Measuring Nonresponse and Refusals to an Electronic Telephone Survey

Noncontact rate (NCR) for an electronic telephone survey using a random phone number list is similar to other telephone surveys using a random phone list. Refusals appear to be more an effect of the telephone survey than the mode of conducting it. Break-offs could be reduced if more response time were allowed for each question. Findings suggest that the rejection of a computer-administered telehone survey has an effect on the refusal rate because it is easier for people to hang up on a machine than another human. Further research is needed to determine whether the population that refuses to interact with an electronic telephone survey device is significantly different from the population willing to interact with an electronic survey device or human interviewer.