Posts Tagged ‘blending’

Well, we are Yankee fans and we write this Blog so we must be right.   But this has to tie into sampling or it makes no sense here.   Baseball teams have to fill out a roster according to a fundamental model.   They will be playing a game that has offense and defense.  During those moments that they play defense, they require nine players, each with a particular position to fill.  Think of those nine positions as the model that drives sample selection in the baseball world.

The baseball diamond, with its nine field players, structures the kinds of people that will be on a baseball team.

So when George S. puts together a team, he has to keep in mind that his census of nine must be considered as part of his criteria.

When we chose sample we need to fill out some form of model that we seek to represent.   It could be the census of the United States or that of an industry.  Whatever it is, the sample frame must represent something.  Keep that in mind next time you order sample from your friendly provider.

What does your sample frame represent?

We believe that when you buy sample from a panel house you are accepting their blending model by default.   Therefore, even if they do not do any blending you are assuming that they do.

Baseball is a game of stats and blending is the practice of combining sources with the use of statistics.  Baseball is ubiquitous in the US as are soccer and rugby and cricket wherever you call home.

Blending and the rules of the game had best become second nature to all of us.

As Cher would say, “Forget about it!”

Blending in online panels will happen with our without our involvement.  In our mind blending is the scientific combination of sources to replicate an intended standard.  We seek to represent something that matters to us when we blend.  It is our responsibility as a profession to blend samples together to achieve our objectives.

When we purchase a sample from an online panel we are accepting their concept of a blend.  We are more than accepting it we are endorsing it.  We are stating by our actions that it is fit for purpose.  That purpose, more often than not is to perform market research.  Thus, even though we have little knowledge that the blend used by the panel is fit for anything, replicates anything and isn’t replete with bias, by using it we endorse it as fit for our use.  We elevate it.

Is that what you meant to do?