Southern
Opinion
Research
Box 863343
Tuscaloosa, AL
35486-0030
205-366-0617
205-366-0618 (fax)
Contact:
Pat Cotter
Jim Stovall
If you have completed an interview for us, we appreciate your time and cooperation very much.
In most of our surveys we are trying to gather information from a random sample of individuals living in a particular city, county or state. To select our samples, we generally use a "random digit dialing" method of sampling. This method of sampling is not based on selecting numbers out of a telephone directory. Rather it is based on a computer generated random sample of telephone numbers. One consequence of this method of sampling is that it can result in our contacting an otherwise "unlisted" number.
In order to get a random sample of individuals within contacted households, we typically use the "last birthday" method of respondent selection. Thus, our interviews will ask to speak with the adult (or sometimes "registered voter" when we are conducting political surveys) who has had the "last or most recent birthday." The basic idea behind this method is that characteristics such as age or gender are unrelated to the date of an individual's birthday.
In most of our surveys, and in all of our general population studies, we do not know the names or addresses of the households or people whom we are calling. In most of our surveys, we also do not ask for that information. (Occasionally, such as when we are conducting a survey for a newspaper, we may ask respondents if they would mind if a reporter contacted them to get further comments. In that case we may ask respondents for their names and telephone numbers. Providing this information is, of course, completely voluntary.)
Further, in most of our surveys we assure each respondent that the responses he or she gives will remain confidential. That is, we will not reveal to our clients or anyone else the individual answers or information that could lead to the identification of respondents.
Sometimes, we ask about controversial subjects or items that are matters of intense public debate. Our interviewers are trained to do this with the utmost courtesy and respect for the opinions and privacy of the respondent. Remember that you always have the right to refuse to answer a question or refuse to take part in a survey if you choose to do so. We try never to use any tactics that would lead you to believe otherwise.
If you have any comments about our surveys, our interviewers or the questions that we ask, email the directors: jstovall@southernopinion.com (Jim Stovall) or pcotter@southernopinion.com (Pat Cotter). We will try to respond quickly and completely.
Thank you for visiting our web site, and if you were a respondent, thank you again for your help.
Southern Opinion Research would like to hear from you with any questions you might have about how we can help you. We will respond as quickly as possible to any inquiry.
Give us a call at
205-366-0617
or e-mail us at
Pat Cotter
pcotter@southernopinion.com
Jim Stovall
jstovall@southernopinion.com
Chuck Warnock
cwarnock@southernopinion.com
Our mailing address is
Southern Opinion Research
Box 863343
Tuscaloosa, AL 35486-0030.
Our fax number is
205-366-0618.