Telephone interview
Topic: Economic Data: Census, NSS, Surveys and Statistical Tools · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "Collection of Data"
Meaning
In a telephone interview, the questions are asked over the phone. It is cheaper and quicker than a personal interview. The interviewer can still clear up doubts, and it suits respondents who avoid face-to-face meetings. However, it reaches only people who have phones, the interviewer cannot see reactions, and some influence on answers is still possible.
Example
A researcher phones 200 small shopkeepers in a town to ask about sales after a price change. This is faster than visiting each shop. However, shopkeepers without a phone are left out.
Don't confuse with
- Personal interview: this is face to face. It gets the highest response and lets the interviewer watch reactions, but it is the costliest mode.
Related concepts
- Primary data
- Secondary data
- Survey
- Variable
- Observation
- Questionnaire
- Enumerator
- Informant
- Closed-ended question
- Open-ended question