Methodology A survey instrument was developed and used to gather information in small Ohio communities without public sewer systems. Interviews are flexible, allowing the interviewer to make observations as well as collect responses to questions. Questions can be repeated and explained in cases where they aren't understood. Interviews generally require minimal work for the respondents, who aren't required to read or write anything, only respond verbally to the questions. Interviews are usually more complete and accurate than written questionnaires because the interviewer's main job is to ask the questions in a way to obtain responses.
Interviews also tend to have higher completion rates than written questionnaires.
While interviews require a good deal of interviewer time, they don't require expenditures for postage and envelopes as do mail questionnaires. In a small community, the costs incurred in conducting interviews is minimal. Each interview would take about 15 minutes. From 10-30 homes were assigned to each interviewer. Residents were notified in advance of the survey.