Over time dialers have evolved to ease the flow of work for contact centers. Traditionally, businesses had to upload contact lists for outbound campaigns. However, auto dialer software dials the number automatically which helps streamline the workflow of outbound contact centers.

What is Auto Dialer Software?

Automated dialer software makes outbound calls automatically by pulling telephone numbers from a list of contacts. The dialer then connects the recipient with a live agent or a pre-recorded message.

Auto dialers eliminate the need to manually dial each phone number from the list. This spares the contact center agent to focus on other tasks and on the content of the message. A wide variety of industries make use of auto dialer software such as – sales & marketing, health care, hospitality, and education.

What are the important Auto Dialer functionalities?

Auto dialers often require hardware such as a computer, active telephone line, and a voice modem. Some software providers allow businesses to host hardware into their product for free or a subscription. Other providers require them to buy and host the hardware themselves.

Auto dialer software can

• integrate directly with existing CRM software of the center; or
• built into telecom services or infrastructure software of the contact center

Auto dialer software offers an array of functionalities to take the load off of the representatives. Some of these features are common such as managing lists, initiating calls, and reporting data. Some other features that you should look for when selecting Auto Dialer Software are:

Call Disposition: to track and report the result of a call

Call Recording: to assure the quality of call conversation

Answering Machine Detection: to screen and filter out calls that go to voicemails

Call Scripting: to help agents with responses for commonly asked queries

Local Caller ID: to display local ID to contacts by setting desired location and caller ID when making calls

Top 15 Auto Dialer Software

• Voxco
• Talkdesk
• Matrix
• Genesys Cloud
• Dialpad
• Five9
• RingCentral
• PhoneBurner
• ChaseData
• CallHub
• Voicent
• contactSPACE
• Nice inContact
• Nextiva
• Aircall

#1 – Voxco

With 25+ years of experience, Voxco is the leading Research Cloud software that provides Cloud-based and On-premise dialers to help you generate successful leads and provide excellent customer experience. Moreover, Voxco’s state-of-the-art telephony system can be integrated with Voxco’s CATI phone survey software.

Voxco’s Dialer assures an improvement in the productivity of your call center by 50%. Be it work-from-home or call center agents Predictive dialing adjusts the pace of your call volume to match the availability of the agents.

The software is built to handle the workload on any scale. It is TCPA compliant which enables your agents to reach customers on the telephone as well as mobile devices. You can easily integrate with the platform’s IVR to empower the callers with self-serve options.

Voxco capabilities confirm a seamless flow of work – call recording & monitoring, call detection, intelligent call routing, and a blend of inbound & outbound calls. There are more advanced features that users can enjoy and take advantage of in Voxco.

Single-system efficiency: Voxco dialer begins dialing depending on the rules set. There is no requirement for third-party dialer integration.

4-in-1 Dialer: Preview, Power, Predictive, and Hybrid dialing modes improve the quality and speed of the calls. The 4 modes of dialing also enable you to schedule the pattern of calls per project.

Quality Control: You can monitor live calls for the purpose of quality assurance. You can also record calls to review them in the future.

• DNC numbers are also immediately filtered out of the list.
• Dialer dashboard allows supervisor to monitor productivity of each agent. You can track no. of calls handled, wrap-up time, pause and more.

Advanced Telephony Features: It is a flexible outbound calling powerhouse that comes with features like call transfer, conferencing, and audio playback.

• Call blending
• Skill set routing
• Transfer and return calls

Compatible with Protocols: Voxco Dialer supports VoIP licenses and telephony cards. The dialer supports analog and IP phones. It also connects to SIP trunks or standard T1 or E1 lines.

Flexible Pricing Options: Voxco offers flexible pricing models which are based on the requirements of organizations

#2 – Talkdesk

Talkdesk offers solutions through a single platform and helps contact centers reduce customer support costs. The software empowers a contact center with its customizable and future-proof design, helping businesses to improve customer satisfaction.

The platform has an intuitive interface and offers more than 60 integrations all in one place. It provides features such as: AI, analytics, workforce engagement, customer engagement and enterprise collaboration.

Talldesk offers multiple features to help you support your agents in the best way possible:

• Talldesk uses IVR (interactive voice response), ACD (automatic call distribution), and skill-based routing to ensure that calls only get routed to the most qualified agents who can meet the customer’s needs.
• The platform empowers the agent by displaying the caller’s name, contact history, and all relevant data on the agent’s screen in real-time. This way contact centers can support their agents to deliver a personalized experience.
• The software automatically sets up a new profile when a new customer calls.
• Talldesk comes with all needed features – call monitoring, call recording, and real-time reporting.

With its value for money, the software is easy to use for the agents. It offers three packages – Professional, Professional Plus, and Enterprise.

#3 - Matrix

Matrix auto dialer is built to suit contact centers of any size. The auto dialer software integrates with tools like CRM applications, landing pages, contact lists, and affiliate sites to improve productivity. You can also integrate your business tools using the platform’s API.

Matrix also offers many features to streamline the workflow:

• The software allows you to prioritize and improve your agent’s productivity with its reminders and callback calendars personalized for individual agents.
• The real-time dashboard allows managers to track the agents and their performance. You can see which agents are on call, duration, or waiting on calls.
• The automated triggers allow you to set up triggers to inform you whenever a lead converts into a customer.
• Matrix also provides features such as internal chat, call recording, blended inbound & outbound calls, warm transfers, wrap-up time, and more.

#4 – Genesys Cloud CX Software

Genesys Cloud is designed as an all-in-one cloud contact center to ensure that your agents can serve the customers with an exceptional experience. The auto dialer software is easy-to-use and with its intuitive interface, it helps boost agent’s performance.

Genesys Cloud offers several features to prioritize customer’s experience and agent productivity;

• Voice and digital channels allow agents to contact customers on their preferred channels.
• IVR empowers callers with a self-serve option like speech recognition and touch.
• Outbound calling – predictive, power, preview and more dialing mode- assures that agents can reach more customers and generate successful leads
• It also empowers your agents with multichannel recording, workforce management, quality management, and more features.

#5 – DialpadSupport

Dialpad is a cloud-based contact center that uses AI to empower agents with real-time customer insights. The software offers integration with Salesforce, ServiceNow, Zendesk, and more to help users onboard quickly.

Dialpad uses Voice Intelligence to monitor conversation with call transcription and live customer sentiment.

Dialpad Support offers free calls to Canada and the US. There are two packages- Pro and Enterprise

See Voxco survey software in action with a Free demo.

Book a Free Demo

See Voxco survey software in action with a Free demo.

Book a Free Demo

#6 - Five9

Five9 is a cloud contact center software providing solutions to over 2000 businesses worldwide. The platform is powered by Practical AI which enables your agents to provide customer experience via preferred channels – phone, chat, social media, email, and more.

• The auto dialer software supports a wide variety of dialing modes- predictive, preview, progress, power dialing mode, and more.
• Five9 pulls callers' information from your CRM and displays it on the agent’s screen before and during the call to help the agent offer personalized communication.
• The platform integrates with leading CRM packages like Salesforce, NetSuite, and Oracle. It also supports a blending of inbound and outbound calls.

Pricing in Five9 depends on the number of users, seats, and features used. Moreover, you can choose an annual or a month-to-month plan.

#7 – Ring Central

RingCentral is a cloud-based communication that offers communication across multiple channels to streamline the workflow. The platform ensures that agents can provide a personalized experience to every caller.

You can integrate any CRM or other back-end system with the software’s API to receive detailed information on the caller. The platform enables automatic display of caller’s past interactions, purchase history, ticket status, and more.

• Powered by inContact it offers ACD, IVR, CTI, auto dialer, and PBX.
• It also offers advanced routing to allow customers to self-solve their issues and skill-based call routing.
• You can track agent’s performance, KPIs, and customer experience with real-time dashboards.
• Leverage its Workforce Management, and schedule each agent’s schedule according to traffic, volume, training, and vacations.

RingCentral offers four packages based on per user for every month: Essential ($19.99), Standard ($27.99), Premium ($34.99), and Ultimate ($49.99).

#8 – PhoneBurner

PhoneBurner is a cloud-based software and can be accessed from anywhere by using its VoIP dialing. You can log in from your own computer and contact customers from the connected phone.

PhoneBurner offers various features to empower remote employees:

• Power Dialer
• Lead management
• Workflow management
• Email follow-up
• Dedicated admin portal
• Real-time reports and leaderboards

PhoneBurner makes it easy for you to manage contact lists and campaigns with its integrated sales CRM. It can also integrate your own CRM with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier, and more. The platform also offers a wide range of features such as call recording, call transfer, voicemail drop, one-touch emails, local ID tracking, email tracking, and many more.

There are three packages, price per user and per month: Standard ($126), Professional ($152), and Premium ($169).

#9 – ChaseData

ChaseData is built to support outbound, inbound, and blended contact centers. It is a cloud-based standalone contact center with customer support and service pre-built in the software.

• ChaseData includes different dialing modes – auto, predictive, preview, and progressive dialing. It also includes ACD to ensure that calls are routed based on language preference, skill, and training of the agent.
• The software offers security settings at the management level which allows managers to track campaigns.
• The auto-dialer software catalogs digital calls on the server for at least 90 days. This enables agents to review the calls later if required. The admin also has access to all the calls.

ChaseData offers three packages per user/month: Small Business ($89), Professional ($139), and Enterprise ($169).

#10 - CallHub

CallHub offers four auto-dialing modes to match requirements for every call – Predictive, Power, Preview, and Robo Dialer. Along with contact center solutions, it also offers Voice Broadcasting software and SMS Marketing software.

CallHub offers the following features to make the most out of the auto-dialer software:

• Local Caller ID
• Schedule follow-ups at a convenient time
• Monitor and join the live call for quality assurance
• Enable DNC or modify DNC list
• Skip over answering machine
• Screen and eliminate outdated and non-existence numbers.
• Segment telephone and mobile numbers

CallHub allows you to pay as you go, the pricing starts at $0.021 per call.

# 11 – Voicent

Voicent is a cloud-based call center that comes with a built-in CRM. The auto-dialer software supports both inbound and outbound calls.

It comes with an automation feature that helps streamline the workflow and track calls, campaigns, and customers.

• The auto dialer software enables your agents to deliver pre-recorded audio messages to your contact lists.
• Agents can also leave messages on answering machines in their own voice or computer-generated voice.
• Voicent also consists of features that involve text to speech to send out personalized messages. It offers – auto, predictive, preview, and progressive dialer- for the call requirement of your agents.

Voicent presents a package that begins with $19 for unlimited calls based on per user per month pricing.

#12 – contactSPACE

The contactSPACE, a cloud-based call center, is easy to deploy that comes with three dialing modes-predictive, progressive, and preview- to make outbound calling more efficient.

It is a flexible software that contains target filtering to allow agents to sort call recipients. It also allows admins to categorize prospective customers to match the skill of the agents. With its Dashboard designer, you can monitor the agent’s performance in real-time.

contactSPACE presents four packages for its clients:

• Siler tier $105 per user/month
• Gold tier $139 per user/month
• Platinum tier $175 per user/month
• Diamond tier $239 per user/month

#13 – Nice in Contact

Nice inContact helps contact centers to maximize the quality of leads and put customers first. The cloud-based contact center displays features for inbound support requests. It helps agents to communicate with the customers using multiple channels – calls, emails, chats, social media, and more.

Nice inContact offers other features such as:

• Automatic Call Distribution
• Blended Predictive Dialing
• Call Recording
• CRM integration
• IVR
• Analytics and Reporting
• The platform also offers workforce optimization – e-learning, workforce management, and hiring.

Any information for the pricing package is not available on their website.

#14 – Nextiva

Nextiva uses Go Integrator to help connect your CRM with its software. The platform supports integration with popular CRMs such as Hubspot, Salesforce, Zendesk, etc. that helps streamline outbound calls for your contact center.

While Nextiva is not a true auto dialer software provider, you can still take advantage of effective tools to streamline your outbound calls.

Nextiva offers tools that match the capabilities of auto dialers, such as;

• Its flagship VoIP platforms allow voice & video calling, texting, faxing, and team chat, to improve performance and results.
• Click to Dial: Your reps can dial directly from the contact list uploaded in your CRM. Moreover, because of the flawless data harmonization with your CRM, your reps receive detailed information on each call they handle.
• Contact Popping: The feature displays all the relevant details of the caller by pulling it out from your CRM.
• You can easily segment lists in your CRM or you can split lists in other CRMs offered by the software to streamline outbound calls.

Nextiva’s Professional package costs depending on the number of users ranging from $21.95 to $27.95 per user every month. For contact centers using CRM like Oracle or Service Now, you should opt for the Enterprise package.

See Voxco survey software in action with a Free demo.

Book a Free Demo

See Voxco survey software in action with a Free demo.

Book a Free Demo

#15 – Aircall

Aircall is an easy to set up and use, cloud-based business phone for sales and customer support teams.

The auto dialer software helps reduce agent’s workload with its Power Dialer, click-to-dial, and more cloud features. With its skill-based routing, IVR, and live call monitoring capabilities it ensures that you offer an exceptional customer experience.

It also enables call centers to integrate with CRM, Helpdesk solutions, and other required applications. Moreover, the cloud-based system keeps the remote teams connected with the call center. It allows agents to work from anywhere in the world.

Research serves as an important input of data in the decision-making processes of multiple organizations. Given this integral role of research and data collection, building a research panel becomes absolutely necessary for any organization looking to gather comprehensive market data to find answers to their research questions.

Not everyone has the aptitude and knowledge base to answer peculiar research questions. With advanced automation and a plethora of research tools to choose from, it has become an easy task for any organization to look for individuals with the capacity to provide them with accurate information that will fuel informed decisions.

In this blog, we’ll learn all the steps for building a research panel, the benefits of an online research panel, and more.

What is a Research Panel?

Research Panel is a group of well-suited people who aptly meet the criteria of eligibility to become a respondent for a particular research topic. The task of building such a panel of individuals is basically comprised of separating targeted respondents from the rest of the market and using them as research participants for nuanced market research.

The focus here is on quality and not quantity. Your panel of respondents must include specifically those individuals who can speak volumes and make a legitimate contribution to increasing your know-how about the market in the current scenario.

Including a large number of irrelevant members as respondents, on the other hand, is a compromise that hinders research quality and has no value addition. This can make decisions based on such input have minimal to no impact and can even cause a downfall as a worst-case scenario.

The benefits of using a research panel

There are certain benefits that set apart panel research from any other research style. These benefits justify the use of a research panel to carry out effective and targeted data collection.

1. Highly reliable

The use of a research panel makes the research data gathered using such a panel highly reliable and dependable. The people who provide such data have up-to-date information about the market. Such information can be used to make impactful decisions as well as the same information can be replicated as input for other relevant studies.

2. Valid information

Data collected through research panels are highly accurate. The inputs that are gathered provide a cohesive overview of the research subject, which makes the analysis actionable.

3. Quick data collection

Panel research provides organizations with the freedom to use a small sample to gather all the data they need. The rigorous selection and screening of the panel members make them highly representative of the actual target market.

This eliminates the need for organizations to look for a large number of panelists. Moreover, the distribution and collection through online channels allow the collection of responses within hours.

4. Unbound research

With experts and professionals as panelists, organizations have the freedom to dive into technicalities to narrow the field of study. The use of jargon and field-specific terms can easily be done without causing ambiguity or confusion among the respondents. With this level of research, organizations are easily able to conduct nuanced research, identify pain points and come up with optimal solutions to complex problems.

5. Cost savings

Conducting research using a research panel is more pocket friendly than using any other sample of the population that might or might not provide you with the correct information. Organizations can choose to minimize sample size due to low sampling bias.

Moreover, brand-related surveys use brand advocates as respondents who volunteer for research without any requirement of incentives or rewards. Their general interest levels in the brand and its products generate authentic data without any additional cost.

How to build an online research panel?

The process of building an online research panel is quite detailed and involves several steps. In order to build an effective research panel, all the steps must be followed carefully.

Steps for building a research panel

1. Defining your research objectives
2. Recruiting participants
3. Screening and qualifying participants
4. Establishing communication channels
5. Incentivizing participation
6. Conducting research studies
7. Analyzing and reporting data

Let’s deep dive into all the steps to build an online research panel:

Step 1: Define your research objectives

Before you begin building your panel, you need to define your research objectives. What kind of data do you want to collect? Who is your target audience? What research methods do you plan to use? This information will help you identify the characteristics and criteria you need for your panel.

Step 2: Recruit participants

Recruiting panel participants is a meticulous activity.

You can recruit participants for your panel through various channels, such as social media, online advertising, and email campaigns.

Let’s review some of the most common channels of panel recruitment:

1. Email

This is one of the most common and effective channels of recruiting panel members. Emails generate a lot of commercial traffic, which can be contacted for creating panels. With automated email services, emailing potential panelists and enquiring for relevant information is easier than ever. It generates good leads as well as prompt replies that make it a highly efficient and viable option to be used as a panel recruitment channel.

2. Social media

The reach of social media has expanded far and wide. The worldwide user base of social media platforms such as Facebook, with over 2 billion users, and Twitter, with over 200 million users, is indicative of the kind of reach that can be generated using such platforms.

Organizations can engage with specific individuals using such platforms where the frequency of activity is very high. This makes these platforms highly reliable for generating quick responses. Maintaining an active social media presence and monitoring can go a long way in filtering users that show a designated behavior and in boosting the online brand imag

3. SMS

Short messaging services are the most widely used facility. It is a great medium to catch user attention and lure them to be a part of research panels. Survey links and invites can easily be shared among a large mass of audience through SMS facilities. It does not ask for an online presence and can be shared with anyone owning a mobile device. Brief introductions about the company and the research can be given using the multi-language functions that are provided in survey software platforms. This enhances user understanding and reduces chances of confusion.

4. Website

Website traffic can be scrutinized and nudged to join research panels. Companies have a large amount of direct and indirect traffic that visits their websites to accomplish multiple objectives such as customer service, increasing awareness, registering complaints, or addressing queries.

Using targeted landing pages and website pop-ups, companies can effectively push this online audience to join research panels. This will also have the additional benefit of recruiting brand advocates and customers as panel members, thus increasing authenticity and minimizing the need for incentivizing.

Voxco panel members are recruited through different means from trusted institutions that provide verified people best suited for any research requirement.

You can also use panel management software to help you automate this process.

You can also use panel management software to help you automate this process.

Step 3: Screen and qualify participants

Once you have recruited potential participants, you need to screen and qualify them based on specific criteria.

This step involves defining the criteria that each individual must meet in order to be qualified as a panel member for a particular study. This may include demographic information, interests, and behavior.

These criteria are then converted into a concise survey that is sent out to multiple databases of panelists. On the basis of their answers, a limited number of well-suited individuals get qualified as fit respondents.

It is imperative that all aspects are carefully deliberated over and covered to narrow down the eligibility criteria. This way, it will be easier to choose respondents who are more representative of the target population.

Step 4: Establish communication channels

You need to establish communication channels with your panel members to keep them engaged and informed. This can include email, social media, or online messaging platforms.

Step 5: Incentivize participation

Offering incentives, such as cash rewards, gift cards, or other prizes, can help encourage panel members to participate in research studies.

Step 6: Conduct research studies

You can use various research methods, such as online surveys, focus groups, and product testing, to collect data from your panel members.

Step 7: Analyze and report data

Once you have collected data, you need to analyze it and report your findings. This can involve using analytics software and data visualization tools to identify patterns and trends.

Overall, building an online research panel requires careful planning and execution. By following these steps, you can build a high-quality panel that meets your research objectives and provides valuable insights into your target audienc

Panel Management

Once you’ve selected your panel members, it is very important to keep them engaged. After building a research panel, you need to update it using a custom online research panel constantly. Panel management software is associated with the continuous creation and maintenance of panels. Customized profiling, continuous interactions, provision of timely incentives, and other activities all come under the purview of panel management.

Panelists, esp. customers, are interested in two-way interactions with the organizations. There is a need to come up with new and innovative practices to maintain panel members so that they don’t lose out their interest and the quality of research can be maintained.

FAQs

What is a research panel?

A research panel or custom online research panel is a group of dedicated respondents who agree to contribute their feedback and insights to a particular research. The members of research panels, also called panelists, are recruited by research firms via social media, websites, emails, etc. Most market research firms use research panels to gather accurate and reliable data for product development, social welfare, health infrastructure, etc.  

Research panelists are often given incentives such as cash rewards or gift cards to keep them invested in the process of research and boost active participation.

What are some common uses of research panels?

The most common use of online research panels is to gather accurate data for a study from a targeted group of customers that have been recruited based on various factors. This data ensures that the findings of the study are statistically significant and representative of the population they are studying.

Here are some of the common uses of a market research panel:

1. Gathering feedback on new products or services: Before launching any new product or service to the public, companies can use research panels to test their appeal. By doing so, they can get feedback on features, pricing, packaging, and other aspects of the product or service.

2. Understanding consumer behavior: Companies can also use research panels to better understand consumer behavior by collecting data on things like purchasing habits, brand preferences, and consumer attitudes. Then, they can use this information to build marketing strategies and accelerate product development.

3. Tracking trends: Another thing that research panels can help companies do is track trends in consumer behavior and changes in preferences over time. This can be valuable for companies that want to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to changing market conditions.

4. Identifying market opportunities: Online consumer research panels can help companies identify new market opportunities by gathering information on consumer needs and preferences. This can help companies develop new products or services that meet unmet needs in the market.

5. Conducting competitive analysis: Another amazing use of research panels is analyzing the competition. Gathering information on competitors, including their products, marketing strategies, and customer base can help companies identify areas where they can differentiate themselves and gain a competitive advantage.

What is panel management software?

Panel management software is a type of software used by organizations to manage and maintain their research panels. It is designed to automate many of the tasks involved in panel management, such as participant recruitment, screening, communication, and data collection.

Also known as online consumer research panels, panel management software typically includes a range of features, such as:

1. Participant recruitment: Panel management software can help organizations recruit participants for their research panels through various channels, such as email campaigns, social media, and online advertising.

2. Screening and qualification: Panel management software can screen potential participants and assess their eligibility based on specific criteria, such as age, gender, location, and interests.

3. Communication: Panel management software can help organizations communicate with their participants through various channels, such as email, SMS, and social media. This can include sending notifications about new research opportunities, updates on study progress, and incentives.

4. Data collection: Panel management software can automate the process of data collection through various methods, such as online surveys, focus groups, and product testing.

5. Reporting and analytics: Panel management software can generate reports and analytics based on the data collected, helping organizations gain insights into their research panels and make informed decisions.

Panel management software can be used by a wide range of organizations, including market research firms, academic institutions, and government agencies. Automating many of the tasks involved in panel management can save organizations time and resources while ensuring that their research panels are well-managed and productive.

The process of collecting market intelligence is a crucial one , especially when the organizations carrying it out rely on it to make informed business decisions. As a result , gathering market data in a quick and efficient manner becomes the need of the hour. Companies need to optimize their approaach to data collection in way that reduces their effort and provides them with qualitative input that assist intelligent follow-up actions.This can be easily achieved through internet panel surveys that not only provide organizations with the ability to gather quick data points within specified time frames but also recruits individuals with the right knowledge that increases the efficacy of the research process. This fast research mechanism even lets companies take advantage of opportunities that present itself in the market before the ccompetition , hence , allowing them to develop a stronger footing and cash in on growth opportunities.

Internet panels : The right respondents to your questions

Internet panels are specialized individuals who are equipped with the relevant information to answer specific research questions in the best possible manner. These people have high experience and intelligence in particular fields of organizational interest. This makes them highly eligible to provide prompt answers and deep insights that can serve as an impetus to the functioning of organizations. For example: for concept studies of products such as Kindle’s Fire tablet , the internet panel is likely to consist of low income working employees or students with a need for a tablet ,to carry out their day to day activities , within an affordable price range. Regular e-book readers and Amazon members wishing to integrate all their entertainment and work related actvities is another niche market that the product will appeal to and so , they must be consulted for authentic feedback that can be used to tailor make the product for the target audience.Internet panels allow organizations to hand pick the individuals that they'd like to carry survey for specific information. This allows the organisations to conveniently select the right people in the right number without any geographical restrictions. These answers then get combined into a cohesive overview of the topic of research through useful analytical tools that are designed to treat and summarize different types of information .

Advantages of using internet panel surveys

The benefits listed below make a good case for using internet panel surveys :

Convenience :

Internet panel surveys are meant to offer convenience with quality. Surveys are designed and distributed through multiple channels with vast audience traffic that engage high number of relevant respondents while collecting intelligence in a quick manner. Organizations are not required to put in extra resources or effort to look for eligible respondents . Information gets sourced through multiple respondents without much hassle . Internet panel surveys , in this sense , provide a great deal of insights at minimal effort.

Highly representative :

The respondents in an Internet Panel Study are highly aware about the current market trends and customer preferences . Their answers and suggestions are much more representative of the actual market sentiment. This allows organizations to extract maximum information using a sample of participants. This reduces sampling bias and makes the implementation of modifications much more easier as it helps gain ready market acceptance . Organizations need not search for specified individuals that meet the eligibility criteria as such work can be feasibly outsourced

High-quality responses :

The high expertise of the respondents in the study helps gain quality insights . By quality insights , we mean that respondents are able to answer based on up to date market information and their own experience as well as researchers get to explore additional areas without worrying about the respondent's levels of understanding. The feedback provided by such respondents is authentic and can be trusted to deliver in terms of market results.

Economical :

As American author Seth Godin puts it : Everyone is not your customer. By spending on surveying large samples of data that might or might not help , you skim through the crowd to identify respondents that are fit and eligible to answer your questions. Moreover , you get to reach these individuals not through traditional methods that make the data collection process slow and tedious , but by accessing data throughout the world without being restricted by geographical barriers. This results in increased saving and increased earnings as a result of less cost and increased revenue from products modified to meet customer expectations , designed and improved using meticulous research .

Technical research :

Business research and market studies require respondents who can answer questions regarding consumer behaviour , customer psychology , market trends and many more highly technical areas of functioning which not any person with a generalized familiarity can answer. For specific studies , there is a requirement of experts in specialized fields who have been studying brand or customer specific behaviour for long periods of time and can back up claims with hard facts and figures . Traditional methods may not be able to provide you with professionals that make your research more concentrated. The researcher can easily dive into deeper aspects and use technical jargon without running the risk of confusing the respondent.

Panel Management

You've recruited a panel of individuals best suited for a particular research topic. Is it fair to contact them only when the organization is looking for answers?Maintaining panels of respondents is all about engagement. Panelists are interested in engaging in a dialogue with the organizations they are assisting. Sometimes , this lack of engagement forces the respondents to drop out of studies even when such studies are accompanied by incentives and rewards . This is particularly true for brand related studies where respondents volunteer to take part in research to help out the brand that they love or have shared a long journey with. Naturally , these people becomes the first choice for becoming a part of the respondent panels . But the lack of interaction can turn these brand advocates into passives or even detractors if the brands fail to meet their expectation levels in terms of generating engagement .So apart from surveying customers to know what they think about you , ask them to furnish you with information about them. This helps in creating database of panels. Further , using a feedback or open messaging mechanism makes panelists feel valued as well provides them with an open platform to express themselves freely . It sends a message that the organization is actually interested in listening and acting upon what their customers have to say which prompts these customers to put their best foot forward and be as comprehensive as possible while participating in the research.

How to recruit survey panels using Voxco?

Voxco actively surveys and manages panel of respondents using Voxco Panel management system that integrates seamlessly with Voxco online . Selection and screening takes place that gathers 90 data points from each individual panelist. Research is distributed and collected within hours through an efficient distribution and collection process. Logic functions ensure error minimization to maintain the accuracy and authenticity of data. These specializef panels are carefully selected to meet the peculiar needs of organizations in the best possible manner.Explore Voxco Survey Software

Understanding Text: A Broader Perspective

When we think of "text," many of us immediately picture words on a page or messages on our phones. However, in academic terms, "text" encompasses much more. It refers to any form of communication that carries meaning—whether it's written, spoken, visual, or even non-verbal. This includes everything from books and articles to movies, music, advertisements, and even body language.

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What is Textual Analysis in Research?

Textual analysis in research is the process of analyzing the language, symbols, and content of texts to reveal deeper meanings, patterns, and structures. Researchers use this method to interpret how specific texts communicate ideas, influence perceptions, and shape social, political, or cultural discourse.

Take, for instance, a political speech. Textual analysis can help researchers explore the rhetoric used, the ideological messages conveyed, and the potential impact on the audience's perceptions. By examining the text in detail, researchers can draw conclusions about the social, historical, or cultural implications of the speech.

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Key Methods of Textual Analysis

Several textual analysis methods are used across different disciplines. Let’s explore the most common approaches:

1. Rhetorical Criticism

Rhetorical criticism focuses on understanding how texts persuade and influence their audience. Researchers systematically analyze the purpose, context, and strategies used in the text to evaluate its effectiveness. The process typically involves:

• Purpose: What is the goal of the message?
  
  
• Context: How do historical, cultural, and social factors shape the text?
  
  
• Impact: How does the text influence society or its audience?
  
  
• Theory: Can the analysis contribute to broader theoretical insights?

This method is particularly useful in media, political, and public discourse studies.

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2. Content Analysis

Content analysis involves systematically identifying and quantifying specific elements within a text, such as recurring themes, words, or phrases. This can be done either qualitatively (analyzing the meaning behind the occurrences) or quantitatively (counting the frequency of specific elements).

• Qualitative Content Analysis: Focuses on understanding the deeper meanings embedded in the text.
  
  
• Quantitative Content Analysis: Involves counting occurrences of specific words or themes to identify patterns in large datasets.

While this method is often used to analyze large volumes of existing data, it can be a powerful tool for uncovering trends or shifts in discourse over time.

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3. Interaction Analysis

Interaction analysis takes a broader view by examining both verbal and non-verbal communication. This approach is often used in studies of conversations, group dynamics, or media content. Researchers analyze:

• Linguistic Features: Word choice, sentence structure, and tone.
  
  
• Non-Verbal Communication: Gestures, facial expressions, and body language.
  
  
• Contextual Factors: Social, cultural, and situational influences on communication.

This method is particularly valuable in communication studies, social sciences, and qualitative research where understanding human interaction is key.

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4. Performance Studies

Performance studies focus on the expressive and aesthetic elements of text. Researchers using this approach might perform the text themselves or observe how others interact with it. This process involves:

• Select: Choosing a text to examine.
  
  
• Play: Experimenting with different vocal and physical expressions.
  
  
• Test: Concluding how the text influences behavior or perceptions.
  
  
• Choose: Selecting the most valid interpretation of the text.
  
  
• Repeat & Present: Refining and presenting findings based on the analysis. 

This method is commonly used in literary studies, theater, and cultural studies, where the performance of the text plays a critical role in understanding its meaning.

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Where is Textual Analysis Applied?

Textual analysis finds applications in a wide variety of fields. Below are a few key areas where this method is particularly valuable:

1. Cultural and Media Studies

In media and cultural studies, researchers analyze a wide range of media—such as music, videos, advertisements, and images—as texts. By examining these forms, they can uncover the social and cultural contexts behind their creation and consumption. For instance, in a television commercial, textual analysis might explore how language, imagery, and symbolism influence consumer behavior.

2. Social Sciences

In the social sciences, textual analysis is often used to study interviews, focus groups, and other forms of communication. Researchers may employ quantitative textual analysis to count word occurrences or qualitative analysis to interpret the social meaning behind the text. This method helps sociologists, anthropologists, and psychologists uncover insights into human behavior, group dynamics, and societal trends.

3. Literary Studies

In literary studies, textual analysis is crucial for interpreting written works, including novels, poems, and plays. Researchers focus on how literary devices, such as metaphors, symbolism, and narrative structure, create meaning and convey deeper insights into human experience.

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Key Takeaways:

Textual analysis provides researchers with a powerful tool to critically examine and interpret the vast array of texts that shape our world. Whether it's understanding political rhetoric, analyzing media representations, or interpreting literary works, textual analysis helps researchers draw meaningful conclusions from the texts we encounter daily.

For businesses, organizations, and academic researchers, this method unlocks deeper insights into how communication shapes perceptions, behaviors, and societal trends. By applying textual analysis methods across various fields, organizations like Voxco and Ascribe can leverage data to drive better decision-making, improve audience engagement, and enhance content strategy.

What is Inferential Statistics?

Inferential Statistics in quantitative research works in addition to Descriptive Statistics. Where descriptive statistics helps to summarize the characteristics of a sample population, inferential statistics focuses on using that summarized data and predict the characteristics for the larger population.

Hence, inferential statistics allows a researcher to make assumptions based on small populations, for the bigger populations. It uses measurements from the sample group and makes generalizations based on them for the larger groups. In essence to what is being said, if you want to identify whether the current statistics are descriptive or inferential, the key is that descriptive statistics works on your current sample data set and inference statistics work on concluding data in addition to your sample dataset which is comparatively huge.Example:You want to know the occupations of people in a village. You collect sample data from diverse villagers. After performing descriptive statistics on it, inferential statistics will give you an idea about what all occupations the rest of the villagers must be into.

What are the problems faced while collecting samples in Inferential Statistics?

• You have to make sure the sample data you select is diverse and random. This will avoid the results being biased. The sample data needs to be representative of the entire population for your assumptions to be accurate. 
• Errors in sampling can happen when you don’t cover some data from the population in your data. It creates a difference between the actual values of the population and the values that you have measured. This can happen irrespective of the first point. Nevertheless, there are various probability sampling methods to help avoid this like Systematic sampling, Cluster sampling, stratified sampling as Simple Random sampling. 

Ways of estimating population parameters from sample statistics:

It ideally tells us how to convert descriptive statistics to inference statistics. As the heading suggests, there are two characteristics:

• Parameter- Describes the entire population (mean of the population).
• Statistic- Describes the sample data (mean of the sample).

Inference statistics help us to use the sample statistic and describe the population parameter by taking sampling error into account and minimizing the difference between the two.

Types of estimating the population:

1. Point Estimate- It uses the sample data to calculate a single value or point, a statistic that is the best estimate of a population parameter. It identifies a point in some parameter space. 
2. Interval Estimate- Unlike point estimate, interval estimate gives a range where the parameter is expected to belong to. 

• Confidence Interval: Most common type of use of Interval Estimate. It is a range of values where the estimates are expected to fall on running the experiment again or on re-sampling. Hence, it is the mean of estimates which can fall on either on plus side or minus side of the variance (upper and lower bounds). Confidence level states the percentage of times we can expect the value to fall between the bounds. More the confidence level, the more the estimates are likely to fall in the same upper and lower bounds of the confidence interval. 

What is Hypothesis Testing in Inferential Statistics?

It is a statistically followed process to testing the assumptions made depending on The morris sample data. Let’s take an example along with the five steps to be followed while performing Hypothesis Testing;

Step 1) State Null hypothesis (H0):

It is an already accepted fact. Analysts try to eliminate or nullify the null hypothesis.

Step 2) State the Alternate hypothesis (Ha):

It the opposite of the null hypothesis and analysts try statistically to prove the alternate hypothesis right. If it is proved that the alternate hypothesis is right then the null hypothesis is automatically rejected. And vice versa.

Step 3) Determine Significance Level (α):

It is a determiner that states the probability of the alternate hypothesis being right. It uses a significance level which tells how confident you are in your conclusion. Generally it is 0.05 (5%) to start with. If α=0.05, then it will mean that you can 5% support the alternate hypothesis (meaning reject the null hypothesis). But it would mean that you were wrong to reject the null hypothesis.

Step 4) Calculate p-value:

It is a probability value in favour of the null hypothesis. Significance level supports the alternate hypothesis, p-value supports the null hypothesis.

• High significance level -> alternate hypothesis (null hypothesis rejected)
• High p-value-> null hypothesis (alternate hypothesis rejected)Step 5) Conclusion:

On basis of the above conditions, you can accept or reject the hypothesis by looking at the percentage of p-value and significance level.Example:(H0)- Obese people are insecure about their weight.(Ha)- Obese people don’t let their weight pull down their self-confidence. (α)- 0.05P-value- 0.02Conclusion- on interviewing several obese people you found out that many people are body positive and are comfortable in their skin. P-value is 0.02 which is way low than the significance level of 0.05, you failed to prove the null hypothesis and thereby accept the alternate hypothesis saying obese people don’t let their weight pull down their self-confidence.

What are Statistical Tests in Inferential Statistics?

Useful to test out predictions and hypotheses, it also eradicates sampling errors.Parametric statistical tests- more powerful due to their defect detection. It does so by making assumptions regarding the normal distribution of scores, the definition of the population by sample data, etc.Non-parametric statistical tests- do not make any assumptions and are distribution-free tests.

What are the types of Statistical Tests in Inferential Statistics?

Comparison tests-

It looks for the differences in mean and medians or scores. To know which test approach will suit the aim, you need to check if your data meets the conditions for the respective tests.Type of Comparison testParametric?What’s being compared?Samplest-testYesMeans2 samplesANOVAYesMeans3+ samplesMood’s medianNoMedians2+ samplesWilcoxon signed-rankNoDistributions2 samplesWilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-WhitneyU)NoSums of rankings2 samplesKruskal-WallisHNoMean rankings3+ samples

Correlation tests-

Tell the level of association between two variables.Type of Correlation testParametric?VariablesPearson’srYesInterval/ratio variablesSpearman’s rNoOrdinal/interval/ratio variablesChi square test of independenceNoNominal/ordinal variables

Regression tests-

They show if you change the predicted variables whether it causes the output variables to change or not. Depending on the number of variables you have, you can decide whether to take the regression tests or not.Types of Regression testPredictorOutcomeSimple linear regression1 interval/ratio variable1 interval/ratio variableMultiple linear regression2+ interval/ratio variable(s)1 interval/ratio variableLogistic regression1+ any variable(s)1 binary variableNominal regression1+ any variable(s)1 nominal variableOrdinal regression1+ any variable(s)1 ordinal variable

In research, open-ended feedback often holds the richest insights—but it can be difficult to analyze at scale. That’s where thematic analysis becomes essential.

Whether you're a social researcher studying behaviors, a market researcher analyzing customer sentiment, or a corporate insights team uncovering employee concerns, thematic analysis helps transform qualitative data into structured, actionable insight.

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What Is Thematic Analysis?

Thematic analysis is a method used to identify and interpret recurring patterns (or “themes”) in qualitative data. It’s especially useful for analyzing open-ended survey responses, interview transcripts, product reviews, and other text-based sources.

By organizing raw text into themes, researchers can surface what matters most—without being limited to numeric data. Today, AI-powered tools like Ascribe make this process faster, more consistent, and scalable across datasets.

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How Thematic Analysis Works

At its core, thematic analysis in research follows these six steps:

1. Familiarization – Reading through your data to get a high-level sense of the content.
   
   
2. Coding – Highlighting keywords or ideas and assigning short labels ("codes").
   
   
3. Generating Themes – Grouping similar codes into broader categories.
   
   
4. Reviewing Themes – Refining themes to make sure they accurately reflect the data.
   
   
5. Defining & Naming Themes – Giving each theme a clear focus and meaning.
   
   
6. Writing Up – Interpreting and presenting findings in a compelling way.
   
   

Example: A software company collects survey responses from customers. Thematic analysis reveals key themes like “usability,” “customer support,” and “integration issues.” These insights guide product and CX improvements.

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Types of Thematic Analysis

There are several types of thematic analysis, depending on your research goals and how you approach the data:

1. Inductive

Themes emerge directly from the data—ideal for exploratory research with little prior theory.
→ Example: Analyzing first-time users’ experiences without preset assumptions.

2. Deductive

Analysis is guided by existing theories or predefined categories.
→ Example: Validating known CX pain points using open-ended survey responses.

3. Semantic

Focuses on the surface-level meaning of the data—what people explicitly say.
→ Best for: Clear, direct feedback (e.g., product reviews or short comments).

4. Latent

Looks beyond what's said to interpret underlying beliefs, assumptions, or emotions.
→ Best for: Deep, qualitative interviews or behavioral research.

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Why Use Thematic Analysis in Research?

• Empowers deeper insight: Understand motivations, perceptions, and pain points that numbers alone can’t capture.

• Highly flexible: Apply it across industries—from market research and social science to UX and HR.
• Compatible with AI: Platforms like Ascribe let you automate thematic analysis at scale, cutting time spent on manual coding while improving consistency.
• Rich storytelling: Thematic analysis supports both qualitative depth and quantifiable patterns—ideal for mixed-method research.

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Best Practices for Thematic Analysis

• Use AI for consistency and scale: Manual analysis can be subjective. AI-enabled tools help you surface key themes faster and more objectively.
  
  
• Review edge cases: Don’t ignore less frequent responses—outliers often reveal emerging trends.
  
  
• Align themes to business goals: Use tags that link back to your research objectives, like customer satisfaction, churn drivers, or service gaps.
  
  
• Visualize results clearly: Pair your themes with visuals (charts, dashboards) to make them digestible for stakeholders.
  
  

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Final Thoughts

Thematic analysis offers a practical way to turn open-ended feedback into meaningful conclusions. Whether you’re exploring consumer attitudes or employee engagement, the ability to uncover and quantify patterns in text is key.

When supported by the right technology, thematic analysis in research becomes not just manageable—but transformative.

Discourse analysis is a qualitative research method used commonly in the field of social science, humanities, cultural studies, and more. The approach refers to the process of analyzing a written or spoken language in its social context.When you google the word “Discourse” the first thing to come up is “written or spoken communication or debate”. And as Cambridge would say, “discourse is communication in speech or writing”.What we get to understand in simple words is, Discourse refers to a discussion concerning a topic. It can be done in writing or even face to face. In other words, discourse can be communicated through words.For instance; 

1. A teacher discussing math with his students.
2. A team talking about their project.

Let’s understand what is discourse analysis and how it is used in everyday life.Start Creating Surveys Now

What exactly is Discourse Analysis?

According to the famous Oxford Dictionary, Discourse Analysis is “Linguistics, a method of analyzing the structure of texts or utterances longer than one sentence, taking into account both their linguistic content and their sociolinguistic context; analysis performed using this method.”Discourse Analysis is a method to study the written & spoken language which deals mostly with its social use. Understanding the cultural and social context of the languages is an important agenda for discourse analysis. Using that helps to mend their linguistic and sociological aspects.Discourse analysis aims to research the working of the language and learn the meaning derived from the words, depending on the situation. In the process of analysis, the context of the conversation is taken into consideration along with its meaning.For instance, the context may include the location of the speaker or non-verbal cues (body language) at the time of the discourse. In written communication, images and symbols used may encompass the context.

Why do you need Discourse Analysis?

Let’s understand with an example. You are analyzing a speaker’s speech, for you to understand the context of his speech completely, you will need to study the background of the speaker, why did he choose to speak on that topic, the background of the audience, and that of the locality he is speaking in.One can also predict the power imbalance amongst the people by observing them talk to each other. How they are cultivated in culture and communicated through a language. Hence this analysis approach can prove a perfect fit to assess social issues.Example:A politician (someone with more power) talking to their followers (someone with less power).You can use discourse analysis if you want to understand the following factors in the way the two groups communicate. 

1. Power or Inequality 
2. How do the two groups communicate in a specific context (in a public procession with media Vs. in a meeting with no media)
3. Ideology - how ideas and beliefs are shared using verbal language
4. Achieving social goals using verbal communication 

Approaches to Discourse Analysis

Depending on one’s purpose of the analysis, there are two main approaches of Discourse Analysis one can use. These are namely:

Language in use:

This approach focuses on the regular use of language in communication. It includes paying attention to sentence structures, grammar, phonology, etc. It traces back to formal ways of language usage, language in use pays attention to proper rules of grammar and when the language sounds ok to a native.This method helps in understanding the technicality of the language and how it is used in day-to-day conversations.Example:The language English has the prefix “un” and the suffix “able” as in “unpredictable” However, an English speaker may say, “That’s un-flipping-predictable”. From a language-in-use perspective, the infix “flipping” could be confusing. Discourse analysis can be used to examine what is the role of the infix, or how it helps in everyday conversation.

Socio-Political:

This approach of discourse analysis focuses on not only the technicalities but also on how a language influences the social and political context and another way round.

1. Critical Discourse Analysis- focuses on the power spectrum. Eg: Teachers and their students.
2. Normalized power- firm and suggestive, refers to one’s existence in the society and within its norms. E.g., people not talking in the library.
3. Repressive power- is confidently believed. E.g.: parents threaten their kids with a punishment.

If you look closely, the above sub-approaches are related to each other.

Steps to carry out in Discourse Analysis

Finalize your approach:

You need to decide what approach you want to use. This depends on what you are going to use discourse analysis for. Understand the aim and objective of the problem and research questions. You need to have an approach or a combination of an approach that best satisfies your research and best aligns with your study’s purpose.

Gathering Data: 

Once you have finalized your approach, it’s time to collect your data. Discourse analysis uses data in the form of talk or text.You can use the following resources to gather qualitative data to examine discourse:

1. Newspapers and periodicals
2. Brochures or other marketing materials
3. Government documents 
4. Social media comments, online forums, and website comments/reviews
5. Interviews or qualitative surveys

To avoid irrelevant and redundant data, make sure to answer the “what” “why” and “who” questions with respect to your case study. This will help you save time and keep your research on the right track.

Investigating context:

The key is to understand the concept and its meaning. Look to it that you come up with answers to

1. What is it?
2. Why is it?
3. When did it take place?
4. Where did it happen?
5. Who was in it?
6. What does it say about society?
7. How is it conveyed?

Analyzing gathered data:

After collecting the relevant data, look for patterns and themes. Examine elements you identify in the data and relate them to the themes and patterns relevant to your research purpose.For example, you can examine words or statements that relate to the dominance of the politician towards the followers. The words can include themes that reflect values or beliefs towards those with less power or body language that shows authority. 

Final review:

This includes returning to your research questions and seeing that you have satisfied all concerning requirements. After assigning attributes to the elements, you should start examining the meaning of the language.Analyze in a broader context to draw a better conclusion for your research.

Discourse Analysis: Real-Word Example

The example is how a healthcare facility used discourse analysis to understand the dissonance between patients and care providers.In a study funded by The Health Foundation, discourse analysis was applied to transcripts of conversations between doctors & patients were used to examine where misunderstandings were occurring.Two consultation audio-recording of 25 patients of breast cancer diagnostic consultations were analyzed using theme-oriented discourse analysis to investigate the moment of dissonance.The result of the discourse analysis showed that 8 out of 25 patients or their partners deferred the clinician’s treatment decision. Six patients asked for a recommendation.In medicinal science, discourse analysis helps physicians ensure that they are understood by their patients, especially those with limited language skills.

Summing up,

You are all set to conduct your discourse analysis. The vital thing to remember is that the process considers the social & cultural context in which language is used.Therefore, discourse analysis can be used in business research, academic research, or government research, as long as the aim is to understand the aspect of communication.Wondering what will be the cost of conducting survey research using Voxco?Get a free quoteExplore Voxco Survey Software

Research is the most important aspect through which a company can gather the relevant data required to make informed decisions. Many research models present in the market have made this data collection process easier and more efficient.

These research models focus on deciding the correct topic, picking the right audience with the relevant knowledge base that qualifies them as appropriate respondents, and asking them the right questions to analyze and predict accurately.

With the development of computerized learning and AI, the data collection process has become easier and simplified over the years.

Brands spend their own sweet time and resources going through multiple research methodologies and conducting feasibility studies to see if the method they choose is viable enough to be implemented.

One such method is CATI or computer-assisted telephone interviewing software. Let’s dive deep into what CATI is and its importance in this blog.

What is CATI?

In layman's terms, CATI is a research method that conducts survey research in a telephonic manner guided by a computer. The interviewer makes a call to the respondent and conducts the whole research over the telephone by using a script that is displayed on a computer instead of using the traditional paper-printed survey.

CATI surveys simplify the data collection by allowing agents to make notes about the respondent’s answers on the computer. Logic functions used by the software make the interviewing process dynamic. Using question randomization and repetition based on the answers provided by a particular respondent, you can customize the survey.

In addition, piping and branching techniques help to route to and skip questions based on what is relevant for a participant.

CATI survey software offers a better alternative to traditional data collection. It mixes the interpersonal touch generated by an interaction between company personnel and a respondent. Thus offering an easier way of collecting and sorting data that assist the interviewer in gathering relevant information without compromising quality.

Moreover, it allows the interviewer to focus on the interaction while leaving the complex work of managing data to the computer. This way, the interviewer gets to build a good conversation with the respondent, and the efficiency in data collection improves. Enhance your research process with an AI interview assistant to streamline interactions and gather precise data.

Also read: How to make automated phone surveys?

How does a computer-assisted telephone interview work?

CATI survey software allows you to design a survey questionnaire and program it to work seamlessly during a telephone survey. The tool allows agents to conduct telephone interviews by following the survey script.

The flexible and intuitive platform enables agents to log in to the answers on time and ask relevant questions based on the respondents' answers. This allows interviewers to focus on the respondent.

Also read: CATI in market research: Why it’s time to use Phone Surveys

Why leverage CATI for data collection?

Using cutting-edge phone survey software ensures faster data collection and a wider reach. All the while boosting engagement, increasing agents’ efficiency, & increasing response rates.

Here are six reasons why you should leverage computer-assisted telephone interview software for data collection.

01. Scalable:

CATI is a useful tool when it comes to collecting responses from respondents who are not easily accessible. It breaks down geographical barriers to make it easy for interviewers to collect data from a respondent anywhere simply by making a phone call.

This particular advantage of CATI makes it a better choice than personal interviewing, where a face-to-face interaction takes place between the respondent and the interviewer. This makes it easier to conduct large-scale studies in a short time period without any significant investment.

Using cloud-based CATI software enables you to scale the tool based on your organizational needs.

02. Customizable:

Respondents have a plethora of points of view, and these become more varied as the number of respondents goes on increasing.

Create tailor-made phone surveys using skip-logic, piping, or branching to ensure you ask respondents questions relevant to their experience. This provides the benefit of collecting precise data and eliminating any question or aspect that does not apply to the respondent.

03. Real-time monitoring:

When utilizing computer-assisted telephone interviewing, you can monitor the call's progress. You can supervise an ongoing call and monitor the live dashboard for completed cases, talk & idle time, etc.

Additionally, CATI software allows real-time synchronization and monitoring of data as and when interviews are complete. This benefit makes it easier to highlight and correct mistakes and track real-time progress to see if the study is progressing in the right direction.

Certain omnichannel survey software such as Voxco offers real-time data on the survey progress. It also integrates data from multiple types of research to provide a more holistic picture.

Seamlessly collect data with our integrated telephone survey software

• 99.99% Uptime
• On-Premise / Cloud Hosting Options

04. Good customer service:

For any respondent or customer, the interviewer represents the company for the period of the interview. The way an interviewer converses, his manner of speaking, and his tone can have a big impact on how the customer perceives the company image.

Allowing the interviewer to focus only on their interaction with the customer gives the interviewer freedom to build a good conversation with customers. This ensures the agent is not diverted by data collection and management. The computer does all the work while the interviewer can concentrate on rapport-building activities.

05. Quicker process:

Given that half of the work is automated by computer software, the process of collecting data through CATI is quicker than other manual methods. Sticking to the script and being concise offers the benefit of touching all the pain points in a timely and structured manner. This way you can ensure collection of the required responses and also meet the deadlines.

06. Ease of clarification:

Respondents might not understand certain questions or may feel that the choices offered are ambiguous. Such doubts about the clarity of the survey can easily be resolved through elaboration offered by the interviewer on call.

You cannot offer such clarification through online surveys, which makes CATI a better choice. The better the respondents understand the questions and the intention of the survey, the higher the quality of the feedback you gather.

Also read: 3 Types of Total Survey Error in Telephone Surveys

What are the cons of using CATI survey software?

There are some cons to using CATI as a mode of data collection. Here are two such disadvantages:

Designing takes time:

The process of collecting and navigating through the research may be efficient, but designing a questionnaire and entering it into the software can be time-consuming. Added to this is the typing speed and correctness of the interviewer.

The interviewer needs to be fast in entering the customer’s responses while making sure they do not miss out on any keywords that are essential for achieving the research purpose.

Modifications are difficult to incorporate:

Using logic functions in surveys makes it difficult to incorporate changes and update answers if respondents remember a part of the answer later on.

Research challenges that CATI counters

CATI software helps you interview your audience and gather accurate data faster than face-to-face surveys. Here are some of the challenges that computer-assisted telephone interview surveys help you resolve.

01. Lack of correlation:

The issue of not being to establish a correlation between two different research topics hampers the quality of decision-making that takes place using the data collected. By allowing real-time monitoring and dashboard inclusions, the researchers can combine two or more research results. This enables you to look at the bigger picture and establish a relationship between multiple research studies.

02. Dissatisfied respondents:

Respondents may not complete online surveys due to a lack of human touch or the survey length being too long, leading to non-response bias. By allowing the interviewer to concentrate on interacting with the respondent, the respondent gets to feel valued and respected. The interviewer can make sure that questions are answered to the fullest.

03. Geographical barriers:

Finding the right respondents may be easy, but getting in touch with them is difficult. That is the reason why most researchers go for convenience sampling. It is the process where respondents are selected on the basis of how easily they are available. With CATI, researchers do not need to rely on such a method, and they can carry out nuanced research without worrying about accessibility.

04. The number of respondents:

Researchers try to scale down the number of respondents they interview due to time constraints, lack of resources, and accessibility issues. With CATI in the picture, accurate data gets collected, and respondent accessibility is not an issue; the sample respondents can be maximized. Smaller samples can lead to inaccurate results due to sampling bias. This possibility is eliminated due to CATI.

05. Building long-term relationships:

Your customers walk out of a research process satisfied and content with the interaction they had, all because their opinions are valued. CATI brings good customer experience to the table so that long-term relationships are established, and satisfaction is kept top-notch.

Use cases of CATI survey software

Computer-assisted telephone interview survey software helps you reach your audience by phone and gather data without the need for face-to-face conversation. Market or social researchers, government agencies, and other organizations use telephone surveys to engage audiences whom they cannot reach with personal or online surveys.

1. Market research:

Brands can use phone surveys as a data collection method to gather insights into customers’ preferences, purchase behavior, and attitudes.

You can conduct phone surveys to

• Guage brand awareness,
• Gather feedback on new products or services,
• Understand customer experience and their satisfaction with the company’s products/services,
• Segment market based on demographic, geographic, behavioral, and other characteristics, and
• Gather competitive intelligence.

2. Political polling:

You can use CATI surveys in political campaigns to gather insights from voters about their opinions and preferences. Here are some ways you can use phone surveys in political polling:

• Track changes in voters’ preferences and gather their opinion on campaign messages.
• Conduct exit polls to understand how people vote and predict the result.
• Conduct focus groups to understand the voter’s concerns.

3. Social research:

Social scientists can use phone surveys to understand the beliefs, attitudes, practices, and behaviors of various groups in relation to societal issues.

Social scientists can use it for the following purposes:

• Gather data using social welfare surveys on social assistance, access to social services, housing, food, etc.
• Gather public opinions on social values, policies, and programs.

4. Health research:

Healthcare organizations can use phone surveys to track patients’ aftercare or explore individuals’ access to healthcare services. The insights can help organizations develop public health interventions and policies.

Here are some ways healthcare organizations can use phone surveys:

• Track patient satisfaction with the quality of care and access to healthcare services.
• Collect public information on healthcare utilization, types of services used, cost of healthcare services, frequency of visits, etc.

Overall, the CATI survey is a valuable tool for gathering insights from a wider population in a short amount of time. Using the data, organizations can make informed decisions and further follow up to gather in-depth insights.

Conclusion

CATI surveys are a valuable research tool, offering advantages such as faster data collection, control over the research process, high response rates, etc. It helps you reach an audience who may not be proficient in using mobile to take online surveys. Or those who you cannot reach even with field surveys.

Phone surveys allow you to avoid misinterpretation of questions, thus providing you with higher-quality data. It is quick and efficient, as agents can enter the data as they go through the interview. This means the software can automatically analyze the data right after the last interview ends.

This data collection method is a great example of technological advancement in this interconnected world.

Why Voxco is the right choice for you?

CATI survey software is an important research tool that can help desired end results. But the very act of selecting the right software that meets your needs can be a little difficult to find.

Here’s how Voxco makes a good case for the scale and nature of the study that you are looking to conduct:

1. An omnichannel platform: Find everything you need in one place by combining our powerful Voxco CATI mode with Voxco’s Cloud Dialer and Voxco IVR. Create an integrated phone survey system of unparalleled efficiency.
2. Dynamic survey design tools: The cumbersome part is made easy to create highly complex surveys with advanced question types and multiple conditions.
3. Interviewer’s flexibility: The freedom for interviewers to switch between languages gives a personal touch to the interviewing process.
4. Sophisticated fieldwork management tools: Maximize response rates with fieldwork tools like time zone management, interviewer roles, and smoothing functions.
5. Phone survey software integration: Voxco CATI can be seamlessly integrated with an entire telephony system of your choice:
   • Voxco Dialer offers automated, manual, or hybrid dialing modes to maximize dialing productivity.
   • Optimize interviewing resources by blending inbound and outbound calls, and improve response rates by using Voxco IVR to handle returned calls.

FAQs

1. What is a CATI survey?

When you use a computer for interviewing and gathering feedback from a human, it is known as a CATI survey.

You can create a survey with an extensive logic function to ensure that you ask only relevant questions. Once the software connects a call to the respondent, the interviewer can read from the interviewer monitor the script with an introduction, instructions, and questions in it. The interviewer can select the code based on the respondent’s answer and log in the data.

2. How are CATI different from traditional phone surveys?

In a CATI interview, the agent gets assistance from a computer program to conduct a survey efficiently. The agent reads the survey questions from the screen and logs in the response, the software uses logic to show the next question based on the previous answer.

Whereas, on traditional phone surveys, the interviewer had to manually look for survey questions which meant longer research time and irrelevant questions.

3. What is the advantage of using CATI surveys?

It is more time and cost effective than face-to-face surveys. You can reach a wider audience where they are, thus helping you utilize your research time efficiently. The software also enables you to take time-zone into consideration.

Agents can focus on gathering data and so complete the survey project faster.

4. How long does it take to conduct phone interviews?

The length of phone surveys depends on factors such as the number of questions, the complexity of the question, and the number of respondents. Even with automated calls and sophisticated logic, a phone interview can last up to 10 to 20 minutes.

It’s important to keep the number of questions to a minimum. Too many questions can lead to survey fatigue and lower your response rate.

Conducting surveys and gathering data is easy. However, the right insights often get buried in the pile of noise. Visualizing survey data helps you tell a story by transforming the raw feedback into insightful data. By leveraging survey data visualization, you can easily identify trends, patterns, relations, and themes in the collected data.  

Investigating survey data with a visualization tool empowers you with the right data to make informed decisions, propelling business growth. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of utilizing survey data visualization tools and how to visualize survey data.

What is Knowledge Panel?

A KnowledgePanel survey is a research method that uses a carefully chosen group of people to collect information on different subjects. Unlike typical surveys, which often pick people randomly, KnowledgePanel surveys use a more focused method. This ensures a diverse and accurate sample that truly represents the group being studied.

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How does a Knowledge Panel survey work?

Panel members are selected randomly to ensure that survey results accurately represent the population, with a high level of accuracy. This level of precision is not achievable with non-probability panels. KnowledgePanel has improved its recruitment process by using Address sampling (ABS) instead of the Random Digit Dialing (RDD) method.

ABS sampling, which is based on probability, helps increase coverage of the population and establishes a robust sampling system for reaching individuals who are typically hard to reach. This includes people from minority groups and young adults. With ABS recruitment, households without internet access are provided with a web-enabled device and free internet.

Once participants accept the invitation to join the panel, they complete a brief demographic survey known as the core profile survey. The information collected in this survey is essential for future panel sampling. Successful completion of the core profile survey allows participants to become active panel members. Additionally, all respondents receive similar privacy and confidentiality protections.

A look inside ABS Recruitment

The recruitment process uses probability-based sampling from addresses listed in the USPS Delivery Sequence File. ABS methodology has a big advantage: it allows sampling of entire delivery points regardless of whether they have a telephone. By using existing data about addresses, it helps plan how to represent different subgroups accurately based on attrition rates.

• Hispanic age range 18-30
• Non-Hispanic age range 18-30
• Hispanic age range 31+
• Non-Hispanic age range 31+

From the randomly sampled addresses, the adults receive an invitation to join the Knowledge Panel every quarter. This happens over a series of contact attempts, comprising of an invitation letter, a postcard for reminding, and a continuous follow-up letter. In order to join the panel, the invited households should:

• Complete and mail back the paper form via a postage-paid envelope
• Call a toll-free number associated with GfK
• Go to a specific GfK website and fill out the recruitment form

Recruiting household members

The members of the entire household are enumerated at the time of the initial recruitment survey. Post enumeration, each household member equal to or above the age of 13 years can be recruited for participating in the Knowledge Panel survey. However, it’s important to take consent from the parents or guardians for the initial recruitment interview of the household members that are 13 -17 years old.

Survey Sampling

Once the panel members are successfully recruited as well as profiled, they are eligible to be selected for client surveys. Based on the study design, stratified random sampling is seamlessly carried out on the profile data.

The basic rule of sampling is not assigning individual members more than a single survey every week. In the case of certain exceptions, this confines the total assignments of a member to 4 or 6 surveys every month. If a survey sample requires prescreening, then members are usually drawn from a panel’s subsample (like females, window shoppers, republicans, etc.).

Survey Administration

Once assigned to a survey, members receive an email notification whenever a new survey is available. This email contains a link that takes them directly to the survey questions, without needing a login or password. The field period for surveys can last anywhere from a few hours to several weeks, depending on the client's requirements.

After three days, automatic email reminders are sent to panel members who haven't responded. If these reminders don't get the desired response, telephone reminder calls are made. It's standard protocol to wait at least 3 to 4 days after sending email reminders before making phone calls.

Panel members are typically expected to complete one survey per week or four surveys per month. Each survey should take between 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

Survey response rates

The response rate reporting for Knowledge Panel surveys is in accordance with the AAPOR standards. The AAPOR standards were originally designed with single survey administrations in focus. However, the response rates for KnowledgePanel surveys are calculated using algorithms developed by Callegaro and DiSogra in 2008.

Mostly, about 65% of people finish these surveys. The rate might change a bit depending on things like how long the survey is or what it's about.

What are the advantages of Knowledge Panel surveys?

Fairly nice compensations

In Knowledge Panel surveys, every survey session of 10-15 minutes is likely to help you earn approximately $1. If you earn $1 per week that means you can easily earn $60 per year. While the money isn’t too much but it is certainly a great incentive for an interesting activity!  

Turn points into cash

You can easily transform your points into cash. It also lets you turn them into either gift cards or even sweepstakes entries!  

Open for all household members

Every member of the family is free to join. So, every time that letter gets into your mailbox, it could be either for you or any other single member of the household.

What are the disadvantages of Knowledge Panel surveys?

Exclusive Panel

Receiving the invitation isn’t an easy task. The panels are extremely exclusive and only limited households really get the invitation. Even the partners are not authorized to send invitations.

High Checkout Threshold

Knowledge Panel surveys require cash out of $25 due to which they do not stand out among the existing competitors.  

Increased Survey Length

Many users say that the KnowledgePanel surveys keep on becoming lengthy with time. As the payment is not done on an hourly basis, the increasing length of surveys can lead to frictions.

Conclusion

To sum up, KnowledgePanel surveys are a dependable way to collect data that represents public opinions and behaviors accurately. Using probability-based sampling, they give valuable insights across different fields. Although they face challenges like limited access and long surveys, platforms like Voxco help improve their effectiveness. Overall, KnowledgePanel surveys are crucial for making informed decisions and understanding societal trends.

With platforms like Voxco, researchers can fully utilize KnowledgePanel surveys to gain valuable insights, guiding decision-making and creating meaningful impact.

What is a Survey Panel?

In market research, a survey panel refers to a group of re-recruited individuals with shared characteristics who have agreed to provide their feedback in exchange for monetary or non-monetary benefits. Panels are used in longitudinal studies; a type of correlational research that studies variables over long periods of time such as months, years, and decades. The use of a panel allows researchers to keep the individuals being tested constant so that changing behaviours, attitudes, thoughts, and sentiments can be measured effectively at different points in time.

What is a Global Survey Panel?

A global survey panel is a panel comprising of participants from different parts of the world. Online research panel providers often provide access to the global population, allowing organizations to obtain feedback from panels that consist of people from all around the world.

Global survey panels are especially useful to multinational companies that run their operations across different countries as they can collect longitudinal data from their global target market to study the changes in the behavior, sentiment, attitude, and preferences of their consumers.

Channels to Recruit a Global Survey Panel

There are two main recruitment channels through which participants are recruited into a global survey panel:

Internal Channels

Internal recruitment channels refer to when panellists are recruited through a company’s internal channels. This includes their existing customers, their email lists, their social media followers etc. As these individuals already have a direct line of communication with a brand, it is easy to onboard them to the panel.

External Channels

External recruitment channels are used when a company’s internal channels become insufficient. It is more difficult and more expensive to onboard respondents through external channels as they are less likely to consider working with a brand they have not interacted with and therefore have no connection to. Therefore, external channels should only be utilized once the internal channels are exhausted.

The Importance of Incentives in a Global Survey Panel

When conducting surveys and polls, it is crucial to incentivize panellists in order to gain increased engagement and a high survey response rate. Without incentives, it’ll be almost impossible to get the desired amount of survey respondents.

Use the following tips while incentivizing survey panels:

Offer Monetary Incentives

 Monetary rewards are much more effective than non-monetary rewards while trying to incentivize individuals to participate in surveys. The software comes with Skype for business activities to host meetings, interviews, client interactions, and more across any device end-to-end synchronization.

Reward all Participants

A sweepstake may be effective at initially luring in participants. However, a huge chunk of panellists will be left unsatisfied as they won’t be rewarded. Therefore, even if sweepstakes are used, ensure that at least a small reward is given to each panellist.

Avoid Rewards Associated with your Brand

Avoid giving rewards from your company’s prize inventory (company merchandise, for instance) as this provides less flexibility than monetary rewards and may not sufficiently incentivize individuals to participate.

It is important to note, however, that there are some survey panels where the use of incentives is not required. For instance, when conducting customer satisfaction surveys, it is crucial to skip survey panel incentives as an incentive could result in consumers providing positive feedback rather than honest feedback solely to redeem the reward. Hence, in such a case, incentives can compromise survey results.

Characteristics of a Global Survey Panel

The following are a few characteristics of a global survey panel:

Multilingual Support

When conducting surveys across different countries, it is important to ensure that the survey is available in different languages as panellists are more likely to respond when the survey is available in their first language.

Compliance

As global survey panels involve the collection of consumers’ personal data, it is important to ensure that the practices and software used while surveying are compliant with the different laws and regulations of the countries being surveyed.

Screening and Verification

As global survey panels are predominantly conducted using online channels, they run the risk of fraudulent survey respondents creating multiple profiles to obtain additional rewards. Fraudulent responses can compromise the validity of your study, hence it is pivotal to have a thorough screening and verification process to eliminate or minimize this risk.