Telephone Research Center (TRC)
Social & Scientific Systems has been conducting telephone interviews since the 1980s to support our epidemiologic, general survey, and evaluative studies. Our senior personnel include application programmers, survey directors, and TRC managers with extensive telephone interviewing experience. We typically use computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) applications, primarily programmed in Blaise, a software package developed by Statistics Netherlands. The Blaise application interfaces with our study management information system to generate call lists, record completed interviews, and generate next steps. We maintain a trained staff of more than 70 interviewers and manage multiple studies simultaneously. The TRC is in operation 7 days a week and covers all time zones. We conduct lengthy and complex interviews as well as those of a sensitive nature or with special populations.
Key activities conducted in the TRC include the following:
- Screening enrollment applications
- Conducting structured questionnaire interviews, either paper-based or computer assisted
- Conducting Spanish language interviews
- Providing toll-free help desk numbers to provide study support to participants or to answer general questions
- Calling participants to provide instruction for them to be able to follow procedures or to remind them of appointments
- Tracing participants and providing followup
- Converting refusals