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High-Tech vs. High-Touch Research "The basic tools of market/opinion research are a sample of people, a questionnaire, and an interviewer. If the sample is unrepresentative, the questionnaire poorly written, or the interviewer unable to motivate the respondent, no amount of high-tech manipulation of the resulting data will be meaningful." Paul Sheatsley It is common knowledge that conducting telephone interviews has become more difficult over the years and response rates have declined. The basic reasons cited are the proliferation of telemarketing efforts(selling products and services over the phone), the use of answering machines to screen calls, the growing complexity of the telephone system within households (number of lines/household, fax/computer lines, mobile phones, etc.), and the busy lifestyles of American households.Many research firms have invested heavily in computer-assisted telephone interviewing equipment and software for example. Others employ technologies such as disk-based surveys, the Internet, or what has been termed "Integrated Interviewing" - combining the use of fax machines, e-mail, cable television, etc. NorthMark, while acknowledging that technology will play an increasing role in the market/opinion research field, cautions that it will not overcome problems with the basics - sound study design, unbiased survey instruments, and correct interpretation of survey results. |
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