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43 Rsarh worIJ [ a, 2OO
MANFRED MARECK
LL/C LL
U8INC mOBILL
PHONL8 IOP
PL8LAPCH
Mo|.|c ccc.| |. .|c||cc c ac|| c
ojjo|o.|.c o ccc.|c.

sarch via mobil phon is crivn by ncssity as an

incrasing numbr o popl can no longr b rachc
via lanclin, lacing to potntial covrag bias whn
using lanclin-only sampls. Thr wr a total o
3.6 billion mobil usrs worlcwic in 2CC9, comparc to
.3 billion lanclin housholcs, accorcing to th lntrnational
Tlcommunications Union (lTU) (s Tabl ).
/n stimatc 2% o US housholcs ar 'mobil-only',
accorcing to th 2CC9 National Halth lntrviw Survy. Th
pictur is similar across /sia, whr thr ar almost twic
as many mobil usrs comparc to nxc lin subscribrs in
China, Japan anc Kora, whras in lncia, mobil subscribrs
outnumbr lanclin usrs by a actor o six, accorcing to th lTU.
Th pictur is similar in Europ, whr accorcing to
Eurobaromtr, lss than 7C% o Europans now us a lanclin
(s Tabl 2). Th scors or mobil-only homs rang rom
lss than C% in Swcn, Grmany anc Th Nthrlancs, to
66% in Finlanc anc 75% in th Czch Rpublic.
Put, anothr rason why mobil rsarch is growing is that
th mobil phon has bcom a stancarc tool o communication
with multipl aturs, not only or voic but also or cigital
srvics, mail, photos, vicos, anc vn navigation, thus
nabling rsarchrs to collct a wic rang o vry rich cata.
zoo zoo
Czech eoLic -O% o%
irarc ob% bb%
/osria 2% -%
cro_a oo% -O%
a, 2o% oo%
Le_ion 22% o%
L % o%
rarce -% 2%
Cernar, o% 8%
he eherarcs % %
vecer % 2%
TABLE 2:
MOBlLE-ONLY RATES {SELECTED MARKETS)
corce. LorcLarcneer (eccrc ha 2OOo arc 2OO9)
Rgion LanJIin
(miIIion)
-,ar
hang
MobiI
(miIIion)
-,ar
hang
/nericas 28O.o % -8.o 2-%
/sia acic o9o.9 8% ,o8-.b 2%
/rica O.b 2% 2-o.b -%
C .9 -% oo.9 -b%
icce Las oo. b% 2o.9 --%
Lorce 2o9.9 % 2. %
WorId 1,251.9 4% 3,628.0 26%
TABLE 1:
LANDLlNE AND MOBlLE CONNECTlONS lN 2008J09
corce. L aisica rces 2OO9
44 Rsarh worIJ [ a, 2OO
Manfred Mareck
(eciserViceLirerre.ccn) is ar irceercer
necia arc narleir_ ccrsoar
GUlDELlNES
This sgmnt o th markt rsarch incustry is likly to grow,
anc guiclins ar now wlcom anc ovrcu, accorcing to
Guy Rol, mobil knowlcg lacr at Kantar.
ESOM/R is publishing its Guiclin on Concucting Survy
Rsarch via Mobil Phon: Ths covr calling anc txting.
Othr cimnsions, such as V/P-basc survys, will b
covrc in ESOM/R's rvisc intrnt guiclin, accorcing to
Dian Powrs, prsicnt o C/SRO anc chair o th pro|ct
tam cvloping th guiclin.
Th guiclins cal with a whol rang o issus, som o
which ar alracy rlvant to tlphon rsarch in gnral,
such as hours o calling, or us o automatc cialling anc
calling uipmnt. Othrs ar much mor spcinc to mobils,
such as rsponcnt saty or nnancial compnsation - th
lCC/ESOM/R Coc ruirs rsarchrs to tak all rasonabl
prcautions to nsur that rsponcnts ar in no way
acvrsly actc as a circt rsult o participating in a
markt rsarch pro|ct.
For instanc, whilst in most markts th callr pays, in th
US th rcipints o calls or txt mssags may also incur a
charg. Similarly, whn popl travl outsic thir country
thy usually hav to pay a roaming or incoming calls anc
txts. Th pro|ct tam rcogniss that how a rsponcnt
can b rimbursc is still vry complicatc anc w wlcom
input on this issu, commntc /cam Phillips, chair o
ESOM/R's Prossional Stancarcs Committ.
Privacy is anothr complx lmnt, spcially as
rgulatory nvironmnts anc rstrictions vary arounc th
worlc. Th Grman rgulations ar vry stringnt whras in
som aras in /rica anc /sia, lgislation is currntly not that
strong, at last on an implmntation lvl, commntc
Pravin Shkar o Th Social Catalyst, also on th pro|ct tam.
/ccorcing to Powrs, This is vry much a work in
progrss but on that rncts our thical anc lgal
rsponsibilitis to rsponcnts anc th incrasing importanc
o mobil phons as a mans o concucting survy rsarch.
To cownloac a copy o ESOM/R's Guiclin on
Concucting Survy Rsarch via th Mobil Phon go to
http://www.somar.org/incx.php/cocs-guiclins.html.
SAMPLlNG
ln th run-up to th US prsicntial lctions, th Pw Rsarch
Cntr ciscovrc clar political cirncs btwn lanclin
anc mobil tlphon usrs, with mobil subscribrs mor
likly to support th cmocratic cancicat. Obama's acvantag
was most pronouncc within th uncr-3C ag group anc with
mobil subscribrs that no longr us a lanclin.
Rstricting sampling to lanclin-only usrs is likly to lac
to rlativ covrag bias, but, as Mark Fuchs, prossor or
social rsarch mthocologis at Darmstact Univrsity,
pointc out at Globalpark's rcnt Mobil Rsarch Conrnc
in Loncon, th magnituc o rror varis gratly rom country
to country anc btwn cmographic sgmnts. /s th
mobil-only population typically cirs rom th gnral
population with rspct to ky socio-cmographic charactristics
such as ag, cucation anc marital status, this group has to b
takn into spcial consicration whn aiming or high-uality
stimats basc on tlphon survys, h commntc.
PLEXlBlLlTY WlTH LlMlTATlONS
Sampling is not th only issu. Vhilst thr ar grat bnnts
in using th ull unctionality o mocrn phons, th varying
scrn sizs anc rsolutions rsult in cirnt cisplays o
ustionnairs, anc as Mick Coupr, prossor at Michigan
Univrsity, has shown, th visibility o answr choics acts
rsults.
Givn th typical mobil scrn, txt mssags ar
probably bst, accorcing to Liz Nlson o Fly Rsarch, anc
tsting th usability o ustionnair csign is vital. Lngth
o intrviw sms lss o an issu, but som clgats
suggstc that rsponcnts shoulc b givn a choic to
provic inormation via othr channls with rsults bing
intgratc atrwarcs.
Spc o rspons is a ma|or acvantag o mobil rsarch,
but privacy issus ar otn sn as a potntial hurcl. Thr
is, howvr, a growing bocy o vicnc that th vry prsonal
natur o mobil phons actually ncourags rsponcnts to
answr mor snsitiv ustions, prhaps bcaus thy
answr thir phon in th privacy o thir room rathr than
talk on a lanclin cvic in th kitchn or living room.
Rsarching chilcrn brings othr issus. Christian Franzn
o Mincshar concuctc a stucy o 6-to3-yar-olc chilcrn
who wr givn a smartphon to kp a 72-hour ciary o all
thir activitis. Participants rcivc rgular rmincrs but
this was arrangc in consultation with thir parnts, to avoic
contact curing school hours anc atr bctim. Th rsult:
a ctailc tim-us survy, gratly nrichc by picturs anc
vicos th chilcrn snt in to illustrat th situations thy
xprincc curing th cay.