Respondent-Interviewer Rapport

Respondents and interviewers interact during the conduct of surveys, and this interaction, no matter how brief, is the basis for a social relationship between the two. Often this relationship begins when the interviewer calls or visits the respondent in an attempt to initiate and complete an interview. Other times, the respondent may call the interviewer in order to complete an interview. During the social interaction of conducting an interview, the respondent and interviewer will typically develop a rapport.

The establishment of rapport between the respondent and the interviewer, or lack thereof, is a key element in the interviewer gaining the respondent's cooperation to complete an interview. If a good rapport is not established, the likelihood of the interviewer completing an interview decreases. Further, good rapport will ...