Telephone surveys under different frame constructions-evaluating differences in estimates, precision, and cost

• Published in: International journal of social research methodology Vol. 22; no. 4; pp. 417 - 430
• Main Authors: Levine, Burton, Berzofsky, Marcus E., Hampton, Joel, Battles, Haven B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 04-07-2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Accuracy; cell phone; Cellular telephones; Data Collection; dual-frame; frame; Handheld Devices; Mobile phones; Polls & surveys; Population Groups; random-digit-dialing; Sampling; Simulation; Telephone communications; Telephone sampling; Telephone Surveys; unlisted
• ISSN: 1364-5579; 1464-5300
• DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2018.1563969

Dual-frame, random-digit-dialing (DFRDD) surveys, using a frame of landline telephone numbers and a frame of cell phone numbers, have become the norm for telephone surveys. Two alternative frame constructions sample exclusively from a cell phone frame, referred to as the 'single-frame cell,' and sample from the listed landline frame and the cell phone frame, referred to as 'listed/cell.' The listed/cell frame construction differs from the DFRDD in that it does not select unlisted-landline frame members. We observe in our simulated data that the listed/cell frame construction results in estimates that more closely approximate the estimates from DFRDD compared with the single-frame cell, results in an improvement in precision compared with the DFRDD that is not as large as the improvement in the single-frame cell, and has lower cost than both the DFRDD and the single-frame cell. We conclude that a listed/cell frame construction might be a better solution than either a DFRDD or single-frame cell frame construction.