Function

• Telephone surveys are used by individuals and groups that want to find out the thoughts, feelings and opinions of the general public. They use a cross sample of the population to achieve those results. The group hires a series of employees to make the phone calls and record the answers they receive. They typically call during business hours, when they know someone is home to answer the phone. The results received may result in changes to their company or organization.
  
  

Types

• Telephone surveys are usually divided into smaller or larger surveys. The smaller surveys consist of only a few questions that take five minutes or less to answer. The larger surveys have a vast selection of questions and can take up to an hour to complete. There is also a difference between those who use the surveys, with political groups and companies being the two biggest users. Companies want to find out what people think about their products, while political groups want to know how voters think and feel.
  
  

Features

• A telephone survey typically begins with questions, relating to the head of household or the individual responding. They want to know the individual's income level, marital status, age, occupation and other basic questions. They then ask a few simple yes or no questions to get the person warmed up and interested. The questions then become a little more involved and ask the individual questions relating to their own thoughts or opinions on a specific topic.
  
  

Expert Insight

• There's a general thought that companies and organizations develop their own surveys based on what they need to know. In actuality, many groups use trained professionals to develop their surveys. This person has experience in survey writing usually through school and work experience. They use the information provided by the group to create a complete survey that covers all the topics, but is easy to administer. The final survey covers all the questions the company or group needs answered.
  
  

Identification

• Political organizations typically begin conducting telephone surveys months before an election. They want to know what's on the minds of voters and how their candidate can work with those things. In the months and weeks leading up to an election, they conduct surveys more frequently because they need to know how well their candidate is doing and what the public thinks about that individual. Companies will also use surveys when they want to see the opinion on their product or before they introduce a new product on the market.