Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

Interactive voice response (IVR) is a data collection technology that uses a recorded voice to ask survey questions by telephone, in place of live interviewers. Respondents enter their answers by pressing the buttons on the keypad of their touchtone telephone. An IVR system controls the presentation of the survey questions, captures the responses entered via touchtone, prompts respondents to answer questions, and offers automated help to respondents. IVR is also known as telephone audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (T-ACASI) and [Page 343] touchtone data entry. These terms all refer to computerized telephone data collection systems where respondents answer survey items via automated self-administered procedures, as opposed to giving verbal answers to live interviewers.

IVR has two primary uses in survey research. First, IVR can be used to replace ...