Operational Definitions

Surveys Method		< back		15 of 34		next >



		Telephone interviews have the advantage of offering some social distance since the participant cannot see you. It might be easier to answer a sensitive question when you cannot see the interviewer's reaction to your response. You can also answer participants' questions easily in a telephone interview and the cost is considerably less than a face-to-face interview.
In addition, random digit dialing also makes it very easy to recruit a random sample from the general population. A major disadvantage to telephone interviews is that it is much easier to deny a request to a telephone request than a face-to-face request. Caller ID also makes it easier to refuse by not answering the call.