jobs * Wellbeing * Brain Gain

METHODOLOGY
To ensure that the Gallup worldwide survey data are representative of the world's adult population, the following methodology is employed in every country:
Coverage
The target population is the entire civilian, non-institutionalized population, age 15 and older. The coverage area is the entire country, including rural areas, and the sampling frame represents the entire non-institutional civilian population. The typical survey includes at least 1,000 individuals. In some countries, Gallup collects oversamples in major cities or areas of special interest. Additionally, in some large countries, such as China and Russia, sample sizes of at least 2,000 are collected. Although rare, in some instances the sample size is between 500 and 1,000.
Questions
Gallup uses a standard set of core questions worldwide. In some regions, Gallup asks supplemental region-specific questions. For example, Gallup modifies the questions it uses in heavily indebted poor countries toward providing information about progress on the Millennium Development Goals. Gallup asks all respondents demographic questions such as age, gender, education, and income.
Translations
The questionnaire is translated into the major languages of each country. The translation process starts with an English, French, or Spanish version, depending on the region. A translator who is proficient in the original and target languages translates the survey into the target language. A second translator reviews the language version against the original version and recommends refinements.
Interviewer Training
Gallup trains interviewing supervisors and interviewers on administering the questionnaire and the execution of field procedures. This interviewing training usually takes place in a central location.

Survey Mode
Gallup uses telephone surveys in countries where telephone coverage represents at least 80% of the population or is the customary survey methodology. In countries where telephone interviewing is employed, Gallup uses a random-digit-dial (RDD) method or a nationally representative list of phone numbers. Telephone methodology is typical in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, etc.
Face-to-face interviews are approximately 1 hour, while telephone interviews are about 30 minutes.
Sampling

With some exceptions, all samples are probability based and nationally representative of the resident population aged 15 and older. The coverage area is the entire country including rural areas, and the sampling frame represents the entire civilian, non-institutionalized, aged 15 and older population of the country. Exceptions include areas where the safety of the interviewing staff is threatened and scarcely populated islands in some countries. The country details document outlines methodology descriptions, including sample exclusions, for each country. Sampling procedures include the following stages:
STEP 1 -- Selecting Primary Sampling Units (PSUs): In countries where face-to-face surveys are conducted, the first stage of sampling is the identification of PSUs, consisting of clusters of households. PSUs are stratified by population size and/or geography and clustering is achieved through one or more stages of sampling. Where population information is available, sample selection is based on probabilities proportional to population size; otherwise, Gallup uses simple random sampling.
In countries where telephone interviewing is employed, Gallup uses a RDD method or a nationally representative list of phone numbers. In select countries where cell phone penetration is high, Gallup uses a dual sampling frame. Gallup makes at least three attempts to reach a person in each household.
STEP 2 -- Selecting Households: Gallup uses random route procedures to select sampled households. Unless an outright refusal occurs, interviewers make up to three attempts to survey the sampled household. To increase the probability of contact and completion, interviewers make attempts at different times of the day, and when possible, on different days. If the interviewer cannot obtain an interview at the initial sampled household, he or she uses a simple substitution method.
STEP 3 -- Selecting Respondents: In face-to-face and telephone methodologies, random respondent selection is achieved by using either the latest birthday or Kish grid method. In a few Middle East and Asian countries, gender-matched interviewing is required, and probability sampling with quotas is implemented during the final stage of selection. Gallup implements quality control procedures to validate the selection of correct samples and that the correct person is randomly selected in each household.
Statistical Validity
These probability surveys are valid within a statistical margin of error, also called a 95% confidence interval. This means that if the survey is conducted 100 times using the exact same procedures, the margin of error would include the "true value" in 95 out of the 100 surveys. With a sample size of 1,000 the margin of error for at 50% is ±3 percentage points. The country details document lists a margin of error for each country survey. The margin of error reflects the influence of weighting.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can affect survey validity.

SAMPLE REPORT
Americans' Self-Reported Spending Up Slightly in October
Americans' self-reported daily spending averaged $88 in October, up slightly from $84 in September but still below the $95 from August -- the highest average in any month in five years. Americans' average daily spending exceeds the $72 found in the same month last year and is the highest for any October since 2008.

Gallup asks Americans on its Daily tracking survey to report how much they spent the prior day, excluding household bills and major purchases like a car or home. The data give an estimate of discretionary spending.
Gallup's spending measure has generally been trending upward so far in 2013, with a monthly average of $88, up from the $72 monthly average for all of 2012.
Although partisan bickering in Washington about the recent shutdown and the debt ceiling limit negatively affected Americans' economic confidence, Gallup found that it does not seem to have influenced their holiday spending plans. Still, the plunge in economic confidence that took place during the government shutdown could negatively affect spending levels in the near future.
October Spending Strong among Most Subgroups
Upper-income Americans' self-reported spending increased by an average of $10 in October, suggesting that fiscal debates in Washington did not deter them from spending. In fact, spending increased at least slightly across most subgroups.

Bottom Line
Trends in consumer spending can serve as an indicator of future economic growth in the U.S. Personal consumption expenditures account for roughly 70% of GDP, and with self-reported spending trending upward thus far in 2013, continuing modest growth is possible. The Conference Board has forecasted U.S. GDP growth of 1.7% for the fourth quarter of 2013.
However, Americans' standard of living perceptions have declined and economic confidence remains deeply negative. As job reports continue to fall short of expectations and uncertainty about the debt limit and the federal budget persist, it is possible that consumer spending will decline in the coming months. Americans' soured optimism has yet to affect spending, but lag effects are still a concern.
Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 1-30, 2013, on the Gallup Daily tracking survey, with a random sample of 15,438 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±1 percentage point.
Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by region. Landline and cell telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.
Samples are weighted to correct for unequal selection probability, nonresponse, and double coverage of landline and cell users in the two sampling frames. They are also weighted to match the national demographics of gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, population density, and phone status (cellphone only/landline only/both, and cellphone mostly). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2012 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older U.S. population. Phone status targets are based on the July-December 2011 National Health Interview Survey. Population density targets are based on the 2010 census. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.