The telephone interviewer's handbook : how to conduct standardized conversations / by Patricia A. Gwartney.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 292-307) and index.

Introduction. Why have surveys at all? Why have interviewers? The basic survey process. How telephone surveys compare to other survey modes. Interviewers and survey error -- Who conducts surveys? Types of survey organizations. What you should know about your survey employer. What your survey employer needs from you. What your survey employer does not need from you -- Survey professionalism. Ethics in survey research. Codes of ethics. Federal government requirements. Unethical pseudosurveys and laws protecting your work. Research on survey research -- What to expect in telephone interviewer training. General telephone interviewer training. Project-specific training. Refresher training -- Calling. Getting ready. Dialing. Call disposition codes. Leaving messages for the next interviewer. Scheduling callbacks -- Introducing the standardized interview. Controlling your voice. A person answers the telephone. Respondent selection. The survey introduction. Refusals. Refusal conversion. Unusual situations -- Asking questions in the standardized interview. About survey questions. Print conventions. How respondents answer survey questions. Guidelines for asking questions in the standardized interview. Summary guidelines for asking questions. Probing. Race categories. Ethnicity categories. Recording respondents' answers. Unusual circumstances while conducting interviews. Ending the interview -- What to expect in the survey workplace. Workplace settings. Workplace routines. Communication with your employer. Employment status, pay, and benefits. Workplace policies. What to expect from interviewer supervisors -- Concluding comments.