Telephone Survey Practices Study 2000

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Telephone Survey Practices Study 2000

by Jane Sheppard - Council for Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR)
01-Jun-00

The Council of Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR) was formed in 1992 by the four major associations in the marketing and opinion research field: American Marketing Association (AMA), Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) and Marketing Research Association (MRA). These associations have been joined by many other organizations and corporations that conduct and/or use survey research. Together under the CMOR umbrella, these organizations are working to further the acceptance of survey research by the public and the government through education, lobbying, and providing legislative support to prevent abuses of the research process. CMOR also supports programs that ensure access to consumers, so that respondent cooperation in research remains vibrant and healthy.

To address this specific initiative, a Respondent Cooperation Committee was formed to achieve the following goals:

To evaluate the public's perceptions of the research process
To measure the effects of alternative methods of improving respondent cooperation
To provide a foundation upon which to build an improved set of industry guidelines

It is the Respondent Cooperation Committee's responsibility to oversee the organization's initiatives. Specifically, the mission of this committee is to lead the research industry to improve respondent cooperation by providing:

Objective information about cooperation rates, consumer understanding of and concerns about research, and the ever-changing research environment ; and
Industry accepted and supported solutions to improve respondents' willingness to cooperate.

As a step to achieving those goals, in January 2000 CMOR conducted the Telephone Survey Practices Study. The study was an outgrowth of a previous study conducted in spring 1998 by the Survey Research Laboratory (SRL) at the University of Illinois as part of its efforts to improve response rates on telephone surveys, particularly random-digit dial surveys (RDD).

The survey's primary goal was to determine what changes could be made in the survey process related to the interviewer that might increase respondent cooperation and then be used to formulate guidelines on best practices. In addition, it would be useful for the industry to review the practices of both profit and not-for-profit organizations to ensure some consistencies in policies and practices. Lastly, some of the data obtained would be useful as support documentation for current and future legislation that shows the industry is indeed self-regulating and cognizant of its practices.

Methodology

The Respondent Cooperation Committee modified and expanded the questionnaire developed by SRL, asking about:

The contents of a typical introduction and closing to a RDD survey;
Procedures for call monitoring and recording;
Messages left on answering machines;
Callback validations;
Do-Not-Call lists;
Telephone center characteristics;
Interviewer characteristics and training;
Supervisor characteristics and training.

An email invitation to participate in a Web-based survey was sent to members of MRA who identified their company as having a telephone center. Companies without an email address were faxed an invitation. Each company was given a unique password to access the questionnaire.

A total of 135 telephone facilities completed the questionnaire (one-third data collection/two-thirds full service facilities). Numerous companies were not eligible because they did not own a telephone facility, or did not conduct quantitative studies but only conducted prerecruiting.

Study Results

Previous research has shown that the introduction is of key importance to establishing credibility and a relationship with respondents. Introductions to telephone interviews are very important because most refusals occur at this point of the interview. Six introduction elements included more than two-thirds of the time are: company name, general interview topic, interviewer's first name, statement of "not selling anything," statement of confidentiality, and approximate length of interview. Other introduction elements are emphasized in not-for-profit telephone centers.

Call Monitoring/ Recording

Currently 14 states (CA, CT, DE, FL, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MT, NH, OR, PA and WA) require two-party consent whenever monitoring telephone calls. These laws apply in every context and for researchers, this means that both the interviewer and the respondent must consent to the monitoring of a telephone interview that is made into or out of a two-party consent state. Our survey showed that only 12% of the facilities mention the statement in the introduction that the call may be monitored and another 28% mention it sometimes. Few facilities mention or conduct recording.

Answering Machines

Ownership is high, and while most owners only screen a relatively small percent of their calls, the overall impact is that much more effort needs to be expended to reach these individuals. This obstacle has led to the question: Is it better to leave a message or not? Seventeen percent of the facilities currently leave a message on an answering machine, while another 22% are considering the practice in the near future.

Callback Validations

Respondents most often cite that they are called at inconvenient or inopportune times. Because of the proliferation of calls to a household, the industry must be sensitive to adding to these respondent burdens. More than three-fourths of the facilities perform callback validations to consumer studies, business studies and both.

Do Not Call Lists

Although research is legally exempt from maintaining a Do Not Call list unlike the telemarketing industry, some research companies have assumed such an internal practice since many respondents aren't even willing to listen to our side of the story. Attitudes towards the marketing research industry, while still high on many issues, are showing slow erosion over time. Some negative attitudes may be attributed to the number of telemarketing calls respondents receive, and so they are requesting not to be called ever again. Over half of the facilities surveyed maintain a Do Not Call list for all studies, and another 24% plan to administer a Do Not Call list in the future.

Center Characteristics

The facilities vary from relatively few telephone stations to up to more than 150. The median number of telephones reported in any one facility was 30. Three-fourths of the facilities are equipped with a computer-assisted telephone interviewing system.

Interviewer Characteristics/Training

Interviewers typically are expected to work on more than one study at a time. The majority of interviewers has worked for a minimum of six months at the facility and has diverse backgrounds. One quarter of the interviewing staff is considered full-time. Median starting hourly pay was reported at $6.90 and median top hourly rate at $10. Nearly half of the interviewers receive some type of bonus or pay raise on a yearly basis. Retaining good interviewers is very important as facilities recognize that providing various incentives are important. Half receive benefits of vacation, holiday pay, health insurance, and sick leave.

Training is varied dramatically, and yet is critical to the success of the interviewer. Less than one day is spent in initial training by using a training program developed primarily in-house. No other professional development is available to most interviewers.

Supervisor Characteristics/Training

Nearly all supervisors have worked for their companies at least six month and have worked as an interviewer for nearly one year prior. Two-thirds are considered full time employees. Median starting hourly pay for supervisors was reported at $9.40 with a top hourly median rate of $13.30. Nearly three-fourths of the supervisors receive yearly pay raises or bonuses, and are eligible for benefits consisting of vacation, holiday pay, health insurance, sick leave and 401K. Supervisors receive much more training than interviewers and have professional development programs available to them.

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