Surveying Cell Phone Surveying Cell Phone Numbers in the Numbers in the

United StatesUnited States

Synthesis and Future Research NeedsSynthesis and Future Research Needs

Paul J. Lavrakas, Ph.D.Paul J. Lavrakas, Ph.D.DC-AAPOR WorkshopDC-AAPOR Workshop

September 4, 2008September 4, 2008

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesWhat did we learn today?What do we still need to learn?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 2

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesCoverage and Frames

◦What to do when conducting a non-national telephone survey?

◦Is within-unit coverage an issue?◦When will an RDD survey have nonignorable

coverage error if it does not include sampling from the cell phone frame?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 3

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesSampling Designs

◦Should a cell phone sample be screened to eliminate those who also have landline service or should everyone reached by a cell phone sample be interviewed?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 4

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesCooperation and Nonresponse

◦When are response rates tied to nonignorable nonresponse?

◦Should their be a practical limit on the number of call-backs used?

◦Are refusal conversion attempts cost-effective?◦How should remuneration and incentives be

used?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 5

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesLegal Issues

◦Will federal and state regulations change to allow the use of dialers in placing calls to cell phone numbers and the sending of advance text messages?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 6

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesSafety and Other Ethical Issues

◦What, if any, liabilities will cell phone researchers face regarding respondent and by-stander safety?

◦What, if any, ethical imperatives should guide circumstances in which interviewers should terminate contact with someone reached on a cell phone?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 7

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesMeasurement and Data Quality

◦Are there circumstances under which the data quality gathered from someone on a cell phone is lower in nonignorable ways than the same data would be if gathered on a landline?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 8

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesWeighting

◦What variables must be gathered during a cell phone interview to aid weighting?

◦How should a cell phone sample be weighted to integrate data with data from a landline sample?

◦What non-national population parameters should be used to adjust for nonresponse in a cell phone sample?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 9

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesCosts

◦How can the Cost Per Interview in a cell phone sample be reduced without compromising data quality in nonignorable ways?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 10

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesAdditional New Research Needed

◦What proportion of adults answer calls on their cell phone, as opposed to only making out-bound calls and, if they do, what proportion of the time do they do this?

◦What proportion of adults routinely shares a cell phone with someone else for receiving in-bound calls?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 11

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesAdditional New Research Needed

◦Is there differential nonresponse and non-ignorable nonresponse error associated with those who have both cell phone and landline service that are sampled and interviewed via their landline versus those who are sampled and interviewed via their cell phone?

◦Does the location where someone on a cell phone is reached and the activities in which they are engaged affect the quality of the data they provide in nonignorable ways?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 12

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesAdditional New Research Needed

◦If cell phone surveys need to deploy within-unit respondent selection, what is the best procedure to use?

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 13

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesAdditional Q&A

Cell Phone Numbers and Telephone Surveying in the US; DC-AAPOR Workshop; 09/04/08 14

Surveying U.S. Cell PhonesSurveying U.S. Cell PhonesThank you!

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