Computer assisted telephone interviewing is a survey technique where an interviewer follows a script provided by a software application. The software can be customised so that the questions are based on the answers that a respondent provides.
CATI surveys give researchers greater control over the amount of responses that are collected. Responses are often collected 'there-and-then', meaning there's no chance of surveys being misplaced or just forgotten about. Non-responses are often minimised by recontacting individuals who are out or too busy to finish the survey.
CATI provides the following advantages:
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More efficient data collection, because the interviewer enters answers directly into the computer rather than sending a paper questionnaire for a separate data capture step.
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More efficient and more accurate questionnaire administration, because the computer delivers the questions to the interviewer in the correct programmed sequence, including any required rotations, randomizations, or insertions of information from a separate file or from earlier within the interview.
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More accurate data collection, because the computer can apply various range and logic edits as the answers are entered.