Telephone Survey Response Rates Dropping; Accuracy Remains High

Telephone survey response rates are on a precipitous decline, although telephone surveys that include landlines and cell phones and are weighted to match the demographic composition of the population continue to provide accurate data along most measures, finds the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press in a May 2012 report. Looking at contact rates over time (the percent of households in which an adult was reached), the study shows a drop from 90% in 1997 to just 62% this year. And when factoring in a declining cooperation rate (percent of households contacted that yielded an interview), the report finds the response rate (percent of households sampled that yielded an interview) this year to be just 9%, down from 36% in 1997 and 25% in 2000. (more…)