The Case: Electromagnetic Fields
Based on an idea by Michael Aplin, Laura Boring, Tricia Fries, Federico Reyes, and Eric Schweitzer

You work for the power company that provides electricity to the area in which you now live. Over the past few years, the company has received a growing number of letters and phone calls from customers seeking information about the possible harmful effects of electromagnetic fields.

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are created whenever electricity moves through a wire. Concern about the possible danger of EMFs first arose in the 1970s, when two researchers found a possible link between living near high-voltage power lines and a rise in the rate of childhood leukemia. Since then, many other scientists have investigated possible harmful effects of EMFs, including those created by household appliances, such as hair dryers, television sets, and microwave ovens. So far, scientists agree on only one thing: conclusive results have not been achieved. Different studies produce conflicting results. Yet public worry is great enough that, in some parts of the country, houses near high-voltage power lines sell for less than comparable houses in other neighborhoods. Also, in some locales, parents have insisted that power lines be moved away from schools.

Because the power company that employs you has continued to receive inquiries about EMFs, it has decided to initiate a public information campaign on the subject. Under normal conditions, the Public Relations Department would have conducted this entire project, but it has an overabundance of other projects, so you have been asked to help with some of the preliminary work. Oliver Thomas, department director, has called you into his office to explain.

"In order to design an effective information campaign, we need to learn a number of things about our customers. Therefore, we'd like you to design and carry out a telephone survey for us."

"What kinds of things do you want me to ask about?" you inquire.

"Well, for example, we need to find out how much our customers already know about EMFs so we can determine what we need to tell them. We also need to learn how concerned they are about EMFs. Researchers say that members of the public have a variety of responses to perceived health and environmental risks—ranging from acceptance to fear to outrage. To shape our messages effectively, we need to know what our customers' present attitudes are. This information will also help us determine whether we should construct a public information program that responds only to inquiries or create a much more expensive one that might, for instance, reach every customer several times through a variety of media.

"In addition, we need to learn where to present our message. Should we rely heavily on television or newspapers? Magazine? Direct mail letters?"

After a pause, Oliver Thomas continues, "We also have the problem that our customers may not perceive us as a credible source for information about the health effects of EMFs. First, they may think we're really not qualified to speak on the issue because we aren't scientists. Furthermore, they may think that we aren't a trustworthy source for information about the possibly harmful effects of our own service."

"Anything else?" you ask.

"There's much more we could ask about, but these are the most important points. Furthermore, we want to keep our survey short. When telephone surveys are long, people are much less willing to cooperate. Besides, we don't want to irritate our customers; many of them are already upset about the recent rate increase that the Public Utilities Commission authorized us to institute."

"Fine," you say. "I'll make a short survey."

"Oh, and one more thing. When you've completed your survey, please report on it in a memo addressed to the entire Public Relations Department. The eight of us always look these things over together. Some of our people don't know much about EMFs, so you'll need to provide some background information. Also, everyone in the department likes to see the detailed survey results. I guess they think they may be able to come up with some novel interpretation of the data. And we'll all want to know what you recommend."

After drafting your survey questions and having them approved by Oliver Thomas, you made your telephone calls, obtaining the results given below.

Your Assignment
Using the memo format and the superstructure for empirical research reports, write your report addressed to the Public Relations Department. Be sure to create informative, easy-to-interpret visual aids for presenting the survey results.

Survey Results
Have you read or heard about electromagnetic fields?

Yes	88%
No	7%
Don't know	5%

(This question was asked of 300 people. All subsequent questions were asked only of the 264 who responded "Yes.")

Do you believe electromagnetic fields created by power lines and household appliances can harm human health?

Yes	48%
No	2%
Don't know	30%

On a scale of 1 (least concerned) to 5 (most concerned), how concerned are you about electromagnetic fields?

1	16%
2	24%
3	37%
4	17%
5	6%

From what sources have you obtained your information about electromagnetic fields?

Magazines	68%
Television	53%
Newspapers	46%
Schools	30%
Work	24%
Conversation	22%
Radio	18%

On a scale of 1 (least qualified) to 5 (most qualified), how well qualified is each of the following sources to provide information about electromagnetic fields?

The Power Company		Newspapers and Television		A Local University
1	2%	1	25%	1	1%
2	4%	2	34%	2	3%
3	14%	3	25%	3	12%
4	51%	4	8%	4	38%
5	26%	5	0%	5	26%
No opinion	3%	No opinion	8%	No opinion	20%

On a scale of 1 (least qualified) to 5 (most qualified), how trustworthy is each of the following sources when it comes to providing information about electromagnetic fields?

The Power Company		Newspapers and Television		A Local University
1	6%	1	3%	1	1%
2	23%	2	5%	2	0%
3	38%	3	19%	3	3%
4	17%	4	31%	4	52%
5	2%	5	28%	5	335%
No opinion	14%	No opinion	14%	No opinion	9%