Citizens’ annoyance with phone calls from salespeople prompted Congress to pass a law setting up a National Do-Not-Call Registry. The registry was soon flooded with requests to have phone numbers removed from telemarketers’ lists. By law, salespeople may not call numbers listed on this registry. The law makes exceptions for charities and researchers. However, a recent poll suggests that even though phone calls from researchers may be legal, they are not always well received. In late 2005, Harris Interactive conducted an Internet survey in which almost 2,000 adults answered questions about the National Do-Not-Call Registry. About three-quarters of the respondents said they had signed up for the registry, and a majority (61 percent) said they had since received “far less” contact from telemarketers. In addition, 70 percent said that since registering, they had been contacted by someone “who was doing a poll or survey” and wanted them to participate. But apparently, respondents weren’t sure whether this practice was acceptable. Only one-fourth (24 percent) of respondents said they knew that researchers “are allowed to call,” and over half (63 percent) weren’t sure about researchers’ rights under the law.
Was an online survey the best medium for a poll on this subject? What were some pros and cons of conducting this poll online?
How might the results have differed if this poll had been conducted by telephone?
As a researcher, how would you address people’s doubts about whether pollsters may contact households listed on the Do-NotCall Registry?