Question: Steve is interested in doing research on how customer perceptions of various service factors influence customer satisfaction. Steve thinks that customers that shop in discount stores are more satisfied then those that shop in full-line stores. Also, he believes that satisfaction decreases with age. When it comes to customer satisfaction, Steve believes that it is composed of 3 parts - satisfaction with sales help, satisfaction with products and satisfaction with store environment (e.g. ease of parking, cleanness of store, etc.). Steve has access to customers that shop for a major retailer with hundreds of locations, some discount and some full-line.

a. Articulate two research hypotheses.

b. Develop a portion of a survey that measures the three variables (customer satisfaction, age and store type (discount/full-line).

c. Comment on how Steve could go about collecting an adequate and representative sample.

d. What statistical technique would Steve use to test the two research hypotheses?