Hansen and I overhear other interviewers reaching wrong numbers, disconnected phones, and suspicious people. They encounter sudden hang ups or people who might want to talk — tomorrow. Sooner or later, one of the interviewers is bound to reach a "painter" or a "neighbor" who claims not to know the resident. This may be a tactic, Hansen suspects, to dodge bill collectors.
Again and again, the interviewers are flummoxed by caller ID, call waiting, or a privacy manager.
Against the wave of protective electronics and human skepticism, the center's main tool is human relations — smart, articulate interviewers (mumblers need not apply) who believe in their jobs and can explain the importance of survey research. John Stevenson, the Survey Center's associate director, says people tend to cooperate with a survey if they consider the topic interesting or important, and if they trust the researchers to do something useful with the information. This is simple "social exchange theory": if you treat people with respect, they feel a reciprocal obligation to be respectful. Those factors, he says, give a "huge advantage" to the academic researchers who are the center's clients, an advantage that is reflected in response rates that often exceed 70 percent.
Indeed, every so often, we hear the magic words: "Sure, I have time to answer your questions now."