Research Methods in Tourism, Hospitality and Events Management

6.5.3 Telephone interviews

Telephones have become a part of everyday life and as such now provide

the researcher with a convenient, cost-effective method of conducting an

interview. This has not always been the case. In the 1950s and 1960s, fewer

people owned or had access to a telephone and hence this method tended to

result in a sample biased towards more affluent people. Nowadays, this is

much less the case. Moreover, it could be argued that in the field of travel

and tourism, very few respondents who are able to afford a holiday are

unlikely not to own a telephone. The telephone is useful for arranging

appointments for a personal interview, for checking that personal interviews

have been carried out and for reminders with postal surveys.

The telephone interview has the advantage of reduced cost, with savings on

travel for personal interviews being the main area. It also provides a speedy

method of data collection. Interviewers can code and input the data directly

into computers whilst the interview is progressing. In addition, the

interview supervisor is able to listen to interviewers to ensure that questions

are correctly asked and coded.

There are some disadvantages though. As an alternative to personal

interviews, the telephone is more impersonal and respondents may break off

the interview easily. The use of checklists and prompt cards is severely

limited and thus the ability to gain detailed information is less than it is for

personal interviews. In addition to the normal requirements, interviewers

need to have a clear voice and an easy-to-understand accent.

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