Telephone Survey Calling Patterns, Productivity, Survey Responses, and Their Effect on Measuring Public Opinion
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-2020
Abstract
This study examines the effect of telephone survey dialing patterns on lab productivity and survey responses. Using an original data set of paradata from 2010 to 2017 and a machine learning technique for variable selection, we find that early and late afternoon shifts are as productive as late evening shifts for both landline and cellphone Random Digit Dialing (RDD) samples. Also, early weekdays are more productive than the weekend for the cellphone RDD samples. Most importantly, time of the interview affects survey responses; therefore, survey practitioners and scholars should be cognizant of this effect when scheduling calls.
Publication Title
Field Methods
Volume
32
Issue
3
First Page
291
Last Page
308
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1177/1525822X20908281
ISSN
1525822X
E-ISSN
15523969
Citation Information
Shino, E., & McCarty, C. (2020). Telephone Survey Calling Patterns, Productivity, Survey Responses, and Their Effect on Measuring Public Opinion. Field Methods, 32(3), 291–308. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X20908281