Tracking Respondents in a Telephone Interview Panel Selected by Random Digit Dialing

Abstract

Although telephone interview surveys using random digit dialing to select the sample are increasingly being used, little is known about tracking a panel of respondents selected using this method. This article reports on a three-year panel study of 2032 married respondents selected using a national random digit dialing sample. Of the original sample, 78% was reinterviewed three years later. Tracking procedures used are described in detail and the success of various strategies are reported. Overall, the findings suggest that with proper planning and tracking, panel studies based on random digit dialing samples can yield samples comparable to those gathered by more traditional methods.