Survey Methodologies

Here are the methodologies for the BOSS Survey and 808 Poll, which are the basis for multiple stories published in Hawaii Business Magazine during the second half of 2019.

BOSS Methodology

BOSS stands for Business Outlook and Sentiment Survey. The BOSS is conducted twice a year for Hawaii Business Magazine by the research team of the Anthology Marketing Group. The researchers began by using a list of companies purchased from the Equifax Polk Business Directory as well as Hawaii Business Magazine’s Top 250 list and classified Yellow Pages listings.

The sample of companies was stratified based on number of employees. Small businesses were divided into “very small” businesses with three to nine employees and “small” businesses with 10 to 49 employees. “Medium” firms had 50 to 99 employees while companies with 100 or more employees were classified as “large.” The researchers’ goal was to sample 100 businesses in each of those categories.

A secondary goal was to interview a minimum of 100 business owners who describe their companies as deriving relatively significant proportions of their revenues from the construction sector. A total of 100 companies were surveyed in this segment. Results from the construction survey will appear in September’s construction issue of Hawaii Business Magazine.

A total of 405 random interviews on all the major islands were conducted from April 2, 2019, to May 7, 2019. The data was weighted to reflect the proper proportions of each company segment based on number of employees (size of firm) as reported by the Hawai‘i Department of Labor. A sample of this size (n=405) has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.90 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

808 Poll Methodology

The 808 Poll is conducted twice a year for Hawaii Business Magazine by the research team of the Anthology Marketing Group. The 808 Poll is part of a larger omnibus internet and telephone survey that includes other questions asked on behalf of other clients.

The field work began on May 13, 2019 and ended on May 22, 2019. A total of 547 completed surveys were collected statewide. The resulting data was weighted to reflect the estimated adult population on each island.

The margin of error for a total sample of this size (n=547) is plus or minus 4.28 percentage points with a 95% confidence level.

The online sample was purchased from a third-party supplier. The telephone sample (both landlines and mobile phones were called) was derived using Anthology’s Random Digit Dialing software. Each respondent was screened to ensure they were at least 18 years of age and resided on the island for which they were being contacted.