The final questionnaire used in this study is in Appendix A. It was developed as an instrument for this study to assess consumers’ involvement with pets, their purchasing behaviour, their knowledge of pet food and which pet foods they purchased. The pet food questionnaire was developed using a focus group and then pre-tested to ensure the final survey was comprehendible and effective.
3.1.1 Focus group
In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the purchasing behaviour of pet owners and involvement with their pets, a group of pet owners from Christchurch were invited to attend a focus group to share their experiences and thoughts. Focus groups are used to gain collective information from selected audiences and are widely accepted as a research method. They are an efficient way of gathering opinions from multiple parties in an interactive way (Gibbs, 2012). The questions asked were aimed at uncovering any traits of pet owners that had not previously been uncovered by the review of literature. The discussion was recorded for reference following the focus group. Some information was revealed that measured the level of involvement of pet owners with their pets, for example gift giving on special occasions, as well as alternative options for feeding pets.
3.1.2 Pre-testing the instrument
Pre-testing is an important part of developing a questionnaire (e.g, Brace, 2004; Reynolds & Diamantopoulos, 1998). By pre-testing it ensures that the questionnaire is understood by respondents, therefore reducing the amount of systematic sampling errors.
A pilot test for the questionnaire was held over two hours at a Christchurch supermarket with customers inside the store. Hunt, Sparkman Jr & Wilcox (1982) suggest that pre-test respondents should be as similar as possible to the target respondents. The pilot test accomplished this by intercepting respondents using the same method as the actual data collection phase. Authors recommend using personal interviews so to measure reactions and offer explanation that would not be recognised through other means of surveying (Hunt et al., 1982; Reynolds & Diamantopoulos, 1998). The pilot method was conducted using face-to-face personal interviews with a structured questionnaire, which was the same method employed for the final survey.
During the pilot test questions were revealed that did not make sense to the respondents. It also gave an estimated response rate and duration for respondents to complete the questionnaire. Changes made to the questionnaire were “parents” were added as an option to the “purchasing” and “serving” questions and more frequencies were added to the length of time a respondent had been using one brand of pet food. There were no other issues identified with the questionnaire or cue cards during the pilot test.
3.1.3 The finalised instrument
In the final questionnaire there were a variety of question formats used, including closed and open ended questions and Likert scale questions.
The questionnaire began with general questions about pet ownership in terms of how many cats or dogs were owned. A number of 7 point Likert scaled items were used to measure the respondent’s involvement with their pet and subject knowledge of pet food. A 7-point scale was used as Likert scales should have no fewer than 5 or 6 anchor points (Finstad, 2010). The next question also used 7-point Likert scale items to rate product attributes in terms of their importance when purchasing pet food. The attributes that respondents were asked to rate were; recyclable packaging, brand name, cheapest price, country of origin, easy to serve nutritional value, tolerable smell, claims of additional health benefits, portion size and my pet likes it. Both scales were displayed on a cue card for the respondent (see Appendix B).
Jordan, Marcus & Reeder (1980) state that cue cards reduce bias in agree / disagree responses such as question four in this survey. Following the attribute importance questions, the questionnaire then asked in a closed question if the respondent’s current pet food had been recommended to them and if so, who by.
In order to determine what role the consumer played in the purchasing and serving of their pet food, the questionnaire asked who in the household decides which pet food is purchased, who purchases the pet food, and who serves the pet food. These choices were displayed on a cue card for the respondent (Appendix A) and the options given were “I do”, “my partner does”, “my flatmate” does, “my children do”, “my parents do” or “other”. This will assist in determining which attributes are important to a consumer who plays a given role.
The next questions were focused on the consumer’s purchasing behaviour. A dichotomous question asked if the respondent was loyal to a certain pet food brand and if so, how long had they been using that brand. Weekly expenditure on pet food and what type of pet food they purchase were also asked.
The last section of the questionnaire gathered demographic data from the respondents such as age, gender, education and income.