Busies are a survey disposition that is specific to telephone surveys. They occur when the interviewer or a predictive dialer dials a number in the sampling pool and encounters a busy signal. Busies can be considered a positive outcome because they often indicate (a) that the telephone number is in service, and (b) that a person likely can eventually be reached at the number.

Busies can usually be considered a temporary disposition code because the presence of a busy signal is not sufficient to establish whether the respondent or household is eligible for the survey (i.e. busies are cases of unknown eligibility). As a result, it is important to have the interviewer redial the number. One common sample management strategy is to have the number redialed ...