Consider Quality-Control Issues When Using CRT Interviewing System

A cathode ray tube (CRT) market research system is one in which the interviewer questions consumers by phone and enters the responses at a keyboardideo-screen terminal. All CRTelephone interviewing systems focus on speed, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness, but their software does not appear to deal with the significant element of quality control. To prevent ''garbage in, garbage out,'' CRT systems should provide the same controls that are employed for paper questionnaires and should further expand quality control through the technical capabilities of the computer. Four quality control issues need to be considered when developing, upgrading, or buying a CRT interviewing system for marketing research: 1. sight monitor, 2. double-entry recording, 3. exception reports, and 4. validation reports.