We are at the seaside and Ben is armed with some amazing facts about the general population. But who wants to know these things — and how do they find them out? Katie explains that companies often need to gather information about their customers in order to stay in business. This programme is about how they do this. Ben and Katie are going to look at designing and using questionnaires.

01.08—02.15

Ben takes a white-knuckle ride on a roller-coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. The Valhalla will soon be the most sophisticated ride at Blackpool. ‘Adventureneer’ Nick Thompson runs through its features. Ben and Katie are going to find out just how much people would be prepared to pay for this ride of a lifetime.

02.15—02.54

Ben and Katie have decided to ask people if they would be prepared to pay more than £4.50 to go on a roller-coaster. Katie explains that once you have decided on what you want to find out and chosen a question to ask, you need to carry out a pilot survey to test your question. Ben suspects that they will probably make a few mistakes during the pilot survey, and asks viewers to try and identify them.

02.54—03.41

Ben decides to ask people the question as they get off a ride at the Pleasure Beach, while Katie makes for the street.

03.41—05.09

Ben and Katie discuss the results of their pilot survey and draw some conclusions. The question was too vague; they needed to collect more information; and they needed to give more thought to how they were going to record their results. Ben’s results were particularly disorganised!

05.09—06.09

The improvements that need to be made are summarised, and we see an example of a data-capture sheet that could be used to record responses. Ben and Katie consider Ben’s choice of location for carrying out the survey, and decide that it may have affected his results. They really want to make sure that the data they collect is useful.

06.09—08.24

Realising that there is more to asking this question than at first appeared, Ben and Katie travel to the London headquarters of the British Market Research Bureau to get some help. Researcher David Whitelam offers them advice on constructing questions and choosing sample populations. He outlines the main methods used by the Bureau to collect data, and suggests a telephone survey of 1,000 people across the country as a means of finding out what they want to know.

08.24—09.10

The question has been fine-tuned. People will be asked what is the maximum they would be prepared to pay for a ride on this type of roller-coaster. BMRB carry out the survey with some help from Katie and Ben. In the studio Katie and Ben look at some examples of bad survey questions, pointing out why they are bad and suggesting better alternatives.

09.10—11.40

In ‘Tick or Trash’, it is up to the viewer to decide which of the questions being put to members of the public are good and which are bad.

11.40—12.58

Back at BMRB, Ben and Katie are keen to hear the results of the research. Computerised statistical techniques allow the results to be analysed in different ways. The results are grouped by age. David interprets the findings, explaining that taking the average (mean) top price as a guide may not generate as many customers as using the most popular response (mode).

12.58—13.28

Returning to Pleasure Beach, Nick Thompson is pleased to learn that their prices compare favourably with what people would be willing to pay. Ben takes the opportunity to request another ride.

13.28—end

Having summarised the main points that they have learned about constructing and administering questionnaires, Ben is determined that Katie shouldn’t miss out on a fun ride — but Katie is definitely not up for it!