Interviewer Training Manual

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Market Research Interviewer

Training Manual


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Document Control

Version Number: 3

Written by: Lisa James

Approved by: Ruby Huxter

Updated by: Allyson Little

Approved by: Kerri Loiselle

Purpose and Scope:

The purpose of this manual is to provide you with scheduling processes and procedures required to

perform your daily responsibilities.

OPINIONSEARCHINC.RESTRICTED

Proprietary Warning

The information contained herein is proprietary to Opinion Search Inc. (OSI) and may

not be used, reproduced or disclosed to others except as specifically permitted in

writing by the originator of the information. The recipient of this information, by its

retention and use, agrees to protect the same and the information contained therein

from loss, theft or compromise.


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Contents

1 REVIEW 1

1.1 POLICY &PROCEDURE MANUAL 1

1.2 CONTRACT 1

2 MARKET RESEARCH GUIDELINES 1

2.1 PROJECT SPECIFIC INFORMATION 2

2.1.1 BLIND STUDIES 2

2.1.2 GENDER BRIEFING FOR RESIDENTIAL STUDIES 2

2.2 SAMPLE MANAGEMENT 3

2.3 INTRODUCTION 7

2.4 RAPPORT 8

2.5 SURVEY MANAGEMENT 10

2.6 VERBATIM 12

2.7 PROBING 13

2.8 CLARIFYING 152.9 OPEN-ENDS 16

2.10 ADDITIONAL MONITORING INFORMATION 18

2.11 101CLASSES 18

2.12 APPROACH 18

3 SCHEDULING 19

3.1 ON-LINE SCHEDULING. 19

4 GETTING STARTED 21

4.1 IMPORTANT SYMBOLS 21

4.2 INTERVIEWER WORKSTATION (BOOTH) 21

4.3 WORKSTATION (BOOTH) MENU 22

4.4 WHAT DO I NEED TO BEGIN? 224.5 HOW AND WHEN? 22

4.6 BREAK ABUSE 26

4.7 ENDING A PAUSE OR BREAK 26

4.8 DO I HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET? 26

4.9 MODES 27

5 DATA COLLECTION SOFTWARE 27

5.1 VCCAGENT SCREEN 27

5.2 NAVIGATING THROUGH YOUR SURVEY 29

5.3 MRIA(MARKET RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE ASSOCIATION) 30

5.4 DIAL DIFF 30

5.5 NOTES 305.6 MOVING FROM CALL TO CALL 30

5.7 GETTING TO THE DISPOSITION PAGE 31

5.8 CALL-BACKS 32

5.8.1 CALL-BACKS SYSTEM:1 32

5.8.2 CALL-BACKS SYSTEM:2 33

5.9 USING YOUR TELEPHONE 34

6 EXPERIENCED INTERVIEWERS 35


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6.1 PRE-TESTS 35

6.2 ELITE PROJECT:BUSINESS TO BUSINESS 35

6.3 RECRUITING PROJECT 36


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1 Review1.1Policy & Procedure ManualOpinion Search has prepared aMarket Research Interviewer Policy and Procedure Manual. The content of

this manual has been covered in the introductory training session. Further to your training, please refer toPolicy and Procedure Manual. It will act as a reference for you throughout your employment with Opinion

Search.

The manual deals with issues related to work procedures, quality, attendance, security, performance

reviews, termination, etc. It is at the Managements discretion to change policies without advanced notice

should the need arise.

It will be assumed that you are aware of, and will follow all policies and procedures set out in the manual.

Failure to do so may result in immediate termination of employment. Should you have any questions with

regards to the manual or would like an up-dated copy, please consult the Human Resources department.

1.2ContractAs a part time employee of Opinion Search you have signed a contract. The contract states that you will

be working as a market research interviewer. In this capacity, you will be responsible for conducting

telephone interviews in a professional and timely manner. If you require clarification on any aspect of the

job, please contact your Supervisor.

Due to the nature of our work, we cannot guarantee you a set number of hours. When we have work for

which you are qualified, we will allow you to schedule shifts in accordance with the scheduling policy. The

policy requires you to book a minimum of 16 hours per week and a minimum of 20 hours of weekend

work per month unless otherwise stated in your contract. If a study finishes in advance of a due date,

your work for that study is over.

All work that you conduct at Opinion Search is of a confidential nature. Your signature on the contract

acknowledges that you are fully aware of the confidential nature of all work you do for Opinion Search andof your own personal liability for any disclosure you make of this work. Due to our open door policy with

clients and the fact that we are located in the same building as some of our clients, discretion is extremely

important. We share the building, washrooms, elevators and surrounding restaurants. Therefore, the

person next to you could be a client. You are not to discuss any of the work you are involved in at Opinion

Search with anyone, even another employee, outside of the Opinion Search facilities. To do so may result

in dismissal.

By signing the contract, you have agreed to all the conditions and terms therein. Should you not be willing

or able to adhere to the criteria of the contract, please let us know immediately. If you have any

questions, regarding the terms and conditions of the contract, please see the Human Resources

department.

2 Market Research GuidelinesAs a long standing member of the Market Research profession, we adhere to all market research

principles. As a member of the organization, you are expected to adhere to these principles. This section

will provide you with the basic steps on how to conduct yourself during your employment here to ensure

the data gathered are reliable. Evaluation will be provided on an ongoing basis in person or by the

Interviewer Portal to ensure compliance to our standards. Reports on your work are kept in your


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employee file. If you have any questions regarding these guidelines, please feel free to speak to one of the

members of our monitoring team.

2.1Project specific information2.1.1 Blind Studies

On some projects you are permitted to inform participants who the end client is (who is paying for the

research). More often, however, you are not. We guarantee our clients third party confidentiality. When

the clients name is mentioned in the actual survey text on the screen, then and only then,may you

mention it. A clients name mentioned in a project briefing or briefing document is only for your

information. Mentioning who the end client is can often bias a participants answers. They may give a

glowing review about the client or a disparaging evaluation, based on a previous experience. If the clients

name is not on the screen and respondent is questioning you about the sponsor please say,

Unfortunately this is a blind study and we do not want to bias your opinions by revealing the client

name.

We also protect respondent confidentiality. When our client provides us with a list of their customers tocontact, under no circumstances are you to reveal the sponsors identity to a third party, not even a

spouse.

2.1.2 Gender briefing for residential studiesFrom time to time a supervisor will come around to inform you that we currently do not have an adequate

demographic gender mix. You will be asked to try and speak with someone of a particular gender; the

supervisors will let you know. For example, men first means you are required to ask for the male head of

the household but can conduct the survey with a female if there is no male available or men only means

you are required to ask for the male head of the household, if there is no male, thank them and complete

the call. If there is a male in the household that is not available at the time, you may ask for an appropriate

call back time. Monitors will also be advised of the inadequate demographic gender mix. They will

evaluate you on your effort to ask for the appropriate target gender. If you encounter any problems

and/or concerns, please see a supervisor or monitor immediately. We do not want to offend anyone, only

obtain an accurate demographic mix.

Politely ask, May I speak with the male head of the household? or as directed in the survey. Please be very polite when asking for a specific gender. Some people hold very strong gender and

political views. Let the respondent know why you are making such a request.

Some people may be wary that you are trying to identify who they are, if they are alone at home,etc. Please be very reassuring with them. Let the respondent know why you are looking for a

specific gender.

Explain that this is a research methodology. It is an industry standard to avoid any gender bias(either towards men or women). It is not meant to offend, only to assist in getting accurate,

representative results.

The sensitivity of gender selection also applies to language, age and other selection criteria. Please be

aware of and sensitive to these issues.


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2.2Sample ManagementQuality guidelines involve more than ensuring that a survey is completed correctly; they are also used to

make sure that the sample provided for a particular project is used to its fullest potential; preserving each

piece of sample for as long as possible is one of your priorities while on the phone.

Converting Refusals

Attempts to convert the refusal. People can refuse to do a survey for a variety of reasons. Here are some

suggestions for rebuttals:

RESPONDENTS REFUSAL: INTERVIEWERS REBUTTAL:

Im busy.

Im going out.

I have company over right

now.

Its dinnertime, why would

you call?

Im sorry if this is a bad time for you. What would be

a better time to call back?

If the survey is short: This survey only takes a few

minutes and Ill go through it as quickly as possible.

I dont like giving out

personal information over the

phone.

All of your information will be kept strictly

confidential and is recorded in aggregate form only.

I dont really know much

about (survey topic), so I cant

really contribute much to it.

Any input that you have can help to improve

products and servicesthere are no wrong answers.

Were looking to speak with people who have

varying degrees of knowledge regarding this topic.

Wed really appreciate your participation.

I never do surveys.

Im not interested.

Is there anyone else at this number who might be

interested?

How do I know youre

legitimate?

This survey is registered with the National Survey

Registration System of the Marketing Research and

Intelligence Association. If you would like to confirm

with them, you can call 1-800-554-9996. Please refer

to registration number XXX-XXXXXXXXX.

IMPORTANT: Not all surveys that we do are

registered with the MRIA, so please confirm this

before telling the respondent that it is.

Im on aDo Not Call list. That list only applies to telemarketers, and I can

assure you were not trying to sell anything.

If the respondent is rude while refusing to do the survey you must remain polite and professional and if

necessary, get a supervisor to help.

Callback Information

If you were successful in your attempts to convert a refusal, the second step in preserving a sample is

logging the callback.

Records required call back information. The more accurate and detailed the information, the more helpful

it is. Abbreviations commonly used in callback information are: CTD (Contacted), NYC (Not Yet

Contacted), LC (Last Called) and CB (Call Back). Here are some examples of how and when to use them:


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CTDUse it when you have reached the targeted respondent.o In sample with names:

Use the format CTD Darrell Monroe Please note that you should be copy and pasting the respondents name directly

from the Introduction pageo In General Population Sample and your reached a potential respondent:

Use the format CTDmale/CTD female Please note that you can ask for their first name and note it in the CB information

NYCUse it when you have not reached the targeted respondent.o In sample with names:

Use the format NYC Bob Smitho In General Population Sample when hung up on during Introduction or you have reached

someone not eligible (age, gender, not a resident of the home, etc.)

Use the format NYC respondent LC & CB

LC and CB need to be used in every call back that you log. LC notes the last date and time that the numberwas called. Avoid vague wording like Monday and be as specific as possible to avoid confusion. Make

sure to include the reason why the respondent was unavailable.

E.G. LC June 25 @ 1432, LC 06/25 @ 3:30 pm (making supper)

CB notes the most convenient time for the number to be called back. Again, avoid vague wording like

Later, Tomorrow, Random or Anytime.

E.G. CB December 12 @ 4 p.m., CB 12/12 @ 1600

Logging Dispositions

If the call did not end with a completion, then it needs to be logged as one of the options from the

disposition screen.

Records appropriate disposition. No answer, busy line, answering machine (residential), not in service and

fax/modem/pager are all self-explanatory, but the other options are explained below.

Answering Machine:

Most daytime (and some evening) projects have specific instructions about leaving a voicemail (VM).

Follow those instructions whenever they apply.

An automated attendant is not the same as an answering machine; it is more like a receptionist with

whom you communicate through the phone buttons.

Generally, pushing 0 will take you to the receptionist, but it does not work on every system, so make

sure to listen to the instructions provided. If you do not attempt to get through the system, it can beconsidered burning sample, which is a major infraction.

Callbacks (CB):

Regardless of the type of CB being used, it needs to include all the informationcovered in Sample

Management: Callback Information.

- General: To be used if you speak to someone, but are not offered a specific time and day to CB.


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- Specific: To be used if you speak to someone and are given a specific time and day to CB, in orderto ensure that the respondent is contacted at a time that is convenient for them.

Language Barrier (Not Eng/Fr or is Deaf):

The Dos and Donts of using this disposition are as follows:

Do use it when

You are on an English only project and you speak to someone who can only communicate inanother language

o NOTE: If you are bilingual and speak the same language as the respondent you cannottranslate the survey. See the Verbatim tutorial for more information.

You ask for the respondent and are told by them or someone else that the respondent is very hardof hearing or is deaf

Do not use it when

The project is being run in two languages (E.G. English and Spanish), but you only speak English.Log the call as a specific callback, write down the questionnaire # and let a supervisor know that

the respondent needs to be called back in Spanish. Some projects offer language dispositions that apply to that specific survey, so please familiarize

yourself with available dispositions in test mode.

Duplicate Record (this WAVE/exact survey):

If the respondent says that they have already done the survey, ask if they would mind going through a

couple of questions with you. If, after the first few questions they insist they have done this survey, thank

them for their time and log the call.

Invalid # (Business or Residential):

Business If you are on a residential project and you reach a business, you can log it under Invalid #

Business, as long as you have confirmed that it is in fact a business number. Even if someone answers the

phone, Hello, Johnnys Pizza!, always ask if you have reached a business. If someone has a homebusiness, this may be their residential and business number; as such, they are still eligible to complete the

survey.

Residential If you are on a business project and you reach a residential number, log it under Invalid #

Residential. Again, always confirm that it is a residential number before logging it under this disposition,

just in case someone has a home business and would therefore be able to participate in the survey.

Incapable of completing (ill/away/deceased):

If someone has a terminal disease, is out of the country indefinitely, or has passed away, simply apologize

and log the call. If someone has a cold or is on a business trip, log it as a callback. You would want to

check with your supervisor for the projects end date, for example if they say call back in 4 weeks,

however the project is ending in two weeks. In this case the person would be considered away.

Call Privacy:

Do not try to get through to this respondent. If you encounter call privacy, log it accordingly.

Refusals:

- Household/Company - This is to be used in situations where respondents may say things like:o We do not do surveyso We are not interested


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o I will not transfer this call to anybodyo We have a company policy not to participate in research

- Respondent This is to be used when you have your targeted respondent and they say:o I do not have timeo I am not interestedo Please call somebody else

- Please note you must attempt to convert all refusals, business and residential; only after you havetried unsuccessfully to convert them by educating them about the purpose of market research,

the length of the studies and their participation, should you then log a record as refusal.

Terminations:

This is to be used when the respondent initially agrees to do the survey and then for whatever reason

decides to stop and will not consent to be called back to complete. This differs from a refusal because you

have begun and are passed the introduction and participation section. Please log it as a refusal if you havenot yet started the survey.

Non-Qualified If the respondent terminates the survey before you reach the screen that saysINTERVIEWER NOTE: THE RESPONDENT HAS QUALIFIED FOR STUDY, it is a non-qualified

termination.

o This can also be used if they do not qualify for the survey based on the initial qualifyingquestions.

Qualified If a respondent no longer wants to do the survey and you have moved past thescreen that indicates that the respondent has qualified for the survey, it is a qualified termination.

Partial Qualified Complete If the respondent wants to terminate the survey and you have notreached the screen that says that the respondent has qualified, BUT the respondent asks or agrees

to be called later, then you can log it as a Partial Qualified Complete.

Weird Sample/Wrong Sample:

If you are on a project that uses name sample and the person with whom you speak tells you that you

have the wrong number

If you experience any weird clicking noises or something that wouldnt be considered a fax/modem/pager-

type of noise

Do Not Call:

Although market research is different from telemarketing and national Do Not Call lists do not apply to us,

you will encounter people who want to be put on the list. Make sure you log it as disposition 89: do not

call, the phone number will be added to our Do Not Call list in 2- 3 business days.

Miscellaneous:

Most calls will be logged under one of the dispositions explained above, but anything that doesnt fit can

be logged here. Always check with a supervisor beforehand.


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Sample Management Infractions:

Minor infractions include:

Does not attempt to convert the refusal Does not record correct call back information after gathering call back information. Does not record appropriate disposition(s)Major infractions are given for: Burning sample/ Does not attempt to convert refusals repeatedly:

o Wasting the sample; logging no answers as refusals, logging automated attendants as AMwithout trying to get through.

o Making minimal/no attempt to convert refusals. Uses profanity in CB information

o Clients can read our CB information and profanity is never tolerated.2.3IntroductionFirst impressions are important, and how you deal with a respondent at the beginning of a call can

determine whether or not you get the completion.

General Introduction Guidelines

Say hello rather than hi; it sounds more professional. Use a first and last name when introducing yourself

o It does not have to be your first and last name, but make sure it is still appropriate. Keep the introduction as short, professional and positive as possible You can usually re-word the introduction, but always follow project-specific instructions.

o If re-wording the introduction, make sure you keep all the key pointscompany name,reason for the call, etc.

If the respondent asks how long the survey is, be as accurate and honest as possible. Emphasize the fact that the length of the survey depends on the respondents answers.

Request for targeted respondent

Targeted respondentis the person with whom you want to do the survey.

Name-sample:

Name-sample means that the client has provided us with a specific name; ask to speak with theperson whose name appears on the survey.

In situations where you are permitted to ask for someone other than the named respondent,make note of the new name in any CB information that you record so the next person who calls

that number knows who to ask for.

Business surveys: While you may have a name to ask for, there is a good chance the respondent iseither no longer working with that company, or not in the same position as before. If this happensfollow any project-specific guidelines regarding asking for referrals, if you are not sure, ask a

supervisor.

General population sample:

Follow any instructions given regarding who the targeted respondent isthe person in thehousehold who deals with banking issues, groceries, car purchases, etc.

If the person who answers the phone does not want to do the survey, always ask to speak tosomeone else in the household. General population sample generally means that there are more


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opportunities for a completion within a household since we can usually speak to anyone who is

available, and are not limited to a specific name.

Establishes rapport with the respondent

Throughout the many calls that you make, you will encounter difficult respondents. Here are some things

to keep in mind:

Smile while you are talking, respondents will judge you based on the sound of your tone andmannerisms over the phone and this will affect the number of completions that you get.

Remain polite and professional at all times Treat everyone you talk to on the phone with respect

Introduction infractions:


Does not request for targeted respondent Does not establish rapport with the respondent or conduct survey in positive manner

Major infractions include:

Reveals sponsor identity on a blind study.o A blind study means that the client is not specified to the respondent. You will usually find

out who the client is during the briefing. If a respondent guesses the client, you cannot

confirm whether or not they are right. If a survey reveals who the client is at the end, you

cannot give that information to a respondent before that point.

Reveals sponsor identity to a third party:o This is applicable to any project that is using name-sample, including finances,

investments, insurance, politics, health, etc.

o You can mention you are calling from Opinion Search to anyone on the phone, but do notmention the company were calling on behalf of.

o When you are not sure if you can reveal the sponsor to a third-party, always check with asupervisor.

2.4RapportEstablishing a good rapport with a respondent is the first step in gaining a respondents trust. You must

convey to them, using only your voice, that you are a trustworthy individual, one with whom they should

feel comfortable. Here are a few things to keep in mind when attempting to establish a rapport.

Exhibit a positive and professional attitude

Try to sound as upbeat, friendly and professional as possible while you are talking. If you sound bored,

disinterested or frustrated, that is going to be conveyed to the respondent, so be as positive as possible.

How you interact with the respondent is a reflection on the company. A good way of judging how to act in

any given situation is to assume that you are being monitored; if there is anything you would not do or sayif you knew a monitor was listening, you should not do or say it at all while on the phone. A few other key

points include:

Be polite at all times. If a respondent is giving you a hard time, you may ask for help from asupervisor.

While relating to the respondent is important, you must also maintain a level of professionalism.The language you use is a key component of maintaining this balance. Avoid informal terms like,

dude or buddy.

Use your mute button for situations such as when you are on hold or in between call.


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Use appropriate voice variables

Conveying information over the phone can be difficult in the best of situations. Throw into the mix bad

phone reception, distracted respondents, plus a busy call-centre, and it can be difficult to get through a

survey at times. While you may not be able to do much about those variables, there are some things that

you do have control over.

Mirror the tone and pace set by the respondentIf the respondent is talking at a normal pace, follow that pace as closely as possible; if you

talk faster than the respondent, it seems like you are trying to hurry them off the phone.

If the respondent seems to be in a hurry, you can speed up the pace of the survey. It is important to remember that while you may have worked on this study for several hours, it is

the respondents first time hearing the question. If you notice that a respondent is frequently

asking you to repeat what you have said, this could be for one of several reasons:

o You are talking too quickly to be understood; slow down your pace.o You are slurring your words, or possibly mumbling; make sure to enunciate.o The respondent could be hard-of-hearing; try a combination of speaking up, slowing down

and enunciating until they can understand you.

Remain impartial during data collection

In the world of market research, the importance of impartiality during data collection cannot bestressed enough. You must remain neutral, using language such as Moving on or Next

Question whenever possible but always use inflection in your voice. This way, your tone is

friendly, encouraging, and it allows you to show respondents that you are acknowledging their

thoughts.

If a respondent asks you for your opinion or what you think about any given topic, tell them thatyou do not want to create a bias or influence their answers in any way.

Re-read the question. Use your voice variables to help the respondent understand the question.Rapport infractions:


Does not maintain a positive and professional attitude Does not use appropriate voice variables Does not remain impartial during data collection


Makes negative comments:o Any negativity, whether it is about the company, the survey or the respondent, is

unacceptable.

o If the respondent makes a negative comment and you agree with them, it will result in amajor infraction.

o If you are not on the line with anyone, but a monitor or supervisor overhears you makinga negative comment about a respondent, you will get a major infraction.

Is rude to the respondent:o Whether you are intentionally rude to a respondent (while talking to them) or accidentally

rude (unintentionally hanging up on them) you can get a major infraction.

o If you accidentally hang up on a respondent, let a monitor or supervisor knowimmediately so that you avoid a warning.

Uses profanity:o Swearing is prohibited in the work place.


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2.5Survey ManagementWhile market research may seem to be a very straight-forward process of asking questions and recording

the responses, there are a number of things you must pay attention to.

Following special instructionsSpecial instructions are guidelines that are given in addition to, or in lieu of, the quality guidelines that we

already have in place. You must follow any special instructions pertaining to any given survey, and they

may be conveyed to you in several ways:

Training and/or briefing:o There is generally a training or briefing the first day that you are on a new project; if you

have any questions after that, or if you forget anything, talk to a supervisor.

Briefing sheet:o This is a form of support document provided to you either in a training or by your

supervisor that gives project related instruction which you should familiarize yourself with

prior to starting the project.

Word of mouth:

o As a project progresses, quotas change and close. If a supervisor informs you that acertain quota is changing or has closed, take note of and follow these instructions.

E.G. Men-first (you must ask to speak to a male in the household, but youcan do the survey with a female if the male is not available)

E.G. Men-only (you can only do the survey with a male)Following screen instructions

Screen instructions may appear for every question in a survey, or just a few They can appear in many forms: highlighted, (in brackets), bolded, underlined, italicized, (etc). A few examples of screen instructions include:

o Do Not Read Listo Read Listo Pause after reading each option

Do not assume that a previous questions screen instructions apply to any other question; followthe instructions as they appear.

Never read the Do Not Know or Refused options. Both are valid responses, and you should recordit if the respondent gives this response, but do not offer it.

This also applies to the skip patterns on recruiting surveys; follow the instructions carefully to ensure

responses are accurate.

Entering appropriate hard codes

Hard codes are the numbers found beside each of the options on a list; be careful to select thecorrect one.

This can be very important as hard codes may determine the survey flow and if not enter correctlycould invalidate the completion.

When entering a hard code, it is easy to accidentally reverse 03 and make it 30. If both of thosenumbers are options on the list, you have recorded the wrong information, so be aware of what

you are entering for any given question.


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There is at times an Other box found for some questions. If the answer is on the list, do not typeit into the Other box, as it will cause problems to the survey flow and invalidate the completion.

You do not need to probe the Other box, as it is an option on a list and not an open-end. You do, however, need to edit the Other box for any spelling mistakes.

Never type Dont know or Nothing into the Other box; select the Dont Know or Refusedoption instead.

Redirecting the respondent

If a respondent starts to deviate from answering the questionswhether it is related to the surveyor notyou must refocus their attention. Use wording such as: Moving onor The next

question is.

If a respondent asks you a question (Hows the weather? orWhere are you calling from?) youcan answer them, but then move on to the next question.

If you find a respondent is adding a lot of comments that are related to the survey, but do notanswer the questions you are asking, let them know that you can add the extra information at the

end of the survey, but not before that.

Acknowledge that what theyre saying is important and will be recorded, but address it at a moreappropriate time.

Other survey management instructions:

Always go through test mode when starting a new project. You are allotted 10 minutes at thebeginning of your shift to go through test mode.

o This will help you to avoid problems with screen instructions and entering incorrect hardcodes.

o Make sure to familiarize yourself with lists so that you are not wasting time during thesurvey looking for a response.

Survey management infractions:


Does not follow special instructions Does not follow screen instructions Does not enter appropriate hard codes Does not redirect the respondent to the survey


Accepts response(s) from a third party:o If you are speaking with a respondent and they ask someone else for the answer to a

question, let them know that any other input could bias the survey, and they should give

you their own answer, based on what they know/think. If they cannot answer thequestion, let them know that Dont Know is an acceptable response.

o If you start a survey with someone and they do not feel comfortable answering thequestions, you may be able to do the survey with someone else. However, you must go

back to the beginning of the survey if you switch respondents, and you have to ask all the

questions again.

o You cannot have a third-party translate for the respondent Finishes survey after termination or falsifying data:

o If a respondent hangs up before the end of a survey, go directly to the disposition screen.


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o The statistics section is still part of the surveydo not tell the respondent they do nothave to answer those questions.

o If they feel uncomfortable with a question and does not want to answer it, simply enterRefused and move on.

o If you are in the statistics section and a respondent hangs up on you, speak with asupervisordo not enter any more answers.

o If a respondents answer is going to disqualify them from the survey, you must still enterthe answer they gave you. Do no record a different answer to ensure they qualify for the

survey.

o Whether its your first report or your fiftieth, falsifying data is grounds for immediatedismissal.

Gives address to non-qualified recruits (applies to Recruiting only)o Do not give the address to a recruit unless you are sure they qualify for the focus group.o Always double-check with the recruiting supervisor before inviting someone in.

2.6VerbatimVerbatim is a key part of the data collection business, as it allows for more precision when comparing the

findings from respondents. Changing a question by omitting, adding or reversing just a few words can

change the entire outcome of a survey.

Reads word for word

Do not paraphrase the questionso Read the question as it appears; do not interchange one word with another, even if it

happens to be a synonym.

When going through test mode, confirm pronunciationo This is especially important when it comes to the names of people and places in the

survey.

o Although there may be some obvious spelling mistakes, be careful when correcting them E.G. Infarction is a word; it is, the formation of a localized area of tissue that is

dead or dying, having been deprived of its blood supply because of an obstruction

by embolism or thrombosis. It is not a misspelling of infraction.

Reads all questions in full

All questions must be read in fullo If a respondent cuts you off before you have finished reading the question, let them know

that you must finish reading it in order to maintain the integrity of the survey

Read lists in fullo Some sets of questions have an introduction on a separate screen.o When reading a list, you must read it in fulleven if a respondent cuts you off. The

respondent needs to be aware of all possible options available to them on any given

survey.

o If there is a repeating list for a set of questions, and it was preceded by a paragraph thatexplained the list, you only have to read the options the first time through unless

otherwise specified or if the respondent has forgotten the instructions.

o If the respondent forgets the options on a list, you must reread all of the choices.


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Stays within text

If the respondent does not understand a word, term or phrase, you cannot define it for themo Sometimes the client provides a definition of the word, term or phrase under the

question; if it is on the same screen, you may read the definition to the respondent.

o If there is no explanation provided on that screen, tell the respondent to base answers ontheir own interpretation of the question.

If a respondent does not understand a question, you cannot explain it to themo Your definition of the question might not be exactly what the client meant, and a bias may

be introduced.

o The clients are not just looking for what a respondent knows and understands; learningwhat a respondent does not know or understand can be useful to them as well.

If a respondent does not feel comfortable answering questions they do not fully understand, youcan always select the Dont Know option.

Verbatim infractions:

Minor Infractions include:

Does not read word for word Does not read all questions in full Does not stay within text


Skips questions:o If a question appears in the survey, you must read it.o If a respondent asks you to skip a question, or a section of questions, let them know that

you must read all sections in full.

o If a respondent does not know the answer to a question or set of questions, or a particularset of questions does not apply to them, you can choose the Dont Know optionafter

you have finished reading each one.

o If a respondent gives you an answer before you have actually read the question,acknowledge the answer, but let them know you still have to read the question and theywill have to give you their answer after you are done reading the question.

2.7ProbingProbing is a technique we use in order to elicit as much relevant information as possible from the

respondent. Although not all surveys require probing, most do, and you need to be able to recognize

when to probe and what kind of probing is necessary.

Reasons for probing

Many of the questions in a survey limit the respondent to giving just one answer; probing is ourway of letting the respondent know that certain questions allow for more than one response.

Some probing questions also allow the respondent to explain a situation in more detail, which, inturn, helps the client to fully understand the respondents problems, concerns or circumstances.

Types of probing

Multiple-mention:

The focus of these questions is quantity; these questions allow the respondents to select morethan one answer.


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Open-end:

Open-ended questions offer respondents the opportunity to provide a more detailed answer thana one-answer or multiple-mention question might allow.

How to probe

for multiple-mentions:

There are several ways to correctly probe for multiple-mentions, including:o Are there any others?o Can you think of any more?o Is there anything else youd like to add?

for open-ends:

There are usually two parts to probing for an open-end question; probing for more responses andprobing for a more detailed response. Most open-end questions can be probed for in the

following way:

o Can you add or elaborate?o Can you offer an example?

Other questions, however, are phrased in such a way that indicates the client is only looking forone answer:

o What is the main reason you chose that bank?o What was the primary purpose for your trip?o What is the one thing you would change about your customer service experience?o What is the most important issue to you today?

When probing for questions that ask the respondent for only one answer, you should only beprobing for detail:

o Can you elaborate on that?o Can you be more specific?o Could you give me an example?

E.G. You: What was the best birthday present you ever received?

Respondent: Um a car on my 16thbirthday and a trip to Italy last year.

You: And if you had to choose between them, which would say was the best?

Respondent: The car.

You: Can you elaborate on that?

Other probing instructions:

Keep probing until the respondent tells you they have nothing more to add. Follow any probing instructions found on the screen; if these come into conflict with any probing

guidelines that we have, you should follow the instructions on the screen for that particular

question.o E.G. Probe 3 times (probe a maximum of 3 times)o E.G. Do not probe (do not probe for that specific question)

Do not use negative or closed probing; this is probing that discourages the respondent from givingyou more answers:

o So thats it?o Theres nothing else?o Thats all you can think of?


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Probing infractions:


Does not fully probe all multiple-mention questions Does not fully probe all open-end questions


No attempt to probe (3 or more times):o There were multiple-mention and/or open-end questions during the survey that you

didnt probe at all, or failed to probe fully

2.8ClarifyingClarifying is required in the following situations:

When a respondent gives you more than one answer; When a respondents answer is vague or ambiguous; If a respondent expects you to do math on a question

How to clarify

when a respondent gives you more than one answer:

Tell the respondent that you can only accept one answer and ask them which one they would likeyou to record.

o E.G. You: On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your bank?Respondent: Oh, 8 or 9.

You: I can only record one answerwould you like me to put 8 or 9?

when a respondents answer is vague or ambiguous:

Reread a few options or the list, emphasizing key words if necessary, and ask them which option isthe most applicable.

o E.G.: You: What current issue is the most important to you: the environment, theeconomy, the war, or the winner of American Idol?

Respondent: The second one.

You: Would that be the environment or the economy?

o If a respondents answer could be one of two or more options, you must clarify with themneverassume a respondents answer based on their tone or pattern of answering. When clarifying, you

must always offer at least two options. If you only offer one, it is suggesting or leading the

respondent.

o E.G.: You: Would you say you are Very Satisfied, Somewhat Satisfied, SomewhatDissatisfied or Very Dissatisfied with the service you received at your bank

Respondent: Dissatisfiedthat was the worst customer experience of my life!

You: So would that be Somewhat or Very Dissatisfied?

...if a respondent expects you to do math on a question:

Regardless of how simple the math is, you cannot answer for a respondent. The way you wouldanswer a question is not necessarily the same way they would.

Explain to the respondent that any input from you, whether based on opinion or fact, would biasthe survey. If they do not know the answer, Dont Know is a valid option.

o E.G. You: What percentage of the week do you get the paper?Respondent: Every day.

You: So what percentage would you say?

Respondent: Lets say 95%.


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This also applies to questions like How many people are in your household? If a respondent says, Its

just me and my husband, you must clarify and get an actual number. You should not be assuming that the

answer is two.

Other clarifying instructions:

If a question has a Do Not Read list and the respondent gives you an answer that could be one ofseveral choices on the list, you are expected to clarify.

o E.G. You: What store do you shop at most frequently?Respondent: Sears.

You: (noticing that several options pertain to Sears) Would that be Sears Home

Outfitters, Sears.ca, Sears Catalogue, or Sears Outlet?

If you have tried to clarify with a respondent at least 3 times and they are not giving you a validanswer, you can enter Refused (because they are refusing to answer the question appropriately)

and then move on to the next question.

Do not repeat a respondents answers as a way to clarify. If you didnt hear them, or arent surewhat they said, ask them to repeat their answer.

Clarifying infractions:


Does not clarify ambiguous responses using 2 optionsMajor infractions include:

No attempt to clarify (3 or more times):o The respondent gave you vague answers, or offered more than one, and rather than

clarifying with them, you selected whichever response you thought was best.

Leads respondent (3 or more times):o The respondent gave you vague answers, or offered more than one response, and instead

of offering them two options when clarifying, you only offered one.

2.9Open-endsThe goal of open-ended questions is to provide the client with more specific information than the hard-

code questions may allow. This means that the data must be collected and recorded accurately at all

stages of the open-end.

Step One: Communicating with the respondent

In order for the client to benefit from an open-ended question, it is imperative that the respondent

understand the question and give a relevant answer. Here are some points to keep in mind:

The respondents answer must relate to the questiono If the answer given by the respondent does not seem to be relevant to the question

asked, they may not have understood the question. Re-read the question at a slower

pace, and put emphasis on different words to make it as clear as possible.

o If you have re-read the question and the respondent still cannot answer it, move on to thenext question.

Step Two: Typing the open-end

Although you are trying to echo the respondents answer as closely as possible, tiny errors often occur.

One or two words might be replaced, reversed, or removed, potentially changing the answer completely,


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so in order to preserve the accuracy of this information, precautions must be taken to limit these changes

as much as possible.

Comments must be entered verbatimword-for-word.o Do not paraphrase, rephrase or summarizeo Do ask the respondent to slow down and/or repeat what they said if you do not get

everything the first time; emphasize the importance of recording their input as accurately

as possible

Open-end answers are a direct quote from the respondent and should be recorded in a first-person perspective.

o Do not type he, she, or they in the answer unless the respondent used them in thecontext of their answer

Other open-end instructions:

If the respondent swears while giving a response, do not type in the expletive.o Do enter the profanity as ***, indicating the respondents language, while still maintaining

professionalism in the open-end.

Step Three: Confirming the informationYou must confirm the accuracy and quality of the information. This is done with the respondent and

individually.

Re-reading the open-end aloud helps to eliminate mistakes that arise from miscommunicationbetween you and the respondent, and provides them with the opportunity to clear up any

ambiguities that may have occurred.

o Every time a respondent adds or changes something to the open-end, you must rereadthe new addition before you probe.

E.G. You: Alright, so Ive entered Whenever I go to the bank, I have to wait inline until they tell me theyre ready, is that correct?

Respondent: Thats until the teller is ready.

You: Whenever I go to the bank, I have to wait in line until the teller is ready. Isthat correct?

Respondent: Yes.

Editing the open-end is the last step in confirming the information is as correct as possible beforepassing it along to the client

o Double-check spelling and grammar. There are dictionaries at the monitoring station foryou to borrow, and the monitors will also check over your open-ends for you if you ask.

o If you forget to edit your open-ends, please check with the monitors so they can retrievethe record number for you to go back and edit.

Open-end infractions:

Minor infractions include: Does not ensure the response relates to the question Does not enter all comments verbatim Does not re-read what was entered Does not edit open-ends Does not record responses in the first person


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Illegible information left in open-ends:o If you do not edit spelling and grammar in the open-ends and the open-end is

unintelligible, it is of no use to the client.

No information recorded in open-ends:o If a respondent gives you an answer that relates to the question, no matter how short,

you must enter that information. If you are unsure of an answers relevancy, record the

response and then check with a monitor.

2.10 Additional Monitoring InformationOpinion Search maintains a "Zero Tolerance" policy with regards to unprofessional behaviour with

respondents. You are expected to be patient and to treat each respondent with respect. Any interviewer

found to be disrespectful, rude or hostile towards a respondent will be dismissed immediately.

In the case of a respondent filing a complaint after the fact, the interviewer will be issued an incident

report. Such a warning will result in a higher percentage of monitored calls for the interviewer in question

to ensure ongoing quality. Any discrepancy between the respondent's and the interviewer's memory ofthe incident will be recorded in the formal written warning.

If you are put on any recruiting projects (Qualitative), please refer to the recruiting manual for guidelines.

2.11 101 Classes101 classes are offered to refresh your skills in 8 specific areas. These classes will cover all aspects of each

category, give you examples of survey questions and help you improve your interviewing skills. It will be

assumed that you will schedule yourself for all 8 ongoing training classes pertaining to each of the above

quality categories within your first month of employment. You are responsible for knowing and following

our quality standards.

Also, upon passing the quiz at the end of the class, a minor may be removed from your file from thatcategory (up to 5 minors per calendar year). Please see the Market Research Interviewer Policy and

Procedure manual for further information.

2.12 ApproachPlease feel free to ask questions concerning the survey. Look out for skip patterns that are not working,

other specify boxes that do not open or answer scales that are inverted from the way the question was

phrased. Let us know as soon as you suspect something is wrong. It is also your responsibility to make a

supervisor aware of any concerns a respondent has expressed about the survey itself. This applies

whether it is a concern about the subject matter, the length, structure of the survey or any specific

questions/comments. This information is valuable to the client and will be forwarded accordingly.

Do not forgo accuracy for speed. It is far more important to have accurate information than to have asurvey completed quickly. Inaccurate information will not be tolerated. Opinion Search prides itself on

having high quality data collection services.

All respondents are to be treated with trust and goodwill, by market research standards. All respondents

shall be provided the knowledge of their right to privacy, should they decide not to respond to a question

or to participate in a survey. No respondent information or identity will be divulged. No responses will be

released other than in an anonymous aggregate form, and no respondent will be contacted following the


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survey unless they have explicitly agreed to such action. Thank the respondent openly and honestly for

taking the time to participate.

Canadian projects are registered with the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA). You

are encouraged to provide the registration number (found using MRIA button at the bottom of the screen)

to any respondents who are sceptical of our validity. Please reassure respondents that their identity andthe information they provide us will be kept strictly confidential.

You will want to be familiar with market research in general and Opinion Search specifically.

Minimize down time to maximize completions. Keep pause time to a minimum. The more numbers you

dial the higher your odds are of getting a completion and increasing your productivity.

3 SchedulingWe encourage you to keep a copy of the hours you have worked in case there is a discrepancy on your pay

cheque. You can also check the hours that you were paid for on the Interviewer Portal, under WorkHistory. If you think there is a discrepancy, please see your Human Resources department with a copy of

your pay statement for the pay period in question. Any pay issues will be resolved as soon as possible.

If you do not book shifts for three consecutive weeks, this will be considered a voluntary termination and

you will no longer be an active employee. Please refer to the section on Termination of Employment 3.5.

3.1On-Line Scheduling.Our workweek runs from Saturday to Friday. You will generally begin scheduling for the upcoming week

on Monday. You will submit your schedule every week on the Opinion Search Inc. website

(www.opinionsearch.com). To access the scheduling page follow the Crew Login link found in the left panel of the home

page. Click on this link and you will come to the Crew Site login page.

If you have not set up a password, scroll down to where it says First-time User? Register Here. You will then come to the Crew Site registration page. Enter your Employee ID, Interviewer ID, a

password, confirm the password, and then click Submit.

You will then be brought back to the Crew Site login page. You will only have to register once. Afterwards, you will simply need to enter your Interviewer ID and password to gain access to the

scheduling page.

Once you have logged in, click on Scheduling and you will have the option to schedule for the current

week or the upcoming week. Make sure you are scheduling for the correct week.
http://www.opinionsearch.com/http://www.opinionsearch.com/http://www.opinionsearch.com/http://www.opinionsearch.com/


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If there are boxes in the time slots, those shifts are available for you to request. Boxes that say N/A have

been fully booked or are currently unavailable. Please be sure to read the scheduling notes for restrictions

on availability. Click on the box for the time that you wish to work and ensure that there is a checkmark in

the box, indicating that it has been selected. Once you have selected your schedule for the week, click

Refresh Schedule Before Approval then click Submit Schedule For Approval. The shifts you haveselected will say Pending and your request will be sent to the scheduler.

You will not be able to make any changes to your schedule once it has been submitted. Therefore, it is

extremely important to look over your schedule before submitting it to ensure you have not selected a

shift that you cannot work. Opinion Search Inc. offers you the flexibility to schedule your own hours so

cancellations should only be made in an emergency. Incorrectly selecting a shift that you cannot work will

result in an attendance infraction.


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The availability of shifts will depend on your productivity rate. You can find your current productivity rate

by clicking on Details on the scheduling website. The productivity scale is divided into four tiers and

determines when each interviewer can submit his or her schedule.

The following is the schedule for when each tier opens in each city.

In Ottawa:

Tier 1 Monday @ 12:00pm Tier 2 Monday @ 3:00pm Tier 3 Tuesday @ 12:00pm Tier 4 Wednesday @ 12:00pm

In Montreal:

Tier 1 Monday @ 2:00pm Tier 2 Monday @ 2:00pm Tier 3 Tuesday @ 2:00pm Tier 4 Tuesday @ 2:00pm

Your tier is determined by your Productivity Rate as follows:

Tier 1: 1.20 and above Tier 2: 1.00-1.19 Tier 3: 0.80-0.99 Tier 4: 0.80 and lower

After your schedule has been submitted, a confirmation email will be sent to you listing the shifts you

have been approved for and any shifts that may have been denied. Confirmation generally occurs within

24-48 hours of submitting your request.

You can also log on to our website to see what you have been scheduled for. Always refer to the

Confirmed Schedule for Your Name, underneath the shift selection table, for accurate details of your

shifts. The table is for requesting shifts only. Once your schedule has been confirmed you will have the

option to request additional shifts if you wish. Again, once you click Submit no changes can be made.

You can reach your scheduler at the following email address:

- [email protected] in Ottawa- [email protected] in Montreal

4 Getting Started4.1Important symbols This symbol will be used throughout the section to indicate important information to remember.4.2Interviewer Workstation (Booth)Each booth is identified by a unique number. This number is displayed at the top of the wall divider in

each cubicle. When you sit down at your assigned booth, you will notice that your computer is already


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powered on. You should never have to turn on the computer, and accordingly, you should never turn it off

at the end of your shift. If the workstation is not turned on, please notify a supervisor as there may be a

technical issue with the booth.

4.3Workstation (Booth) menuFrom this point forward, we will refer to the workstation menu as the "booth menu".

The booth menu will also indicate the booth number. Should there be a discrepancy between the cubicle

number and the booth menu, the booth menu is the correct number. Please advise a supervisor if this

should be the case.

The booths have a menu system installed that will provide you access to all the necessary tools to

accomplish your task at hand. This menu also serves a second function, it accounts for your time from the

moment you login to your last logout of the day. For example, if you are working a 4 hour shift, we should

be able to account for 4 hours of menu data from your assigned booth(s). This information is used by the

Human Resource department for performance reviews and by Payroll for remuneration. It is also used to

ensure you are using your time appropriately.

As we have made every effort to make this process as simple and secure as possible, it is up to you to use

the menu feature as they are designed.

You may change the language of the booth menu between English and French by pressing the En/Fr

button. This will only change the language of the booth menu. All other software's language can only be

changed in the respective software. Please see a supervisor before doing so.

Throughout this section you will find images to demonstrate the actions described.4.4What do I need to begin?When you arrive for your shift you should already have the following in your possession:

Employee ID: This is required to access the booth menu system. This is a numeric ID that identifiesyou as an employee. This number is unique to you and is not recycled from previous employees.This ID should not be shared under any circumstances.

ID Password: This is the password associated with your Employee ID. This password should not beshared under any circumstances.

Interviewer ID: This is a three-character ID that is used to identify you as an Opinion Searchinterviewer for the data collection software. This ID belongs to you as long as you remain an active

employee. This ID is recycled from previous employees.

Access Card: This card is mandatory. It will allow you access to the call center. Please note that we reserve the right to cancel a shift, without remuneration, for any employeethat does not have in their possession the required information and access card. This decision will be

evaluated on an individual case by case basis.

4.5How and When?How to: - Login using my Employee ID and Password?

Type your Employee ID in the space provided, press Enter


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Type your ID Password in the space provided, pressEnter

Type your Group Number in the space provided andselect a study number from the pull downmenu, press Enter

The default mode CATI has already been selected for you, pressEnter


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Select the software option (NORMAL, TEST, CREATION or INBOUND) the supervisor has specified.If no option is specified, you will select NORMAL

TEST, CREATION and INBOUND are explained in the next sectionHow to: Logout from the booth menu?

From any menu screen, simply press the Exit button

When to: Use PAUSE ?

As mentioned in Workstation (Booth) Menu, the booth menu is used for performance and accounting

purposes. It is important that if you are absent from your workstation, regardless of the reason, your

booth is placed in PAUSE. The only exception is if you are on BREAK. This will be explained later in this

section.

How to: Use PAUSE ?

From the dropdown menu, view the reasons for the PAUSE and select the reason Place a check mark in the Confirm box Press the PAUSE button


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The menu will now enter a PAUSE state and a counter will begin

How to: Exit from PAUSE?

Press the BACK buttonWhen to: Use BREAK?

As mentioned in Workstation (Booth) Menu, the booth menu is used for performance and accounting

purposes. If you are absent from your workstation for the allotted 15 minute BREAK(s) or are away forlunch, please use BREAK. For all other absences, you must use PAUSE.

How? Use BREAK

From the dropdown menu, view the reasons for the BREAKand select the reason Place a check mark in the Confirm box Press the BREAK button

The menu will now enter a BREAK state and a counter will begin

How to: Exit from BREAK?

Press the BACK button


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4.6Break Abuse

When you have exceeded your allotted break time, your screen will turn red, indicating that your fifteen

minutes are over.

If you have exceeded your break for too long, your computer then becomes locked.

Once your computer is locked, you are required to go see your supervisor in order to get it unlocked.

4.7Ending a Pause or BreakIn order for you to end a Pause or Break you will be prompted to enter your password that corresponds to

your Employee ID.

4.8Do I have access to the Internet?Public Internet access (World Wide Web)

Internet access has been disabled for each booth. It is not possible to freely access the public

Internet.

Private Internet access

From time to time you may encounter a study that requires Internet access. If this is the case, a

supervisor will instruct you on the details of the study and how to proceed.

The Internet Access button would then be programmed specifically for the study in question.


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4.9Modes NORMAL is the default VCC software selection. Always select this mode unless otherwise

instructed by a supervisor.

TEST will allow you to become familiar with a study without actually calling respondents or savingdata you may enter. This option is only to be used if instructed to do so by a supervisor.

CREATION will allow you to add a record to a study. This option is only to be used if instructed todo so by a supervisor.

INBOUND will allow you to recall a particular record from within with a study using the recordnumber or the respondents telephone number. This option is only to be used if instructed to do so

by a supervisor.

5 Data Collection Software5.1VCC Agent screen

You will be coming back to this screen after every call you make, think of it as your home page. It will here

on be referred to as your agent screen. At the top of the screen we provide you with some information

such as:

1. Interviewer ID: This is your 3 character Interviewer ID. Please make sure that the number thatappears here is in fact your ID number.


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2. Project: This is the project that you have signed into, if the number that appears here is not theproject that your supervisor assigned you to, please log out and log back in to the correct project

number.

3. Mode: This shows what mode you are logged into e.g. test mode, normal mode etc.4. Calls: This shows the number of calls you have made in total since you logged into the project.5. Completed: This shows the number of completes that you have. If you have logged out of the

project and logged back in, this number will reset to 0. This does not mean that you have lost your

completes for the day, that is still stored in the system.

6. Last Record: shows the record number for the last call you made. This kind of information is veryuseful when referring to specific respondents; it will help you and your supervisor track it with

ease. A record number is a number that is unique to each piece of sample, and can be located on

the bottom left hand-side of you screen when you are on a call (please refer to Navigating

through your survey below).

7. New Call: This will bring up a new Questionnaire/Phone Number for you to call.8. Call-Back: Your callbacks show up in the white space underneath the command bar. Available

callbacks show up in black text, unavailable callbacks are faded out (do not call back the faded

ones, as it usually means that the area the respondent lives in has been closed off). When a

callback is passed due, the color of the font will become red. To dial an available callback simply

click on the appropriate line, and then click on the Call-back button in your command bar

9. Review. In order to review a specific record, you will need to enter the record number or phonenumber and hit the review button.

10.Reviewing open ends: It is imperative that you review completed surveys and correct typing,spelling, and grammatical errors. When you need to review open ends for your complete, enter

the record number in the box and hit review open end.

11.History: This option allows you to see which interviewers have called a particular respondent.Simply click on the icon that looks like a clock which corresponds to the call-back you are looking

for.

12.Quit: If you need to log out of a project make sure that you do NOT just hit the X at the top righthand of the screen. You will need to click on the Quit button first, and then you can click on the

X to close the agent screen.


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5.2Navigating through your survey

In general, when you are going through a survey (asking questions and recording answers) all you have to

do to move to the next question once youve entered a response is hit Enter once on your keyboard.

However, from time to time, you may need to go back to the previous question to change a response. You

can navigate your way around the survey by using the command bar at the top of the screen.

All you need to do is pause the survey by hitting the ESC (escape) key and either move back and forward

by using the page-up and page-down keys, or alternatively hit ESC and navigate through by clicking

back and next. You will notice that the command bar will be grayed out until you hit ESC at which point it

becomes active, indicating that you have paused the survey.


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If you want to skip through to a specific question, hit ESC and scroll the navigation box down to the

question you are looking for and hit Enter and click on go. Before you can actually resume a paused

survey, you will have to hit ESC in orderto bring your survey back to live mode. Note that you cannot

make changes to responses or enter any new information while your survey is paused.

5.3MRIA (Market Research and Intelligence Association)In the event that a respondent is unsure about the credibility of our company, you can hit the MRIA tab on

the bottom of your screen and you will be prompted to a screen which provides our registration number

with the MRIA along with the MRIA 1-800 number.

5.4Dial DiffThis feature should only be used when you need to dial a new number immediately without exiting the

current record. Make sure that you include the area code followed by the phone number. This will not

update the record, so if you receive a No Answer, Answering Machine or Busy Signal, you will need to log

the record as a General Callback and enter in this new phone number in the subsequent field.

5.5NotesThis function allows you to add any extra or side notes that the respondent might have, keep in mind that

unfortunately you cannot correct any spelling or grammatical mistakes that you may have made in notes

while reviewing your open ends, so please be sure to take your time while entering any information in this

section.

5.6Moving from call to callEvery time you make a phone call you will have to classify it as something before you can move on to the

next call; we refer to this process as Logging a call. In order to log a call you will need to get to your

disposition screen.


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On the right-hand side you have a list of possible dispositions. To choose one simply enters the number of

the disposition or click on the one that best describes your particular call, and hit Enter. This will take

you back to your home page where you can bring up another call.

Be sure to check what dispositions your project has when you go through test mode since some projects

have special dispositions.

5.7Getting to the disposition pageThere are three ways you can get to the disposition screen.

1) Quit: Ifyou hit ESC on the keyboard the command bar will become active allowing you to click onquit, this will allow you to quit to the disposition page.

2) Question mark: Putting a ? in the box at the bottom of the screen and hitting Enter or clicking onnext will take you to the disposition page.

3) Skip patterns: There are certain responses that may disqualify the respondent from participating inthe survey, any one of these responses are programmed to automatically redirect you to the

disposition screen.


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5.8Call-backsEvery time you call someone and either the person is not available or says something along the lines of

Im busy or Not right now you should ask if you could call them back. If the person says yes, you have

to schedule a Call-back by going to your disposition screen and selecting either General or Specific call-

back. Note that all General call-backs are thrown back in to the general pool and will be called back

automatically by the dialer for when they are scheduled. Specific call-backs will remain on your agent

screen and will not be called automatically by the dialer; it is your responsibility to keep track of when

your specific call-backs are for, and to call them back on time.

It is important to keep in mind that we have two call-back systems and based the study you are put on;

you may be required to use one or the other.

5.8.1 Call-backs System: 1When logging a callback several different screens will appear as follows:

Enter Call-back name here Enter the persons name and whether or not you contacted theperson.

Do you want to change phone number?Click on yes to change it, no to leave it as is. If youchoose to change it, enter the new phone number, area code + phone number, no dashes or

spaces.

Place information concerning the call Enter descriptive information about the call, such aswhen you called (date and time).

Place additional information Enter additional information, such as when the person said to callback.

After you have entered all of the above information, you will be prompted to a page where you can enter

the call back date and time. This information can be entered in two different ways:

1) Manually: you can manually enter the specified date and time in the box on the bottom of the pagee.g. If the respondent asks you to call back on April 26th, 2007 at 12:05 pm then you would enter the

info as follows:


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2) Or, on the Calendar icon: If you click on the calendar icon located to the right of the calendarinformation box you will get the following pop-up:

Make sure that you are on the correct month and start by clicking on the specified time, and then click on

the appropriate date. Once you have done that you will be taken back to the enter date and time page

with all the call-back information entered in the information box. At this point you should click on next to

allow another call to come through.

5.8.2 Call-backs System: 2This method will typically be used with General Population studies.

When logging a callback several different screens will appear as follows:

Were you provided a name of someone to speak to? If you select yes it will then prompt you toenter the name.

Do you want to enter a new phone number? If you select yes it will prompt you to enter thenew information. If you were given an alternate phone number to be used to contact them, enter

the new phone number, area code + phone number, no dashes or spaces.

Place additional information Enter additional information, such as when the person said to callback. Please note that this is not to be used to record Last Call information.


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Enter callback date and time here This page gives you the options of when to set the call backfor, either in number of hours or days from the current call depending on what the respondent

requested.

Once you have done this step, you should click on next to allow another call to come through.

5.9Using your TelephoneFor the majority of your shifts you will not have to actually dial the phone numbers using your telephone.

This is because we have an automated system that calls the numbers for you.

Once you hit the New button on your agent screen you will set in motion a cycle in which the system will

keep calling phone numbers for you unless you interrupt it.

If you are in looking at your agent screen, you can click on the waiting tab on the top of your screen to

stop getting new calls.

If you are already on a call, you can click on Last call located on the top of your screen to stop any new

calls from coming through after you disposition the current call you are in.


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Make sure to always click on the Last Call button before taking a break or leaving your booth for any

reason.

Please do not pause the system and leave your booth unnecessarily as this will affect your productivity.

Supervisors pay special attention to pause time and any abuses will be dealt with accordingly.

6 Experienced InterviewersInterviewers who illustrate a high level of professionalism, demonstrate excellent quality of work along

with productivity that is consistently above average are chosen to go on pre-test, business to businessprojects and recruiting studies, etc.

6.1Pre-testsPre-tests are very important; they are our chance to show the clients exactly how their survey works or if

it does not work with a respondent. Clients have a chance to hear their work in progress and it offers the

analysts a chance to present valuable suggestions on how to improve the field portion of the study.

The execution of the survey must be flawless. This will allow the client to see how the respondents react

under controlled conditions. This is invaluable to the client and to us.

When you are in a pre-test, you are representing Opinion Search directly to the client, as well as to the

public. When you are in a meeting, you should let the analyst and client lead the discussion. If the clientor analyst solicits your opinion, be honest and polite. We are confident that you will impress our clients.

You will do so by:

Reading word for word, always and exactly. No deviations from text or paraphrasing whatsoever.Deviations from script, even minute, can result in survey bias.

Following all directions explicitly. Read list or do not read list as instructed. Not leading or suggesting. Do not explain the question and do not suggest a response. Being polite and professional at all times. Clarifying all ambiguous responses. Convince the respondent to choose an option on your screen.

6.2Elite project: Business to BusinessDuring weekday shifts we have Business to Business projects that are designed to collect research on

behalf of companies who cater their products or services to other businesses. These projects are expected

to be conducted with a superior level of professionalism. They do present additional obstacles including

interacting with gatekeepers and getting the targeted respondent at a time that fits their busy schedule.

For this reason there are extra trainings and briefings to make sure that interviewers have all the

information and skills necessary to consistently complete high quality interviews while meeting deadlines.


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6.3Recruiting projectTelephone interviews are not the only research method we are able to provide to our clients. We also

have focus group facilities and recruit respondents for focus groups. In order to decide which respondents

to invite to the research sessions, they must first complete a questionnaire over the phone to determine if

they fit the criteria of respondents that the client needs to complete their project. Respondents areevaluated not only on their responses but their communication skills and ability to express their opinions

in the focus group setting. If they are determined to be suitable for the project, they are then invited to

come in to the session where they will be paid an honorarium for their participation. We are expected to

meet client standards and interviewers that work on recruiting projects will be provided with all the

training tools needed to make sure that we are recruiting quality respondents.

Interviewer Training Manual

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Transcript of Interviewer Training Manual