It Matters Where and With Whom You Are: A Comparison of Mobile Phone and Landline Phone Survey Interviews

Abstract

The rise and fall of social research methods rely on how much a certain method is able to appropriately reflect the change of society. The present research proposes new mobile surveying methods, considering the current and future trends in Korea. In particular, this research focuses on environmental pressure (time constraints, the presence of others and the place) as one of the major factors influencing the effects of survey modes. For example, landline surveys are conducted in the respondent's home, which is a private and fixed space. On the other hand, surveys on mobile phones can be conducted in diverse places with other people around. After sampling 500 landline respondents and 500 mobile phone respondents using a quota method, the same questionnaire was used for both the mobile and landline interviews. The findings are generally consistent with the literature supporting the data quality and comparability of the mixed mode survey. These results are encouraging for researchers designing surveys that feature mobile phone data collection.