Choose Research Method for Feature Feedback | Dataford Interview Questions

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Business Context

StreamBox is deciding how to evaluate a new AI-powered content recommendation feature before a full launch. The product lead wants to know whether the team should use qualitative focus groups, a quantitative survey, or a mixed-methods approach.

Problem Statement

Use the data below to determine which research method is most appropriate for the business question. The team needs both statistical precision on adoption intent and insight into why some users are hesitant.

Given Data

A pilot survey asked users whether they would use the feature weekly. Leadership set a decision threshold of 60% likely weekly usage for launch readiness.

Metric	Value
Survey respondents	400
Users saying “likely to use weekly”	228
Observed proportion	57.0%
Benchmark proportion for launch	60.0%
Confidence level	95%
Desired margin of error for survey estimate	4.0 percentage points
Planned focus groups	3 groups
Participants per focus group	8

Requirements

State the statistical question for the survey and the exploratory question for focus groups.
Test whether the observed likely-usage rate is significantly below the 60% benchmark.
Compute a 95% confidence interval for the true likely-usage proportion.
Check whether the current survey sample size is sufficient for a ±4% margin of error.
Based on the evidence, recommend focus group only, survey only, or mixed methods, and justify the choice.

Assumptions

Survey respondents are a simple random sample of the target user base.
Each response is independent.
The normal approximation for a sample proportion is appropriate because both $np$ and $n(1-p)$ are large.
Focus groups are intended for explanation and idea generation, not population estimation.