THE ANSWERING MACHINE POSES MANY QUESTIONS FOR TELEPHONE SURVEY RESEARCHERS

The proliferation of the telephone answering machine raises a number of questions about the continued efficiency of the telephone as a data-gathering mechanism. The most critical of these is what effect the use of these machines might have on establishing contact with potential respondents. If individuals routinely use these machines to screen calls, then their accessibility to telephone survey researchers will be restricted. A second question is the degree to which respondents who own answering machines and are reachable are likely to participate in a survey. A third question is the extent to which the incidence of the answering machine as a response disposition might vary by the time of calling and the respondent's place of residence. The findings of this study, based on a nationwide survey, point to a significant proportion of answering machine owners being reachable and willing to participate. Furthermore, the answering machine appears to be in use more on weekends than on weekday evenings and in more urbanized areas than in areas with fewer inhabitants. © 1991 by the American Association for Public Opinion Research.