On-Site Intercept Surveys

Responsive Management designs survey questionnaires collaboratively based on close consultation, discussion, and review with the client. After the design of the questionnaire, the survey instrument is pretested to check for proper wording, answer sets, question-flow, and logistical clarity. Revisions are made to the survey instrument after the pretest before the actual implementation of the survey. Many research firms cut costs by failing to rigorously pretest their survey instruments, which results in poor data collection. Responsive Management always conducts full evaluative pretests of survey instruments.

Responsive Management conducts intercept surveys in person to randomly selected respondents at a site-specific location. Intercept surveys are often employed when respondents cannot be easily reached at a later time because contact information is unavailable. Intercept surveys are typically conducted at a place where a client’s constituents have received a service or engaged in relevant activities.

On-site intercept surveys allow for data acquisition at the place of constituent interaction and can allow for a more qualitative assessment of respondents’ answers. Intercept surveys often serve as mini “personal interviews” in which the interviewer can gauge the respondent’s reactions through body language. Also, proximity in geography and time allows for experiences, opinions, attitudes, and behaviors to be captured immediately before the effects of time potentially alter respondent reactions.

Responsive Management’s extensive interviewer training for on-site intercept surveys includes lectures, role-playing, and video training, according to the standards established by the Council of American Survey Research Organizations. Data collection managers conduct in-depth project briefings with the interviewing staff prior to their work on each study, including instruction on survey goals and objectives, handling of survey questions, interview length, termination points and qualifiers for participation, reading of interviewer instructions, reading of the survey, review of skip patterns, and probing and clarifying techniques necessary for specific questions on the survey. Responsive Management administers intercept surveys using both hard copy paper questionnaires as well as tablets and laptops. Following the field interviews, research associates review all intercept surveys for errors and completeness.

Over the past three decades, Responsive Management has conducted hundreds of on-site intercept surveys on a number of natural resource and outdoor recreation topics.