Telephone Surveys

Telephone Surveys are still one of the most common methods of research. Research on telephone survey methods have established rigorous protocols and standards, which dictate the proper way to conduct these surveys. If these standards are carefully followed, administering a telephone survey to a random sample of a population provides data that can be generalized to the whole population.		Telephone surveys are still the best way to gather information about public opinions, since a random survey can be generalized to all potential respondents in the sample frame. However, surveying just a portion of the general public, a “low incidence” sample, can be very expensive.
Telephone surveys are the preferred method for public opinion polling and other research into the perceptions, attitudes or behaviors of the general public. It is also the method employed by the US government to monitor the health of the American population (the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey). With telephone surveys, researchers can control the location of the respondent, and “live” interviewing provides the option to probe and clarify responses. Telephone surveys are also common means of conducting business-to-business research. A “live” interviewer can readily confirm that the business respondent is properly qualified (or ask to speak to a respondent that is) and can persuade a reluctant participant to complete a survey. Other passive methods such as mail or Internet surveys are not as effective at gaining participation from this group.

Pros		Cons
Can yield information that is representative of a whole population.		Requires complex questionnaire design to provide accurate, reliable and insightful information.
Accuracy of data can be quantified.		Accuracy is subject to the quality of interviewing.
Allows many questions to be systematically asked and answered.		The sample or whom it is that responds is too often overlooked.
Allows accurate tracking of attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and behaviors		Surveying respondents that are only a small portion of the population (low incidence) can be expensive.
Allows probing and clarifying by interviewers to improve the content of the information gathered		Respondents are difficult to reach (cell phones, call waiting) and refusals are increasing.
Almost everyone can be reached by telephone.		Complex ideas or new concepts are difficult to explore using just verbal cues.
Can coax reluctant participants to complete a survey.		Visual materials cannot be studied (one approach is to mail these prior to an interview).
		They are not as good at in-depth probing for why a respondent thinks or acts as s/he does.