MOBIS No. GS-10F-0190M

DUNS No. 09-704-8391

NAICS Code 541910

TIN: 75-1605584

Business Size: Large

Contract Period: 5-Year Period From March 15, 2002 to March 14, 2007

With Up To Three Additional 5-Year Option Periods

 

Mailing Address:

Decision Analyst, Inc.

604 Avenue H East

Arlington, TX 76011-3100

 

About Decision Analyst         Resources and Facilities         Telephone Survey Research         Mail Survey Research         Internet Survey (Online) Research         Internet Panels         Logician -- Questionnaire Programming

Icion -- Panel Sampling         Statistical Science Services         Statistical Techniques         Response Rates         OMB Package         MOBIS Hourly Rates         Contact

 

1a.	Special Item Number		SIN 874-3: Survey Services
1b.	Lowest priced model number and lowest unit price		Not Applicable
2.	Maximum order		No limit
3.	Minimum order		$300.00
4.	Geographic coverage (delivery area)		U.S. and Worldwide
5.	Point(s) of production (city, county, and State or foreign country)		Arlington, TX 76011-3100
6.	Discount from list prices or statement of net price		Government Net Price
7.	Quantity discounts		None
8.	Prompt payment terms		30 days of invoice
9a.	Government purchase cards accepted: up to micro-purchase threshold		Yes
9b.	Government purchase cards accepted above micro-purchase threshold		Yes
10.	Foreign items (list by country of origin)		Not applicable
11a.	Time of delivery.		Determined at contract award
11b.	Expedited delivery		Items available for expedited delivery are noted in this price list.
11c.	Overnight and 2-day delivery		Overnight and 2-day delivery are available. The schedule customer may contact the Decision Analyst for rates for overnight and 2-day delivery.
11d.	Urgent Requirements		Under the provisions of the urgent requirements clause of this contract, agencies may contact Decision Analyst to effect a faster delivery.
12.	F.O.B. Point(s)		Destination
13.	Ordering Address(es)		604 Avenue H. East Arlington, TX 76011-3100
14.	Payment Address(es)		604 Avenue H. East Arlington, TX 76011-3100
15.	Warranty provision		None
16.	Export packing charges		Not applicable
17.	Terms and conditions of Government purchase card acceptance		Not applicable
18.	Terms and conditions of rental, maintenance, and repair		Not applicable
19.	Terms and conditions of installation		Not applicable
20.	Terms and conditions of repair parts		Not applicable
20a.	Terms and conditions for any other services		Not applicable
21.	List of service and distribution points		Not applicable
22.	List of participating dealers		Not applicable
23.	Preventative maintenance		Not applicable
24.	Environmental attributes		Not applicable
25.	Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number		09-704-8391
26.	Notification regarding registration in Central Contractor Registration database		Not applicable
27.	Uncompensated Overtime		Not used

 

ABOUT DECISION ANALYST

Decision Analyst, Inc. is a leading international marketing research and marketing consulting firm based in Arlington, Texas (in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex). The firm provides survey research services, conducts focus groups and in-depth interviews, and provides analytical consulting throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Founded in 1978, the firm is vertically integrated, with over 125 employees.

 

MISSION

Decision Analyst s mission is to help its clients achieve continuous competitive advantage through decision-focused, quality-driven marketing research, marketing analysis and consulting, information systems, and analytic technologies.

 

ROLE

The firm's research and consulting services help companies develop winning marketing strategies, improve products and services, enhance customer loyalty, evaluate program effectiveness, upgrade advertising, and accelerate new product development. Decision Analyst serves the government, telecommunications, high technology, construction, medical and pharmaceutical, utilities and e-commerce industries. The firm places great value on hard work, meeting deadlines, and staying within budgets.

 

PHILOSOPHY

The company name reflects the corporate philosophy. Decision Analyst, Inc. is a decision-oriented, analytical survey research company that believes the analysis of research data must lead to marketing decisions, to marketing actions.

 

RELATIONSHIPS

We strive for long-term partnering or strategic alliance relationships with our clients. Our goal is to become a member of your research team. The more we know about your needs, the better we can do our job of providing research services. The more we work with your team, the more efficient and the more valuable we can become.

 

FULL-SERVICE SYNERGY

To support our partnering strategy, we provide a full range of research services so that we can handle all of your research needs: from focus groups and depth interviews to large surveys and multivariate analyses, from concept evaluation and product testing to strategic positioning and advertising research, from statistical analyses to econometric modeling. This full-service partnering helps us achieve synergy for our clients, as the learning from one research project enhances our ability to design and interpret the next project.

 

TEAM EFFORT

Decision Analyst is organized into account service teams. At least two Client Service staff members are assigned to each client. Additionally, all Operations employees (data collection, data processing, etc.) are assigned to support specific clients. The goal is to have the same group of employees conduct all of a client s projects, time after time. This team effort, and continuity of team members, is the foundation of our quality-control program.

 

TECHNOLOGY

We are committed to the advancement of survey research technology, to the use of advanced operational methods, and to the application of computer-systems and decision-science technologies to the marketing research industry.

 

EXCELLENCE

We strive for excellence in everything we do, from study design and data collection through analysis and the final written report. We believe in a spirit of service and responsiveness, in hard work, in meeting deadlines, and in staying within budgets.

 

RESOURCES AND FACILITIES

 

Internet Programming Department. Using our exclusive Logician software, our staff of Internet programmers program and execute online surveys.

 

CATI Programming/Telephone Field Departments. Using Query software, our staff of CATI programmers program and execute telephone surveys. Our telephone field department closely monitors all telephone surveys throughout the duration of the field period.

 

National Field Department. Maintains and continually evaluates our national network of data collection subcontractors. Our standard policy is to always use the best field supplier in each market.

 

Mail Operations Department. Supervises the setup and execution of all mail surveys and the shipment of test products to consumers.

 

Sampling Department. Responsible for helping create optimal sampling plans, for pulling samples for all studies, and for sampling quality assurance.

 

Tabulation Department. Responsible for editing, coding, data entry, and computer tabulation using UNCLE software for tabulation and Query for CATI programming.

 

Information Systems Department. Develops custom computer programs and database applications to support research projects and to create state-of-the-art research systems and models.

 

Government Research Group. Specializes in federal and state-level government data collections, including gaining OMB clearance and utilizing methods that maximize response rates.

 

Statistical Science Group. Provides statistical consulting services to all Client Service teams and to outside companies. Software includes SPSS and SAS .

 

Econometrics Consulting Group. Creates econometric statistical models and analytical systems to help clients make better strategic decisions. Includes sales forecasting and modeling, GIS (geographical information systems), geomapping and economic forecasting.

 

Medical Research Group. Specializes in marketing research and marketing consulting for the medical and healthcare industries. Conducts market structure analyses, pricing analyses, advertising tests, segmentation studies, strategy analyses, and new products research for major healthcare and pharmaceutical companies.

 

International Research Group. Responsible for the design and execution of marketing research studies in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia.

 

TELEPHONE SURVEY RESEARCH

For all telephone studies, Decision Analyst pulls the sample, programs the CATI (computer-aided telephone interview) questionnaire, runs exhaustive quality assurance checks on the program, and carefully monitors all interviewing to ensure the highest standards of quality. The Query computer-aided telephone interviewing system features:

 

                     Computer control of sample, callbacks and quotas.

                     Auto-dialing to eliminate dialing errors.

                     Computer-prompted questions and automatic branching.

                     Built-in logic, skip patterns, and editing.

                     Extensive error-trapping algorithms.

                     Fast topline reports.

 

Our experienced CATI programming staff is proficient in setting up difficult and complex questionnaires (even those with complicated grids), using the Query system. Great emphasis is placed upon programming accuracy. The logic within each program is carefully checked by a second CATI programmer. Then, the CATI questionnaire is tested via Auto-Pilot, a simulation program that creates 200 interviews with random answers. The results of this simulation are tracked to detect any hidden logic flaws in the program. Lastly, the online performance of the CATI questionnaire is double-checked by the project management team, as well as the technical and operations staff before the program is approved and released for interviewing. These laborious procedures yield extremely accurate CATI programs.

 

MAIL SURVEY RESEARCH

The mail survey is the most inexpensive method of data collection. However, mail surveys are not always fully completed, and generally produce lower response rates than telephone or in-person studies. The senior staff at Decision Analyst has extensive experience in minimizing the problems inherent in conducting mail studies.

 

Mail surveys are often criticized for producing lower response rates and hence potential non-response biases. The validity of the information gathered from mail surveys can also be suspect. Mail surveys allow respondents to scan ahead and formulate their answers in advance. By viewing ahead, they can provide answers they know will skip them by certain questions (or entire sections) of the survey. Furthermore, they are not compelled to answer every question and can leave questions blank. Given the potential shortcomings of mail survey designs it is therefore critical that care is taken upfront to reduce the barriers to non-response, which include:

 

        Effectively communicate the purpose the purpose and the importance of the survey. Respondents must feel it is important for them to respond; that their comments will improve the quality of product or service for other respondents as well as for themselves.

        Create A Well-designed, Professional and Appealing Survey Instrument. The instrument should be printed on quality stock and, if possible, in color. The survey form should be eye-catching and noticeable, so as to distinguish it from dozens of other documents in the respondent s in-box competing for his or her attention.

        Contact, Remind, and Re-contact. The likelihood that an untouched survey will be completed declines with each passing day. Survey reminders re-focus the respondents attention to the survey, and helps underscore its importance. The best mail survey protocol includes an advance letter, an initial mailing, a postcard reminder, and one or more subsequent (follow-up) mailings of the questionnaire.

        Keep It Short. The shorter the instrument, the more likely someone will take the time to complete it.

         Keep It Simple. The more complicated the instrument, the greater the chance for respondent error or non-response.

 

INTERNET SURVEY (ONLINE) RESEARCH

Conducting its first online survey in 1996, Decision Analyst was among the pioneers of Internet research. Today, the overwhelming majority of research conducted for our commercial clients is conducted online, primarily using our exclusive panels of consumers, executives, physicians, and technology professionals.

 

Concerns over the representativeness of Internet samples are diminishing as Internet penetration grows. Currently, 70% of adults in the U.S. have access to the Internet at home or work, and Internet penetration is increasing rapidly around the globe, especially in Europe. The Internet as a medium for conducting valid, reliable research has a number of advantages over more traditional data collection modes, including:

 

        Attention. Respondents can take the survey at a time of their own choosing, when they can give it their full attention, in contrast to the interruption of a telephone or mall-intercept survey.

 

        Precision. Respondents can see the questions and the answer choices, instead of only hearing them, and can reread them, if needed. And they can take as much time as they need to think about the answer to a question.

 

        Control. The logic and flow of the interview can be precisely controlled, in contrast to the lack of control in all mail surveys.

 

        No chance for interviewer error. Every interview is conducted exactly the same way, without interviewer bias or error.

 

        Visual and audio stimuli. Since the Internet permits pictures, sounds, and video to be integrated into the questionnaire, it can be an ideal enhance respondent interest, understanding, and comprehension of the subject matter.

 

Decision Analyst conducts its Internet research to the same high standards that it demands for other data collection methodologies sophisticated probability sampling, precise project control, rigorous control procedures, advanced questionnaire programming, and insightful analyses are standard.

 

INTERNET PANELS

When conducting surveys online, the best sources of participants are Internet panels. Using online opinion panels circumvents the anti-spamming bias among Internet users, and it allows demographically balanced, representative samples to be pulled for surveys. Decision Analyst s primary online panels are:

 

American Consumer Opinion . An online panel with access to over 3.2 million members throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia and Latin America.

 

Executive Advisory Board . A global panel of 60,000 senior officers of major corporations, including presidents, chairmen, members of boards of directors, and other high-level executives.

 

Technology Advisory Board . A worldwide Internet panel of 50,000 scientists, engineers, IT professionals and technology executives.

 

Physicians Advisory Council . A global Internet panel of 10,000 physicians, and surgeons, including general practitioners and specialists.

 

Contractor Advisory Board . An international Internet panel of building contractors and subcontractors spanning all segments of the construction industry.

 

 

LOGICIAN QUESTIONNAIRE PROGRAMMING

 

        Logician is our proprietary questionnaire programming software, created by Decision Analyst s programmers. Logician features:

 

        Algebraic logic.

 

        Comprehensive Boolean skip and branching logic.

 

        Hidden skip logic: Respondents never see any evidence of skips (i.e., the questions always flow in numerical sequence).

 

        Variable piping: Piping of variables from the sample into the questionnaire, and from question to question.

 

        Rotation: Random or systematic rotation of questions, blocks of questions, and answer choices.

 

        Control of questionnaire flow: Respondents can be blocked from backing up.

 

        Error trapping: If a respondent fails to answer a question or gives an incorrect response, an immediate error message appears.

 

        Forced answering: Respondents cannot skip over questions as they do in mail surveys.

 

        Suspended sessions: Respondents may exit the survey and return to where they left off to complete it at their convenience.

 

        Visual and auditory Stimuli: Sounds, pictures and video can be integrated into the questionnaire.

 

        Format flexibility: Different screen layouts, background colors, font types and size options.

 

        Multiple responses: Multiple-response questions up to a limit (i.e., up to five answers or up to ten answers, etc.).

 

        Verbatim capture of open-ended responses: Unaided questions are always asked as open-ended questions.

 

        Security: Respondents can be blocked from printing or saving ads, concepts, or questionnaires.

 

        Encryption: Our Internet server is encrypted with SSL (Secure Socket Layering) for total security.

 

ICION PANEL SAMPLING

Icion is our proprietary multivariate sampling and panel management software system. Icion permits balanced, representative samples to be drawn from Decision Analyst s Internet panels, using various combinations of variables (geography, age, sex, income, ethnicity, etc.).

 

STATISTICAL SCIENCE SERVICES

The Statistical Science Group provides statistical and mathematical consulting services to clients and develops advanced statistical and analytic techniques employed in Decision Analyst s research services. The Statistical Science Group specializes in:

 

Experimental Design/Clinical Trials. Experimental design consulting and clinical trials are designed for the pharmaceutical and medical research communities. This includes the design of protocols and evaluation forms/questionnaires, the development of statistical components of protocols, the analysis of the resulting data, and the preparation of the report. The Statistical Science Group is experienced in block, incomplete block, Latin square, factorial, crossover, double-blind and multisite designs, as well as longitudinal analysis and survival analysis.

 

Market Segmentation. Factor Segmentation (a proprietary Decision Analyst technique) is the principal segmentation model used, but other clustering and grouping techniques are sometimes employed in segmentation analyses.

 

Multivariate Statistical Analyses. Major techniques are multiple regression, logistic regression, categorical analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, multidimensional scaling, canonical correlation, MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance), and covariance structural models (LISREL) using both categorical and continuous data.

 

Litigation Support. The Statistical Science Group is experienced in the use of opinion research and statistical techniques in support of litigation. Staff members have testified in court and before the FDA, the Department of Energy, and the FDIC. The Statistical Science Group has provided services related to jury selection, change of venue, trademark infringement, advertising claims substantiation, and labor/employment issues.

 

Consulting Services. Many problems do not lend themselves to standard statistical techniques. In these instances, Decision Analyst s statisticians can develop new statistical or mathematical procedures to specifically address the client s needs.

 

STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES

SAS and SPSS are the primary statistical packages used. Commonly used statistical procedures include:

 

ANOVA and MANOVA	Cluster analysis
Factor analysis	Linear programming
Regression analysis	Multidimensional scaling
Discriminant analysis	Trend analysis
Canonical correlation analysis	Correspondence analysis
Conjoint analysis	Dynamic programming
Discrete choice modeling w/IDT s	Markov chain analysis

 

RESPONSE RATES

The Office of Management and Budget requires agencies to incorporate procedures that are designed to maximize the likelihood of achieving an 80% response rate. The fairly conservative definition of response rate employed by OMB includes all non-contacted sample in the calculation (No Answer, Busy Signals, Callbacks, Answering Machines for telephone studies and non-answered mail for mail studies). Decision Analyst staff is experienced in the methods and study protocols necessary to maximize response rates, including:

 

        Repeated callbacks/reminders (all modes);

        Tight sample control (all modes);

        Sufficiently long field period (all modes);

        Refusal conversion (telephone);

        Interviewer training (telephone);

        The professional appearance of the data collection instrument (mail, Internet).

 

OMB PACKAGE

Decision Analyst staff is experienced in preparing OMB packages and, when necessary, defending the proposed methodology before OMB personnel. The SF-83 is essentially divided into two sections: Part A and Part B. Part A is the basic information about the study, including its scope and objectives, and the estimated cost to the government and burden hours to the public. Part B focuses on the proposed methodology for quantitative data collections. The screening instrument, the questionnaire, and any supporting scripts or other components are then submitted as attachments.

 

Our experience has been that OMB primarily focuses on two factors: 1) specific wording in the questionnaire; and 2) the proposed sampling methodology. In the case of the sampling methodology, OMB is looking for a process designed to maximize the likelihood of achieving an 80% response rate. For a mail survey, this might include a methodology that incorporates Dr. Don Dillman s Total Design Method of multiple re-contacts (typically this an advance letter, the instrument with an introductory letter, a postcard reminder, and a follow-up survey). In the case of a telephone survey, this is usually reflected in the length of the field period, the number of callback attempts and strict control over the release of new sample.

 

In addition, our government research specialist is experienced in defending proposed methodologies before OMB should that become necessary. The result is that Decision Analyst is very knowledgeable about the types of questions and study designs that will (and will not) be acceptable to the Office of Management and Budget. Decision Analyst works closely with the client in crafting a professional survey instrument and developing a study design that will pass muster with the Office of Management and Budget.

 

MOBIS HOURLY RATES 2002 THROUGH 2007 (March 15 to March 14)
	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Staff	2002/03	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07
Project Director	$103.52	$106.63	$109.83	$113.12	$116.52
Chief Statistician	$89.72	$92.41	$95.18	$98.04	$100.98
Statistician	$57.52	$59.24	$61.02	$62.85	$64.73
Senior Analyst	$80.51	$82.92	$85.41	$87.97	$90.61
Analyst	$51.75	$53.30	$54.90	$56.55	$58.24
Research Associate	$44.86	$46.21	$47.59	$49.02	$50.49
Field Manager	$34.50	$35.53	$36.60	$37.70	$38.83
Mail Processing Manager	$32.20	$33.17	$34.16	$35.19	$36.24
Mail Processing	$25.72	$26.49	$27.29	$28.10	$28.95
Sampling Manager	$40.84	$42.07	$43.33	$44.63	$45.97
Assistant Sampling Manager	$28.90	$29.77	$30.66	$31.58	$32.53
Data Entry Manager	$39.12	$40.29	$41.50	$42.74	$44.03
Data Entry	$26.87	$27.67	$28.50	$29.36	$30.24
Internet Programming Manger	$54.07	$55.69	$57.36	$59.08	$60.86
Internet Programmer	$37.23	$38.34	$39.49	$40.68	$41.90
CATI Programming Manager	$61.87	$63.73	$65.64	$67.61	$69.64
CATI Programmer	$46.01	$47.39	$48.81	$50.27	$51.78
Data Prep Manager	$41.41	$42.66	$43.94	$45.25	$46.61
Data Prep Specialists	$26.58	$27.38	$28.20	$29.05	$29.92
Tab Programmer	$44.00	$45.32	$46.68	$48.08	$49.52
Coding Manager	$42.56	$43.84	$45.15	$46.51	$47.90
Coders	$34.50	$35.53	$36.60	$37.70	$38.83
Administrative Assistant	$39.09	$40.27	$41.47	$42.72	$44.00
Transcriber	$25.12	$25.87	$26.65	$27.45	$28.27

 

Contact:

Kevin Sharp

Voice: (817) 640-6166

Fax: (817) 640-6567

ksharp@decisionanalyst.com

 

Company Website:

www.decisionanalyst.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEYWORDS

Survey

Market

Focus Group

Quantitative

Qualitative

Research

Consulting

Customer

Employee

Satisfaction

Evaluation

Tracking

Internet

Online

Panels

CATI

Telephone

Mail

Statistics

Sampling

Polls

SIN

3