cell phones and the end of telephone surveys?
cell phones and the end of telephone surveys?
Pollsters have long accepted a margin of error in polling as a result of that segment of the population that could not afford or rejected home phones. However, for what I assume is the first time in recent decades, there in an increasing trend of rejecting home phone ownership, particularly amongst younger adults. Wired News and the San Francisco Chronicle have recently published articles on this subject. These articles estimate that 3-5% of Americans (growing to 15% by 2009) use a mobile phone as their only phone. Survey companies are prohibited from using automated dialing equipment to call wireless numbers. The articles suggest that telephone polling may be nearing an end, but I would ask, how reliable has telephone polling been in recent years as response rates decline and pollsters survey only those who are home, board and not watching television?