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Telephone Refusal Rates on the Rise

A study conducted by the PMRS Response Rate Committee further

According to a 2003 report by the PMRS, refusal rates for telephone surveys have been increasing incrementally since 1995. The published findings cover the period from 1995 to 2002, and show a distinct trend towards increased refusal rates.

The report revealed that researchers are often refused even before the reason behind the call is fully understood. Unsolicited calls are viewed as 'nuisance' calls, due in part to the increase in the amount of solicitation that has been imposed on households in recent years.

The Committee has also reported that response rates vary substantially by whether the sponsor is identified or not and by whether the sample is from a list or randomly dialed. This makes it very difficult for marketers to remove bias by conducting any sort of un-branded research.

Increasing phone refusal rates, don't call lists, and number portability have had a very negative impact on telephone research. At the same time, the increase in Internet usage among North Americans is proving to be the great equalizer in the research equation. Some key reasons include lower sample costs, timeliness of results, the unobtrusive nature of completing surveys, and the ability to show images and videos.

The bottom line is that truly random sampling in telephone research no longer exists.

To access the full study by the PMRS Response Committee please click here

Posted on March 29, 2005
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