Interviewers' tactics for fighting survey nonresponse

Abstract

Interviewers play an important role in gaining cooperation in surveys. There is empirical evidence for a considerable variation in response rates between interviewers. Despite this, research on the role of the interviewer in nonresponse is relatively scarce. Past research showed that interviewer experience plays a role in gaining respondent cooperation, and recently the importance of the "doorstep' interaction has been emphasized. In this article, we describe the tactics for fighting nonresponse, as reported by experienced interviewers. We also explore the relationship between favored tactics of interviewers and interviewers' individual response rate.