MAIL VS TELEPHONE SURVEYS OF CRIMINAL-JUSTICE ATTITUDES - A COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS

This study compares results from surveys using two modes of administra tion. A subset of questions from the 1992 Texas Crime Poll, a statewid e poll conducted annually by mail, was replicated in telephone intervi ews using the Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing System. The pho ne survey yielded better participation rates but less complete respons es to individual attitude questions than did the mail poll. As expecte d, the mail survey was less expensive but less efficient than the auto mated phone survey. The central finding was that all but one of the re sponses to five attitude questions differed significantly across the s urveys. The samples differed in their demographic composition, but thi s did not explain differences in the substantive findings from the mai l and phone surveys. The discussion considers alternative explanations for differences in the findings from the two surveys and suggests dir ections for further comparative research.