The Impact of COVID-19 on Large-Scale Phone Survey (Sample) Productivity and Response Rates
Matt Jans
ICF
Zoe Padgett
ICF
James Dayton
ICF
Randy ZuWallack
ICF
Don Allen
ICF
Josh Duell
ICF
Andy Dyer
ICF
Thomas Brassell
ICF
Sam Collins
ICF
Traci Creller
ICF
COVID-19 has likely impacted survey productivity rates, with at least two causes. First, more people are at home, making households easier to contact and interview. Second, more interviewers are making calls from home, which may increase their productivity. This paper compares sample productivity (i.e., sample outcome rates including contact, refusal, cooperation and response rates) from several ICF phone surveys conducted before and during COVID-19. Surveys were selected to minimize differences in target populations, topics, and calling protocols. The paper addresses: 1) how COVID-19 is affecting common sample productivity metrics, 2) whether different types of "COVID effects" can be identified, including the initial shock of the pandemic and any ongoing effects, and 3) do surveys using similar protocols show the same effects, or is there variability across surveys? Findings are discussed in the context of COVID-19's impact on data collection, interviewer staffing and productivity, and the general difficulty disentangling interviewer effects from effects of the broader data collection context.