Chapter 2.2 Comparison of DIfferent Methods of Communicating to Respondents

self-administered questionnaire, telephone interview, on-line survey

types of information: limited

personal interview

types of information: wide-ranging

self-administered questionnaire

cost: inexpensive

telephone interview and on-line survey

cost: quite expensive

personal interview

cost: very expensive

self-administered questionnaire

speed: time-consuming

telephone interview

speed: fast

on-line survey

speed: moderately fast

self-administered questionnaire

response rate: poor

telephone interview and on-line survey

response rate: average

personal interview

response rate: very good

self-administered questionnaire

geographic flexibility: very good

telephone interview and on-line interview

geographic flexibility: good

personal interview

geographic flexibility: poor

self-administered questionnaire and on-line survey

interviewer bias: none

telephone interview

interviewer bias: likely

personal interview

interviewer bias: highly likely

self-administered questionnaire and on-line survey

interviewer supervision: none

telephone interview

interviewer supervision: simple

personal interview

interviewer supervision: difficult

self-administered questionnaire and on-line survey

quality of response: may be vague

telephone interview

quality of response: good

personal interview

quality of response: very good

self-administered questionnaire and telephone interview

population coverage: limited

on-line survey

population coverage: very limited

personal interview

population coverage: best