Survey Respondents Frequently Asked Questions
WHY AM I GETTING CALLS OR TEXTS?
You or your household have been selected to participate in a survey being conducted by the University of Southern Maine’s Survey Research Center (SRC). Each year, the SRC conducts several public opinion polls and surveys covering a wide range of topics. If you wish to participate in the survey, you can simply wait for another call or text from our call center or call the toll-free number, 888-850-2266, to let us know when a good time would be to call you.
HOW DID YOU GET MY PHONE NUMBER?
For most surveys, the sample is provided to us from third parties, including the State of Maine Departments, non-profit entities, etc. The Survey Research Center will only use this information to send invitations to participate in our research.
I’M ON THE “DO NOT CALL” LIST; WHY AM I STILL GETTING CALLS OR TEXTS?
The “Do Not Call” List applies to companies trying to market products to consumers. We are calling for public opinion and social research surveys and are not marketing any products. To opt out of a text message survey campaign, please reply STOP to the initial invitation.
WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING ME AFTER I TOLD YOU I DON’T WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Initial refusals are called again to verify that you do not want to participate in our survey. Sometimes people refuse because our initial attempt occurs at an inconvenient time. Other times we do not get the opportunity to talk to the randomly selected respondent. It is important to verify that the randomly selected adult does not want to participate.
HOW CAN I KNOW I AM BEING ASKED TO PARTICIPATE IN A LEGITIMATE SURVEY?
The University of Southern Maine’s Survey Research Center has been conducting surveys since 1987. Our interviewers will state that they are calling on the behalf of the University of Southern Maine. All interviewers have been trained according to the protocols specified by the USM Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subjects. The research projects we are currently working on are described in the ‘Our Work – Current Projects’ tab of this website.
DO I HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SURVEY?
Survey participation is voluntary. Participation by those randomly selected for the survey is very important to accurately represent the survey population. However, we cannot select anyone else in your household to replace you if you were selected and do not participate, which may mean that adults like you are underrepresented in the results. By participating, you perform a valuable public service for your family, community, and state.
CAN I CALL YOU TO DO THE SURVEY AT MY CONVENIENCE?
Yes. Our call center has a toll-free number, 888-850-2266, that you can call anytime. Please leave your name and phone number (and survey ID if you have been provided one) and let us know when a good time would be to call you.
WILL YOU BE COLLECTING ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION?
We will not collect any personal information that may identify you (e.g., last name, address, birthday, etc.). Question topics range from politics to healthcare to public opinion issues facing the state or country. At the end of the survey there are often questions that ask about demographic information (e.g., age, education, town, etc.). You can always skip any question that you think is too personal or state that you have no opinion on it.
WILL MY INFORMATION BE RELEASED PUBLICLY?
Absolutely not! There is no personally identifiable information associated with each respondent’s answers. A fundamental principle of our surveys is protecting the confidentiality of the respondent’s answers. Answers to questions are aggregated, which means that no one individual’s data can be traced back to a particular person. Even the telephone number called is not included in the dataset so that answers cannot be connected to a specific person or telephone number.
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE ANSWERS/RESULTS/DATA?
Answers from surveys are used to better understand the topics and issues researched. The results of most studies are made available to the public on the Survey Research Center website on the ‘Our Work – Case Studies’ tab. All data collected is used solely for research purposes and personal information will not be sold or otherwise shared.