Telephone Surveys

As telephone interviewing costs continue to rise and cellphones represent an increasing share of survey samples, survey researchers are exploring approaches to make these designs more cost-effective.

Many people wonder: Can polls be trusted? The following essay contains a big-picture review of the state of polling, organized around a number of key areas.

By Meredith Dost and Kyley McGeeney Each year about 36 million Americans move residences, according to the Census Bureau. And they quite often take their cellphone numbers with them. Others have not moved but bought their cellphone in a different state. The net result, according to new Pew Research Center estimates, is that 10% of […]

Telephone surveys face numerous challenges, but some positive developments have emerged, principally with respect to sampling.

Respondents who take a Pew Research Center survey on a cellphone are currently offered reimbursement for their cellphone minutes for completing the survey. But is it still necessary in the age of unlimited talk and text?

Among the most striking trends in the field of survey research in the past two decades is the shift from interviewer-administered to self-administered surveys. Fueled by the growth of the internet, self-administration as a survey mode presents a mixture of opportunities and challenges to the field.

In the coming months, 60% of interviews in our national polls will be conducted via cellphones and 40% on landline phones.