The SRC efficiently conducts standard public opinion surveys as well as more complex quasi-experimental surveys. The IPP staff work with clients to develop valid and reliable survey questions. The SRC then enters the final questionnaire into the CATI system to create an automated survey instrument with complex randomizations, respondent screening, and experimental variations in question wording. Interviewers read survey questions from computer screens and enter responses directly into the CATI, thereby eliminating the possibility of subsequent data transcription errors. Intensive training and supervision ensures the quality of every IPP interview.
Interviewers receive training in survey theory and method upon employment and prior to every survey.
The SRC uses rigorous procedures to ensure the representativeness of the survey sample. The validity of the survey is ensured by a combination of random digit dialing, random respondent identification within households, and a customized database that records call attempts and schedules interviews. Tenacity is another reason for the SRC's high survey response rates. SRC mail surveys also obtain the highest possible response rates. Initially the SRC operated on a periodic basis, conducting between 3 and 6 surveys annually.