|
<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation: User Guide > Telin > Telin: Start |
Telin only
The "Start of interview" dialog is used to start or continue an interview and it appears when the program is started and whenever an interview is finished. If a sample data file is used then the title will be "Start of interview with sample file".
Closing this dialog box will terminate the program.
There is a test mode which allows a dummy run through the questionnaire without storing any data, see section Test input.
If appointments have been saved then they are listed and particular questionnaires can be recalled and continued by serial number.
Usually interviews will be retrieved from a sample file which contains a list of all interviewees to call. New records will be allocated a serial number by the program.
For details about how to enter data for a project see section Telin Input data.
At the end of each questionnaire the "End of interview" dialog box is displayed.
Respondents to interview are either in the Sample data file waiting to be contacted, or they are in the Partial data file waiting to be called back.
If sample points (see below) are used in the project, then the interviewer can select particular groups of respondents to be retrieved.
The interviewer will usually:
•Use [Sample] or [PDS] button to get a fresh interview to conduct
•Type a serial number in the box and use the [Get serial] button to retrieve a specific interview
•Double click an appointment to make the call-back
•Use the [Add new serial] button to create a new record with theTelin new serial dialog.
The [PDS] button is only available if using the Invade dialling system. This asks the dialler to connect an interview when a dial is successfully connected.
If the project has no sample file then the [Sample] button will not be available.
Interviewers should normally select either [Sample]/[PDS], or type in the required serial number and select [Get serial] to retrieve a specific interview, or double click an appointment to make the call-back.
Once you have made your selections to retrieve an interview you will see theTelin retrieved serial dialog from where you will hopefully make contact with and continue on to interview the contact shown.
Normally when "Issue" is chosen in the QIF, Telin will choose a serial number when "Add serial" is used . If "Choose" is set then the interviewer must type a serial number in the box before using the "Add serial" button.
At the end of a successful interview the interviewer will see the "End of interview" dialog box.
Other options available for interviewers are:
•[Refresh display]
•[No auto refresh]
•[Quotas view] (see below)
•[Test input]
•[Options] to change display during interview
•[Details] about appointments
If the "Start of interview with sample file" dialog box has been left on the screen for some time the "Refresh display" button can be used to update the concise list
of appointments and sample point figures.
After each call it returns to this dialog and refreshes all the information. If the data files are very large this can take a while and the interviewer can turn off auto refresh and onlt refresh when the "refresh display" button is used.
If "Test input" is used the interview will proceed but no data will be collected. In test mode the screen background is coloured red.
The name of the Sample data file is displayed at the bottom.
When [Sample] is selected Telin selects a random fresh sample first and then sample with the least number of tries.
If sample points have been specified in the project, information from the Sample data file will be listed in the "Sample selection" boxes and can be selected by the interviewer. For example, if the first sample point entry was "Type of Business" and the second was "Size of business" the interviewer might select a business type from the first pull down menu and a size from the second.
Alongside each sample selection box the "Quota to do" is shown. This is the number of interviews that are still needed to fill the quota, assuming that the set percentage of any "In progress" and "Finished" interviews will be successfully completed. The number of interviews currently being undertaken (those that are "In progress" or "Finished" multiplied by the set percentages) for each sample point is shown in the "Current" box. The sample point entries need to have also been used as quota points in the project
for these figures to show.
The "Total" sample box shows the total number of contacts available (in the whole sample data file, if no sample points have been chosen). If sample points have been selected this will be the number of contacts available in the particular sample points.
The "Fresh" sample box shows the number of contacts that have not yet been tried (those who have never been called up).
The "Left" sample box is the most important box, as it shows the number of contacts that are still "live" and available for contact (even though they may have already
been tried, contact was not made). This figure includes those already shown in the "Fresh sample" box.
If Invade PDS is used, Fresh and Left are not shown as these are controlled by the PDS..
In summary - if the:
Total sample=100
Fresh sample=20
Remaining sample=40
this would mean that out of 100 contacts, 20 had not yet been tried, 40 were still "live" (including the 20 not already tried) and 60 respondents were either "dead" (contact could not be made), or they are appointments (partial interviews waiting to be called back, see section Partial data file), or they are "terminated" (aborted, out of quota or ineligible) or they are completed interviews.
Telin will not issue sample known to be out of quota in the sample points selected.
It is possible to use a Quota file to control which respondents should not be interviewed.
If a quota file is being used (it was included when the QIF file was generated), the name and folder path of the Quota file is displayed at the bottom.
The quota remaining for each Quota point entry is shown alongside the "Sample selection" boxes.
To look at the Quota Control file in detail select [Quotas view], see section View quota control file.
Concise information about appointments is displayed:
•The serial number
•When the call back should be made
•The priority setting
•Any short comments
•Who should make the call-back
The appointments contained in this concise appointments listing can be altered by making selections, as follows.
If a sample point is selected the total number of appointments for that sample point will be shown.
It is also possible to use the Appointments selection to show the number of appointments available in each priority response.
Interviewers can choose to show only their own appointments, by checking the "Mine only" check box.
If an appointment is late the icon changes and will appear on the appointment list of all interviewers, regardless of the "who should call back" setting.
When an appointment is due the word "NOW" appears under the heading "When". Alongside the word "NOW" the acceptable delay is counted down, then "NOW =" will be displayed for 1 minute, after which time the appointment will be marked as LATE with the length of time it is overdue.
It is possible to choose how far in advance appointments should be displayed, by making selections from the pull down list view. You can choose from various times
starting with those due in [15 minutes] through to [Ever], when all appointments will be shown.
The [Details] button may be used to see more information about the appointments.
To call-back an appointment shown in the concise list, the interviewer double clicks the serial number (alongside the appointment icon).
It is also possible for the interviewer to retrieve a partial (appointment) interview (one for which some information has already been collected by entering
the serial number and selecting [Get serial].
The [Details] button list gives details about all appointments in the partial data file.