Interviewing Older Adults: Mode Comparison Using Data from a Face-to-Face Survey and a Telephone Resurvey

A face-to-face survey conducted in 1984 with a sample of 1491 residents of the Detroit metropolitan area (including an oversample of older adults) and a reinterview of a random subset of these respondents by telephone were used to compare the two modes of data collection across two age levels. Except for a tendency toward a disproportionately large number of DK answers and a disproportionately large amount of interviewer assistance on the telephone, respondents 60 years of age and older did not exhibit larger mode differences than did respondents under 60. For both age groups, response distributions were rather similar, suggesting little effect of mode. Likewise, response style differed little by mode, while a higher proportion of missing data (i.e., “I don't know” answers) was given on the telephone. The response rate for the telephone reinterview was 90%, somewhat lower for older than younger persons. The findings support the feasibility of using the telephone for reinterviewing older adults.