In order to gain an understanding of kids' and parents' current awareness, attitudes, and behaviors regarding energy conservation and "global warming," Nickelodeon commissioned Cogent Research to conduct a two-pronged custom research study including both qualitative and quantitative components.
The first phase of the research, fielded in Aug. 2007, was comprised of 12 in-home ethnographies among families with kids 8-14 years of age. In order to minimize any social desirability effects, the research topic was presented in very general terms, with respondents merely being told they were participating in a "family lifestyles" study (i.e., "a day in the life of..."). This qualitative research was conducted in Austin, Texas; Birmingham, Alabama; and Boston, Massachusetts.
In the second phase of the research, mall intercept interviews were conducted among a nationally representative sample of kids 8-14 years old and parents of kids ages 2-14. A total of 450 children and 650 parents completed the 15-minute interviews during Sept. 2007 in 10 markets across the country (two markets per region).
Because we conducted parent and child interviews concurrently, we were able to make comparisons between the responses of matched parent/child pairs.
