Computer-assisted telephone interviewing systems have made conducting surveys a more dynamic process. Data collection procedures can now respond not only to the needs of the investigator, out to the observations made during the survey itself. These observations include both the substantive matters and the respondents' behavior with regard to participation in the survey. Survey designs may then become more fluid, with their ultimate design the result of a series of decisions that will be made during the course of the survey, based on the goals of the survey and on the nature of the cumulative findings. The role of the interviewer continues to be key, but computer-assisted interviewing systems serve to simplify the clerical aspects of the interviewer's work, making it possible for the interviewer to concentrate on his or her major assignment to establish and maintain the respondent co-operation.
In recent years in the United States, we have witnessed rapid growth in the use of telephone interviewing in survey research. A major element of this growth has been the substitution of telephone inter- view procedures for the (apparently) more costly, more intrusive personal interview. New techniques have been developed to make the most effective use of this medium. Sampling techniques have been devised to insure that all telephone households, not just directory listed households, are sampled. Other procedures serve to minimize the number of calls to non-household numbers (numbers which may be assigned to business establishments or which may not be assigned at all.) Perhaps the most dramatic development of all has been of computer-assisted telephone interviewing. Several approaches have been described in the literature. All include the simple procedure of having the interviewer seated in front of a cathode ray tube terminal reading the question on the screen to the respondent, and recording the response via the terminal's keyboard. The use of a well-designed computer-assisted telephone interviewing system provides many benefits to the survey organization, and, ultimately, to its clients.