Question

Mercedes-Benz has a self-driving car capable of 80 miles-per-hour speed. You have to keep your hands on the wheel in this E-class sedan to operate the self-driving feature, but the car reads and responds to speed limits and is capable of stopping or swerving to avoid obstructions in the 40–55 mph range, either physical or human. Any liability for use of the technology still resides with the driver. How would you use survey research to determine whether the public is ready for such a car?

Answer 1

Answer:

I would use survey research to determine the general opinion, positive or negative, on the feature from the general public.  

Explanation:

When conducting any survey research, it is important to sample a wide variety of people. In this case, you would want to survey the general population, not just former Mercedes customers.  

I would design a focus group survey with a series of questions where participants can choose from a range, 0-5, on how much they agree with a certain statement.

At the beginning of the survey, participants would read a brief paragraph explaining the features on the new car before continuing to the part where they record their responses.

Once the survey is conducted, the data can be analyzed. If the majority, say 70%, of all people surveyed agree strongly that a self driving car is a good idea and that the world is ready then you can assume that the general population is in fact ready.