DOI: 10.7910/dvn/6a8hgs
title: Stowell Datasets Digital Archive: Des Moines, Iowa, USA

description: &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; text-indent:.25in;line-height:13.5pt"&gt;This is one of over 400 major media market  consumer surveys which have been gifted to Washington State University (WSU) by  Leigh Stowell &amp; Company, Inc. of &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:City w:st="on"&gt;Seattle&lt;/st1:City&gt;, &lt;st1:State w:st="on"&gt;Washington&lt;/st1:State&gt;, &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;USA&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;. This is a market research firm  which
specializes in providing newspapers, television affiliates and cable
operators with market segmentation research pertinent to consumer purchasing  patterns and the effective marketing of goods and services to program audiences.  The data in the Stowell Archive were collected via random digit dialing and  computer-aided telephone interviews (CATI). Most of the surveys focus on the  marketing needs of mass media clients and contain demographics, psychographics,  media exposure information, and purchasing behavior data about consumers in  major metropolitan
areas of the &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;United States&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;  and &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;Canada&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; starting in 1989. The sample  sizes of the surveys range from 500 to 3,000 respondents, averaging 1,000  observations per study. Data are available at the respondent level, and all  observations are keyed to zip code or other geographic identifiers. Additional  surveys are anticipated, with over twenty new media marke
t studies being donated  annually.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; text-indent:.25in;line-height:13.5pt"&gt;The University&#39;s relationship with Leigh  Stowell &amp; Company, Inc. was cultivated by Dr. Nicholas Lovrich, Director of  WSU&#39;s Division of Governmental Studies and Services (DGSS) and by Dr. John  Pierce, former Dean of the WSU College of Liberal Arts over the course of a  decade.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="MsoNorm
al" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; text-indent:.25in;line-height:13.5pt"&gt;DGSS collaborated with WSU Libraries  Digital Services to process the gifted data files into this digital archive  which features powerful search and download capabilities. Further refinement of  the archive in accordance with the Data Documentation Initiative is progressing  with support from the Office of the Provost, the &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:PlaceType w:st="on"&gt;College&lt;/st1:PlaceTy
pe&gt; of &lt;st1:PlaceName w:st="on"&gt;Liberal Arts&lt;/st1:PlaceName&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt; and the WSU Libraries.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; text-indent:.25in;line-height:13.5pt"&gt;It is important to note that the year  indicated by the study&#39;s title is the year that the original survey was  published, and is not necessarily the year in which the interviews were  conducted. Refer to the metadata field &quot;Dates of Collection&quot; to di
scern the  interview dates of each specific survey. Refer also to date fields within the  data file itself.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;