Telephone survey research for library managers

To explore and evaluate the evidence about the value of using telephone surveys, especially in market research for a library.

A critical summary and review of the literature in this field.

This paper demonstrates that there are five major reasons for using this method of surveying customer preferences: response rates are higher; data can be analysed sooner; the cost of surveys is lower than alternative methods; calls can be monitored for quality; and the telephone offers the benefits of spontaneity.

The paper contains extensive information on “best practice” of telephone surveying including designing the questionnaire and conducting the interview. There is information on getting a representative sample, plus coping with “no answers”, unlisted numbers and answering machines.

Library managers with a commitment to using innovative techniques for market research will find telephone surveys offer a useful and cheap alternative to other survey methods. No previous paper has examined the use of, and the value of, telephone surveys in libraries.