Current Telephone Project
The National Capital Region study on
emergency preparedness will target 2500 respondents from the Washington
Metropolitan area including Random Digit Dialing, Random Cell phone and
Electronic White pages (Listed) samples.
Information provided in an advance
postcard sent to potential respondents
NCR Areas covered: click on image
below
Information provided as an FAQ for
our interviewers to provide to respondents when asked
Who is sponsoring the survey?
The survey is sponsored by a consortium
of state and local governments in the National Capital Region along with
Federal government agencies.
Who is qualified to participate?
Residents of the National Capitol Region
who are 18 years of age or older and live in the household called (living in
the household called does not apply to cell phones) are eligible to participate
in the survey. In households with more than one eligible respondent, we will
use a simple method to select one adult to represent that household. People
whom we reach on their cell phones will be asked to participate without
attempting to select from among the other adults who might live with them.
Why should I participate?
Various
government agencies will use this study to help them make decisions based on
the results of the survey. This is your
opportunity to voice your opinions and to make suggestions as to what you think
is important. The state and local agencies understand that some residents are
from cell phone only households and intend to include their opinions as well.
How did you get my phone number?
We use a random-digit dialing method to
get a statistically valid sample from cell phones and landlines. Your number had the same chance of being
picked by our computer as any other phone number in the National Capital
Region. Cell number groups are
randomized using information from “rate centers,” a geographic area used by
local exchange carriers to set rate boundaries for billing and for issuing
phone numbers.
Why do you want to call cell phones?
We realize that cell phones are
considered personal by many people, though less so by others. Cell phone-only households have been shown to
have different opinions from other households.
The state and local agencies want their decisions to be based upon the
advice of a truly representative sample of residents from the Washington
Metropolitan Area.
I share this cell phone . . . why was I picked?
Because only a small proportion of cell
phones are shared we decided to treat them as belonging to the first individual
who answers. If an appointment is set up
with that individual we will try to do the survey with him/her. But if no definite appointment is made and a
second person answers the cell, we will interview that person instead.
Why are you calling me all the way from
The state and local agencies asked the
Are you auto-dialing? I’m supposed to be on the “Do not
call” list!
Academic survey organizations are exempt
from the list but strictly comply with the ethical standards of their
professional organization (AAPOR). As
such we will remove from our list anyone who does not wish to be contacted. Interviewers initiate the dialing of our
calls, not a computer and we do not engage in large-scale “predictive
dialing.” As an academic survey
organization, we are further bound by the University’s Institutional Review
Board protocols and try to serve the public good by providing objective
information on how citizens feel about government services and where
improvements can be made.
What about confidentiality?
The results from all our interviews will
be put together in a statistical report.
No one we interview will be identified in the report and no telephone
numbers will be given to the state and local agencies. We dialed your number at random and we don’t
know your address.
Why do you want to know my zip code (or the intersection
nearest my house)?
We want that information so we can
compare different parts of the Washington Metro area to see if there is a
problem in a particular area that the government should give more attention to.
Why do you ask about my race/ethnicity/Middle
Eastern/religious background?
Like other demographic data (income,
age, gender) questions about ethnicity (Hispanic, Middle Eastern) are for
statistical purposes only. Sometimes an
ethnic group that is known to be prevalent in an area is analyzed separately
from the more generalized race category, to see if there are any statistical
differences in how they respond. All of your answers are strictly confidential,
that is, they will not be used to identify you personally, and you can skip any
questions you don't wish to answer.
Why didn’t you ask me about . . . ?
To
keep the interviews from getting too long, we had to make some choices. If you
have something that you think needs to be added to the survey, we can make a
note of it.
I’d like to call & set a survey appointment, and who
can I call for more information?
Please call 1-800-CSR-POLL (277-7655)
and select option #1, or you can reach the supervisor of the telephone calling
lab directly at 434-243-5226 during the day.
Or I can set an appointment now if you prefer. If you'd like to know more about the study,
you can contact Janet Clements, Chief Deputy State Coordinator, Virginia
Department of Emergency Management, (804) 897-6501, janet.clements@vdem.virginia.gov,
you can talk to my supervisor now, or you can contact Tom Guterbock at the
Center for Survey Research (434) 243-5222. You can also see http://www.ncrhomelandsecurity.org/ or http://www.makeaplan.org/
How can I get the results?
The distribution policy regarding the
results has not been determined at this time but we anticipate that the results
will be available on the Internet and they will be discussed in the news in
2010. Further information can be
obtained from CSR’s website at http://www.virginia.edu/surveys.
