Introduction

The survey introduction is a key step that affects the survey's response rate; therefore, interviewers need special training in it. A key part of an interviewer's role is to gain cooperation from the respondent. This opportunity for enlisting cooperation occurs within a time period of variable length, which starts with the interviewer's initial contact with the sampled unit and continues until the selected respondent agrees to participate in the survey or provides a definitive “no.” Depending on the survey design, this conversation is often conducted over multiple callbacks. This time period has traditionally been called the doorstep introduction. In this entry, it is referred to as the survey introduction.

Interviewers' abilities to gain cooperation during the introduction to a survey vary greatly. For example, in exploring ...