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following directive from the Federal Communications Commission is that using <br />computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) survey methods to reach cell <br />phones is illegal: <br />"it is unlawful for any person to make any call (other than a call made <br />for emergency purposes or made with express prior consent) using <br />any automatic telephone dialing system or any artificial or <br />prerecorded voice to any telephone number assigned to a paging <br />service, mobile telephone service, or any service for which the called <br />party is charged for the call. This prohibition applies regardless of <br />whether the number is listed on the Federal Government's National <br />Do- Not -Call Registry." <br />3. One familiar criticism often aimed only at mailed surveys applies to all <br />survey data collection <br />We often hear that respondents to mailed surveys are "self- selected." Because no <br />one surveyed by mail, phone, Web, or in person is compelled to participate, all <br />respondents to all surveys are self selected. Self- selection in survey research poses <br />the central challenge to conscientious survey researchers, but concluding that <br />mailed surveys have a unique problem in this area is incorrect and trivializes the <br />concern for phone and the other data collection methods. When we say that phone <br />response rates are falling, we also are saying that more people are opting out and <br />therefore those who opt in, with greater frequency than ever, are "self selected." <br />This fact often goes unrecognized because telephone surveys promise an exact <br />number of "completes," giving clients the, say, 400 interviews they paid for and <br />diverting attention from the fact that thousands more phone numbers now must be <br />dialed to garner those completes because fewer and fewer potential respondents are <br />"self- selecting" to participate. <br />4. Geographic considerations <br />If you are interested in understanding how residents of different parts of your <br />community respond to telephone survey questions, you will need to use some <br />number of questions taking varying amounts of interview time to locate the position <br />of the respondent. If you ask address, that is quickest, but it immediately violates <br />anonymity. If boundaries of areas are not simple (north or south of I -10, as an <br />example) then the number of questions needed to identify an area increases. Use of <br />mail allows allocation of surveys prior to sending so that no space is required for <br />geographic allocation. And if there are more than, say, ten geographic areas of <br />interest a map on a mailed survey makes respondents' self allocation to districts <br />simple. <br />5. Doing it right means that your results will be accurate <br />There is massive scholarly literature that demonstrates how and why self <br />administered questionnaires (so called, "SAQs," as with mailed or Web surveys) <br />© National Research Center, Inc. 2955 Valmont Rd, Suite 300, Boulder, CO 80301 www.n- r -c.com 303 - 444 -7863 <br />