• by Michael Shields , September 30, 2004

After nearly a decade of extensive testing, Mediamark Research Inc. (MRI) has dumped its attempt to adopt Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) methodology for conducting its biannual "Survey of the American Consumer." Mediamark has chosen to use the traditional paper and pencil method in interviewer-conducted surveys.

Despite years of testing, the potential benefits of a computerized system do not outweigh its negative impact on response rates to its twice a year, 26,000-plus person surveys which are among the most widely used pieces of magazine research in the media industry.

Originally, MRI tested Computerized Self-Administered Interviewing (CASI), which would use the digitized audio and video computer presentation aimed at replacing the paper and pencil/logo card surveys.

Later, MRI shifted to programming CAPI, which employed a more limited use of technology with both electronic questionnaires and tangible visuals like magazine logo cards. The program was found to provide quality control advantages, yet its reliance on technology unfamiliar to both respondents and interviewers resulted in a significantly lower response rate.

According to MRI tests, response rates dropped 10 percent compared to those using paper and pen.

MRI's move away from technology flies in the face of an industry wide shift toward an increased dependence on technology to conduct research, such as Nielsen's movement to expand its use of people meters over paper diaries.

In other Mediamark news, new research indicates that more and more consumers may be going entirely wireless when it comes to the telephone.

The 2004 Spring MRI "Survey of the American Consumer" reveals that 8.1 percent of households are now without landlines, with the rate of increase suggesting that number will soon exceed 10 percent.

Based on Spring 2004 survey data, 69 percent of households have at least one cell phone, up from 64 percent in Spring 2003. While most households have both a cell phone and a landline, it appears that cell phones are hastening the decline in landline households.

The percentage of cell-only households has risen nearly fourfold in just three years, from 1.4 percent in Spring 2001 to 5.5 percent in Spring 2004.

Interestingly, of the 8.1 of U.S. households that do not have landlines, more than three in 10 are truly "phoneless."

Men account for 58 percent of this growing cell-only population. If the traditional patterns hold, these early adopters may be a precursor to the emergence of a more mainstream group of cell-only consumers.