Telephone Surveys in Europe: Research and Practice

322 Pages·2012·4.347 MB·English

by  Anna Andreenkova (auth.), Sabine Häder, Michael Häder, Mike Kühne (eds.)

Telephone Surveys in Europe
Sabine Häder, Michael Häder, and
Mike Kühne (Eds.)
Telephone Surveys in Europe
Research and Practice
ABC
Editors
Dr.SabineHäder Dr.MikeKühne
GESIS–LeibnizInstitutefor TechnischeUniversitätDresden
theSocialSciences FacultyofPhilosophy
P.O.Box122155 InstituteofSociology
D-68072Mannheim Helmholzstr.10
Germany D-01069Dresden
E-mail:[email protected] Germany
E-mail:[email protected]
Prof.Dr.MichaelHäder
TechnischeUniversitätDresden
FacultyofPhilosophy
InstituteofSociology
Helmholzstr.10
D-01069Dresden
Germany
E-mail:[email protected]
ISBN978-3-642-25410-9 e-ISBN978-3-642-25411-6
DOI10.1007/978-3-642-25411-6
SpringerHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
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(cid:2)c Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2012
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Contents
PartI:Spotlights onSelected European Countries
Russia........................................................ 3
AnnaAndreenkova
TheNetherlands ............................................... 17
DirkjanBeukenhorst
Switzerland ................................................... 25
Miche`leErnstSta¨hli
Finland....................................................... 37
VesaKuusela,MattiSimpanen
GreatBritain .................................................. 47
ElizabethNelson
Italy.......................................................... 59
TeresioPoggio,MarioCallegaro
Portugal ...................................................... 73
PaulaVicente,ElizabethReis
PartII:Sampling forTelephone Surveys
WhoCanBeContactedbyPhone?LessonsfromSwitzerland ......... 85
DominiqueJoye,AlexandrePollien,Marle`neSapin,Miche`leErnstSta¨hli
SamplingFramesforTelephoneSurveysinEurope .................. 103
ChristianeHeckel,KathrinWiese
Mobile-andLandline-OnlysinDual-Frame-Approaches:Effectson
SampleQuality ................................................ 121
Go¨tzSchneiderat,TinoSchlinzig
VI Contents
PartIII:Weighting andNonresponse
WeightingforUnequalInclusionProbabilitiesandNonresponsein
DualFrameTelephoneSurveys................................... 147
SiegfriedGabler,SabineHa¨der,IrisLehnhoff,ElisabethMardian
Weighting to Adjust for Non-observationErrors in Telephone
Surveys....................................................... 169
FannieCobben,BarrySchouten,JelkeBethlehem
NonresponseinanIndividualRegisterSampleTelephoneSurveyin
Lucerne(Switzerland) .......................................... 187
OliverLipps,KathrinKissau
PartIV:DataQuality
FactorsAffectingMeasurementErrorinMobilePhoneInterviews ..... 211
PeterLynn,OlenaKaminska
TelephoneSurveysviaLandlineandMobilePhones:ModeEffects
andResponseQuality........................................... 229
MikeKu¨hne,MichaelHa¨der
DataQualityinTelephoneSurveysviaMobileandLandlinePhone..... 247
MichaelHa¨der
PartV:Recommandations forTelephone Surveys
TheImpactofIntroductionsinTelephoneSurveys................... 265
GerdMeier
PreferenceforMobileInterviewSurveys?InterplayofCosts,Errors
andBiases .................................................... 275
VasjaVehovar,AnaSlavec
FieldworkMonitoringinTelephoneSurveys........................ 295
PatrickSchmich,FranziskaJentsch
TheAuthor ....................................................... 315
SubjectIndex ..................................................... 323
Introduction:Telephone Surveys in Europe

Sabine Häder, Michael Häder, and Mike Kühne
In the preface we would like to elaborate on three questions: First of all, what
motivates us to publish a book dealing with telephone surveys? Secondly, why
does this book on telephone surveys focus on Europe exclusively? And finally,
which particular goals do we pursue with our book?
The Importance of Telephone Surveys
In the course of dealing with telephone surveys as a data collection instrument in
the social sciences, two things attract one’s attention: First, the great popularity of
this method in the survey research of the past decades, and second, the immense
need for more methodological research despite the widespread use of this method.
Both phenomena will be briefly discussed.
Table 1 shows a comparison of the research turnover (in terms of money)
across various European countries and across various modes, including telephone
interviews. One should note that, in general, telephone surveys are considered to
be a particularly inexpensive instrument, which in consequence makes it difficult
to generate a high turnover.
Table 1 Total research turnover across European countries, only quantitative research, in
percent, difference to 100 in line: non-quantitative research
Country Mail Telephone Face to face Online Other
Austria 3 20 22 8 2
Belgium 1 32 32 9 3
Croatia 1 23 33 1 31
Czech Republic 1 18 44 5 14
Denmark 9 18 9 24 28
Finland 5 40 5 33 3
France 2 12 15 12 46
Greece 1 18 41 1 28
Hungry 4 16 45 14 5
Latvia 0 17 41 5 22
Netherlands 5 18 11 25 15
Norway 8 39 10 23 3
Poland 0 11 35 10 26
Portugal 0 19 21 3 38
VIII S. Häder, M. Häder, and M. Kühne

Table 1 (continued)
Country Mail Telephone Face to face Online Other
Russia 1 21 35 5 13
Slovak Republic 1 14 42 2 24
Slovenia 8 27 23 4 14
Spain 2 26 27 11 15
Sweden 12 36 7 22 12
Switzerland 5 49 21 10 1
UK 8 17 21 18 23
Weighted total 5 16 10 20 33
Source: ESOMAR (2008): Global Market Research, ESOMAR Industry Report, Amsterdam
This table demonstrates the appeal of telephone surveys in Europe. However,
this table does not exhibit the methodological challenges associated with this
survey mode; these challenges justify further research into the telephone method.
A few of them are mentioned here briefly:
• First, there is the role of the interviewer. In telephone interviews, the
interviewer only vocally communicates with the respondent. In contrast, in
face-to-face interviews a more complex social relationship is established
between interview partners with different consequences for the response
quality.
• Efforts made to contact and motivate the selected persons to give an interview
differ across survey modes. The relatively large number of contact attempts
brings about the good quality of telephone interviews. However, the use of
incentives is limited.
• Supervision procedures during field work differ across survey modes. In
telephone laboratories there is strict supervision. This contrasts with a relatively
independent and unobserved operation of interviewers in face-to-face fields.
• In face-to-face surveys the sample design is often regionally clustered for
research-economic reasons. In contrast, telephone surveys are generally set up
un-clustered and, consequently, the estimators are more precise. However, in
landline surveys a random selection within the target household is necessary.
• In telephone interviews all communication is aural, which means that it is
conducted through only one channel. Whereas in face-to-face interviews lists
of answer options and other materials can be presented visually as well as
read out to the participants, this option, which often makes the interview more
interesting, is not available on the phone.
• The aural nature of the interview has consequences for the design of the
questionnaire, which has to be carefully considered accordingly. The presence
of third persons during the interview can affect the behavior of respondents.
For telephone interviews this should be less the case than for face-to-face
interviews, because in the latter case there is a danger of third parties
interfering with the interview.
Telephone Surveys in Europe IX

Due to the advantages mentioned and despite the presented problems telephone
surveys are an especially attractive tool for the collection of social scientific
information. Therefore, they are - in comparison to other designs for standardized
interviews - also used very often. According to the spotlights in this volume this is
true for almost all European countries. In some countries, telephone surveys are by
far the most important way to collect data. The challenges faced in telephone
interviews are not only very numerous, in addition, new problems arise. This is
especially true if one compares them with other modes, such as mail surveys.
Especially technical developments in the telecommunications sector such as the
spread of mobile communication, changes in tariff structures across the various
providers, and data protection concerns lead to a need for further developments in
the telephone survey instrument. A book that reports both the state-of-the-art and
the latest research findings on telephone surveys should thus be of great interest to
the social science profession.
Research and Practice in Europe
In empirical social research the problem of non-response as well as rising costs
seem to be omnipresent. The latter is especially a concern for face-to-face
interviews. Europe is already united in searching for solutions to these problems.
However, such solutions are difficult to find. Maybe in future the increased use of
mixed-mode designs will offer such solutions. The trend shows that the popularity
of telephone surveys, and of surveys in general, is still increasing, thus
underscoring the importance of this instrument again. We view this as indication
that telephone surveys – as sole survey mode or within a mixed mode design –
will continue to occupy an important place in the social science methods toolbox.
As noted earlier, the conditions for telephone surveys have developed very
differently across different European countries. The solutions for dealing with the
(national) problems found in each country are very different. This may for
example apply to strategies that were developed across Europe to respond to the
spread of mobile-only households and the adoption of mobile phone surveys.
Some countries may have a certain pilot function for coping with these problems.
Problems for which solutions or routines already exist in one country, sooner or
later become acute in other countries. Thus, solutions of one country could
become a model for other European countries.
The interest of social scientists, politicians, and market researchers goes beyond
the situation in individual European countries. Studies such as the European Social
Survey, the European Values Study, and the International Social Survey Program
suggest this. So researchers have to carefully analyze the conditions under which a
specific solution in a specific country was found. This book makes a contribution
to describing the empirical conditions faced across countries.
In the United States, researchers such as Lepkowski et al. (2008) and Groves et
al. (1988) have dealt with telephone interviews in comprehensive books.
However, naturally the center of attention in these publications is America and not
Europe. We would like to close this gap with our book.
X S. Häder, M. Häder, and M. Kühne

Objectives and Content of the Book
The chapters of the book provide insight into the state of the art in very different
areas of telephone surveys. The first part of the book gives spotlights on the use of
landline and mobile phone surveys across various countries in Europe.
Researchers from national scientific institutions and market research give an
overview of sampling frames, the use of mobile and landline phones, response
rates, as well as the resulting strategies for telephone surveys in their countries.
In Russia we can currently observe an extremely quick growth in the popularity
and penetration of mobile phones. This delayed development in comparison to
other European countries and the current penetration rate of landline phones also
has an impact on survey practice. It is not assumed that the penetration of landline
phones will ever reach a level where national surveys by landline phones could be
justified. It is more likely that in Russia other “post-telephone” methods of data
collection will be implemented, especially mixed mode designs. Anna
Andreenkova reports on the situation in Russia.
The size of the Netherlands and the population density play a major role in the
data collection process. In the Netherlands, as a very small country where the
people live closely together, face-to-face interviews were affordable as a mode of
data collection until the recent past. This led to a relatively late use of CATI. At
the moment telephone surveys are carried out predominantly via landline phones.
This is mainly due to a lack of quality sampling frames for mobile phones and the
interview situation, which is often not suited for long interviews. This spotlight is
presented by Dirkjan Beukenhorst.
For telephone surveys in Switzerland topographical features are relevant.
Compared to other European countries, Switzerland has excellent landline
telephone provisions, because of a large amount of hardly accessible areas.
Telephone surveys are the most reliable and cost-effective method for both market
and scientific research. Nevertheless, not only coverage errors but also over-
surveying are seen as the two major problems. Michèle Ernst Stähli wrote this
report.
Compared to the vast majority of European countries in Finland mobile phones
started to become popular relatively early. For this reason, the methodological
research on mobile phone issues has a long tradition. One of the most important
results is the finding that mobile phones do not seem to disturb interviewing more
than landline telephones. The spotlight of Finland is presented by Vesa Kuusela.
In Great Britain the acceptance of telephone surveys differs across market
research and public sector research. Although the telephone penetration in the UK
would be adequate for telephone interviews, the UK government continues to
prefer face-to-face interviews. Concerns about the data quality of telephone
interviews helped launch quality standards like interviewer quality control
schemes and the guidelines for conducting telephone surveys of the American
Association for Public Opinion Research. Liz Nelson wrote the spotlight on Great
Britain.
Today coverage error is the biggest issue for phone surveys in Italy. The
resulting data quality of telephone surveys is often a cause for concern. Because of
Telephone Surveys in Europe XI

that future developments are of great interest. The worst-case scenario describes
an expansion of low quality low cost phone surveys. The more optimistic scenario
considers a combination of methodological and logistics advantages of phone
surveys on probabilistic grounds and the use of mixed mode designs. Teresio
Poggio and Mario Callegaro present the state of the art concerning telephone
surveys in Italy.
In Portugal a parallel trend of decreasing landline phone coverage and
increasing mobile phone ownership can be observed. This is an important stimulus
for survey companies using mobile phones either as a supplement or as an
alternative to landline phones. Because the mobile phone operators do not provide
the necessary information for probabilistic sampling frames the current challenge
in Portugal is building a sampling frame. This spotlight is written by Paula
Vicente and Elizabeth Reis.
The second part of the book addresses the issue of sampling for telephone
surveys. Survey researchers present results of current research projects, especially
problems with under-coverage as well as findings on new sampling frames.
The results presented in the chapter by Dominique Joye, Alexandre Pollien,
Marlène Sapin and Michèle Ernst Stähli show clearly that people without landline
phones are different from those with landline connections in terms of age,
education, and their personal situation measured through household composition.
However, the differences are even stronger for opinion variables, e.g. political
interest or party preference. These findings are stable across different surveys and
seem not to be influenced by nonresponse bias.
The sampling frames and parameters for five European countries presented in
the chapter by Christiane Heckel and Kathrin Wiese show how important
combining landline and mobile phone samples has become. Otherwise the
coverage error because of missing mobile-only households can lead to biased
samples. However, this happens at the expense of regional stratification, since
mobile phone numbers do not indicate in which region the subscriber lives.
Moreover, mobile phone surveys are more expensive than landline phone surveys.
Thus, costs and benefits must be weighed up with the client for each CATI survey.
In their chapter Götz Schneiderat and Tino Schlinzig argue that response rates
are an essential but not sufficient indicator for the quality of a telephone survey.
The quality of the realized sample may be even more important. Differences with
respect to demographic characteristics between subpopulations using mobile
phones and/or landline telephones require separate data collection methods to
diminish possible coverage errors. Altogether, the data of the CELLA survey
suggest that the use of a dual-frame approach leads to a better coverage than the
traditional landline phone survey.
The third part of the book addresses the issue of weighting and nonresponse.
Sampling experts discuss problems such as refining the dual frame approach and
adjustment strategies for nonresponse in telephone surveys.
The chapter by Siegfried Gabler, Sabine Häder, Iris Lehnhoff and Elisabeth
Mardian explains the importance of design weighting and an additional adjustment
weighting for dual frame telephone surveys. It can be demonstrated that weighted
data of socio-demographic variables are frequently closer to the population