Most of our studies are telephone surveys, and for these a computer program randomly generates the phone numbers that are called. We ask for all the possible phone numbers in a certain geographic area, and the program creates numbers using the existing three-digit exchanges. This means that we do not know the addresses of the households that we reach, or the names of the residents. We use this method—called random digit dialing—to reach as many households as possible, including those that may have unlisted phone numbers, so that our surveys will reflect the views of a wide range of people. Once the survey is completed, we do not keep your phone number in our database. Also, your answers remain completely confidential.

You may have received a postcard or mailing from us addressed to “resident.” This is because, for some surveys, a random sample of households in the area to be surveyed is created using U.S. Postal Service delivery data. This is called address-based sampling, and provides a way of reaching residents whether they have a landline telephone or not. Using this method, known household addresses are matched to telephone numbers where possible, and households with a matched telephone number are mailed a postcard informing them that an interviewer will be calling. Households without a matching telephone number are sent a packet of materials, sometimes including a small monetary incentive, asking them to contact us to participate in the survey. As with our telephone surveys, your address and other information will not be kept in our database once the survey is complete, and your answers will remain confidential.

If we have asked for you by name, then you are a customer, employee, patient, or member of an organization that has commissioned a survey and provided us with a list of people to contact. We have either randomly selected possible respondents from this list, or are attempting to reach everyone, depending on the survey. As with all our surveys, any information you give us for this kind of “named” study remains completely confidential.

The federal law that created the Do Not Call Registry applies to telemarketers — people who are selling something. Survey and opinion research is specifically exempt from the law because it is a critical part of making and monitoring policy decisions, ensuring that the views of all citizens have a place at the table when decisions are made. We respect your right not to participate in our surveys; however, we hope that once you have learned why your participation is important, and how your information is kept confidential, you will choose to take part.

No. We do not sell anything and we do not ask for money. We are not a telemarketing firm. We are conducting legitimate survey research and are exempt from the laws that govern the Do Not Call Registry.

No. We are not a political organization, and our survey is not a “push poll.” We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, and we strive for objectivity in all of our research. Our surveys are designed to remove bias by asking clear, unambiguous questions and providing straightforward answer options.

A “push poll” is a form of negative political campaigning disguised as a legitimate poll. Rather than objectively measuring public opinion, a push poll aims to persuade voters and affect election outcomes. We do not engage in this kind of polling.

This is your opportunity to express your opinions about the topics and issues being studied in the survey. Survey results can influence the organizations that commission the research, and your feedback is taken seriously. You have been randomly chosen to represent many others, and your participation helps ensure that the final results accurately reflect the larger population. Your participation is voluntary, and we respect your right not to take the survey.

Only our director and project managers have access to survey data until it has been combined with information from other respondents into anonymous statistical tables. Your answers are processed separately from any information that might identify you, and your responses are not linked to your name, telephone number, home address, or email address. Any information you provide to us will remain completely confidential.

Yes. Please call us toll-free at (866) 366-7655. Interviewers are available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; and Sundays, 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Please have available the phone number we originally called, so we can look up the survey questionnaire.

This can occur for one of two reasons. It is possible that we are conducting a “named” study, for which an organization has specifically asked us to contact the person we are asking for. More likely, we have asked to speak to the adult who most recently had a birthday. This is a way of further randomizing respondents so the survey results better reflect the general population.

We are happy to remove your name from the list of possible respondents for a current survey. Please call (866) 366-7655 and let us know which number we phoned. Please allow us up to two days to remove your number.

Removing your telephone number from a current survey does not mean the number could never be called again for another survey, because each new survey uses a newly generated sample. However, the likelihood that we will contact you again in the future is very small.

No. Once we are finished with a survey, all identifying information from respondents and non-respondents is removed from our data files. Some projects require follow-up surveys, but we will only keep your contact information for a future survey if you agree to be contacted again. Your personal information will never be linked to your survey answers and will remain confidential.