Survey Method Details
The survey was designed by a group of researchers from different fields at the University of Wyoming, such as environment and natural resources, geography, economics, and communication. In June and July 2024, the Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center (WYSAC) recruited 500 respondents from its WyoSpeaks panel to take our online survey. The panel was created via probabilistic sampling that comprised a random selection of panel members from a universal frame (as opposed to web opt-in panels, monetary incentive panels, mall intercepts, surveys on a webpage, etc.).
As a result of this probability sampling, all Wyoming residents have an equal selection for the panel, and the resulting panel composition is close to the population distribution on basic demographics of county, sex, and age.
In order to reduce the impact of response bias on the data, the data was weighted according to county, sex, age, and education. Note that response bias occurs when the characteristics of who actually completes the survey differs from the population characteristics; for example, people who are older, more educated, more civically engaged, and/or more liberal tend to complete more surveys.
In summary, because of the probability selection nature of the panel, as well as the weighting, we can be confident that the panel is representative of the Wyoming population.
The margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 4.38 percentage points, with 95% confidence that the true population responses fall within that margin.
Funding Statement
The funding for this survey was provided by Grant: NSF OIA 2149105. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation, University of Wyoming, or Wyoming EPSCoR.
Authors
The data was analyzed by Kristen D. Landreville, WyACT Researcher, and the website was built by Shannon Albeke and Luke Todd.
Acknowledgements
Corrine Knapp, Rebecca Witinok-Huber, Caitlin Ryan, Mary Keller, Todd Cherry, Melissa Bukovsky, Weston Eaton, Brent Ewers, Shannon Albeke, Luke Todd, Brian Harnisch, Michael Dorssom, DeeDee DuPlessis, Clare Gunshenan, Martha Inouye, Jake Hawes, Ashley Babcock, Callie Surber, Kristi Hansen