It is a well known fact that children enjoy using computer equipment even more than adults. London Weekend Television has exploited this fact by interviewing interactively a sample of children in the London area using a direct computer interviewing (DCI) technique, developed together with Screen Research Limited. Under the project name IWT SUPPORT (Supplementary Ifenel Of Rotating Thrgets), Alcatel videotex terminals are placed in a selected number of homes for a period of four weeks and used to conduct intense daily studies on groups such as children who may be especially difficult to reach by conventional methods. This paper will address three specific issues. They are as follows: 1. Ocnveuticnal Methods Versus Direct computer Interviewing 2. The Way IMF Uses Direct Occputer Interviewing to Research Children 3. Results Fran the Children's Panel. Co-operation is also withheld because of the suspicion of sugging - selling under the guise of market research. Increasingly, survey data particularly for sales people and marketers is needed "yesterday". Most traditional survey techniques suffer from requiring both long lead times to organise and administer, and also from relatively slow turnaround of results. Our aim is to eliminate or minimize some of these problems through direct computer interviewing technique.
This paper describes the development of using Medilink's General Practitioner panel to track attitudes and prescribing intentions over time and using the data derived as a basis for forecasting new product performance. Medilink's 'on-line', interactive, self-completion market research panel of GPs was set up as a national panel in early 1984. The issue of the Government's Limited List proposals provided a platform to demonstrate the value of the Medilink panel in terms of a large sample providing users with 'fast-feedback' of results on a regular survey basis - an ideal research vehicle to track changing attitudes. The first six months of a new product's life is critical in determining its future success - fast feedback is vital for the ethical pharmaceutical manufacturer. For this paper a new product launch was tracked on AGB Medilink. This launch was one of the first major new products to be monitored on a monthly basis by Medilink, for this paper we have examined, and compared the results to IMS, the results of a years Medilink data. Particular attention was paid to aware prescribers and non-prescribers future prescribing intention and their subsequent prescribing behaviour. A relationship was found and a means of forecasting future performance examined. Today's new product monitoring on Medilink includes, as well as products, selected patient data thus providing the essential ingredients for any model to be used to forecast future new product performance.
During the Spring and Summer of 1983 Medilink set up a pilot medical market research operation, involving ten London practices, followed by a larger test market of 50 practices. In April 1984 Medilink expanded the panel to be a national panel of 150 GP's and from October 1984 the panel increased further to 200 GP's. Medilink was therefore set up to enable drug companies to monitor continuously General Practitioners' changing attitudes and behaviour with results available in time for drug companies to react quickly with a marketing response. This paper outlines the development of Medilink with particular emphasis on the problems encountered and how they were overcome.
This paper outlines the development of the Medilink project from its inception to preparations for the full Medilink panel.