CATI Projects with SurveyToGo

 

Overview

This article explains how SurveyToGo can be used to conduct Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) projects.

Although CATI projects can vary significantly in their requirements, they generally consist of two core components:

• A telephony/dialing solution for managing calls.

• A survey and data collection platform for conducting interviews.

CATI implementations may differ in several ways, including:

• How respondents are managed (own sample, panel, random sample, etc.).

• The respondent contact process.

• The size and structure of the interviewer team.

• Whether interviews are conducted by an internal team or an outsourced call center.

• Whether interviewers work from a central office or remotely.

• The countries in which the project is conducted.

• The complexity of the survey.

While some CATI platforms include both telephony and survey functionality, many organizations choose to combine a dedicated dialing system with a separate survey platform.

SurveyToGo is designed to serve as the survey and data collection component and can be integrated with a wide variety of telephony solutions.

Option 1: Use SurveyToGo with Your Existing Dialing System

If you already have a dialing solution, you can use SurveyToGo as the interviewing platform.

Most dialing systems support launching external surveys through unique survey URLs when a call is connected. By using SurveyToGo's online survey capabilities and dynamically generated survey links, a unique interview can be started automatically as soon as an interviewer connects with a respondent.

Option 2: Use SurveyToGo with Dialfire

If you do not already have a telephony platform, Dialfire integrates well with SurveyToGo.

Dialfire is a cloud-based (SaaS) dialing solution that requires no local installation. It provides a straightforward administrative setup and can be configured to work with SurveyToGo.

The SurveyToGo team can assist with integrating SurveyToGo and Dialfire to meet your project requirements.

You can also explore Dialfire directly by visiting its website and creating a trial account.

Option 3: Use SurveyToGo Data Collection Applications

If you do not require a dedicated dialing solution and manage your own respondent sample, interviewers can conduct telephone interviews while using the SurveyToGo data collection applications.

Examples include:

• Using PC Surveyor while conducting calls through platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or another communication solution.

• Using the SurveyToGo mobile application while making a standard phone call. This approach is especially useful for interviewers working in areas with limited or no internet connectivity, as interviews can be conducted offline and synchronized later.

Summary

SurveyToGo provides a flexible survey platform for CATI projects and can be used alongside your existing telephony infrastructure, integrated with a dedicated dialing solution such as Dialfire, or used independently with the SurveyToGo data collection applications.

This flexibility allows organizations to choose the CATI workflow that best fits their operational requirements.