Youth Financial Literacy Study

Methodology

The Youth Financial Literacy Study was conducted using telephone and on-line methods: (1) a telephone omnibus survey with Canadians aged 18 to 29, designed to establish the incidence levels on key indicators among the target population and to serve as a benchmark for comparison to the on-line survey; and (2) an on-line, quantitative survey, designed to gather more detailed information from the target audience in a way that is both appropriate for the target audience and well-suited to the subject matter.

The results of the telephone survey are based on questions asked of 617 Canadians 18 to 29 years of age, conducted in three waves between April 7 and May 8, 2008. The margin of error for a sample of 617 is +/- 3.9 percentage points, 19 times in 20.

The results of the on-line survey are based on questions asked of 2,501 Canadians aged 18 to 29 years, between June 5 and 16, 2008. As results of online panel-based surveys are not based on random probability samples, "margin of sampling error" is not applicable. This is consistent with the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association's (MRIA) current code of practice.

A comparative analysis of the results obtained from the telephone omnibus and on-line surveys was performed in order to assess the validity of the on-line survey results. Results between the two methodologies were found to be consistent on many key indicators; differences can generally be explained on the basis of telephone survey respondents giving more socially desirable responses. On the basis of this comparison and assessment, the on-line survey results are considered to be at least as accurate as the telephone data. Accordingly the following key findings summarize the results of the (larger and more in-depth) on-line portion of the study.