Objetivos: Estudar as possibilidades de uso de cadastros de linhas telefônicas residenciais para implementação de inquéritos por amostragem. Descrever presença de vícios potenciais, associados às taxas de coberturas de LTR, nas principais variáveis que usualmente compõem o núcleo de informações de inquéritos epidemiológicos. Métodos: Com base nos dados da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) no período de 1998 a 2003, exceto 2000, foram estimadas por intervalo de confiança de 95%, as médias e proporções. Nas análises dos dados considerou-se o plano de amostragem complexa. Resultados: No Brasil, houve um crescimento de 50% dos domicílios atendidos por LTR, no período. No entanto, essa evolução não ocorreu de forma uniforme no Brasil. Foram identificados diferentes perfis de usuários de LTR, sendo as principais características relacionadas com a escolaridade, a raça, a posse de um plano de saúde e a localização geográfica. Nas regiões com baixa cobertura de LTR podem ocorrer vícios nas estimativas de prevalências de doenças crônicas. Conclusão: O uso das linhas telefônicas residencias para a realização das entrevistas em inquéritos epidemiológicos mostrou-se viável para as unidades de federação com taxas de cobertura de LTR acima de 70%. / Objectives: To study the possibilities to use sampling frame of telephone interview the implementation of survey sampling. To describe the presence of potential biases associated to with coverage rates of telephone surveys in the main variables that usually compose the information core of epidemiological investigations. Methods: From database of the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) in the period between 1998 and 2003, except for 2000, the averages and proportions were estimated by a 95% confidence interval. In the statistics analysis , the complex sampling plan was considered. Results: In Brazil, it has been there was a 50% increase in the households served by telephone, during the studied period. However, this evolution did not occur in a uniform way. Different profiles of telephone users were identified, and the main characteristics were related to education, race, the health plans and the geographic location. The regions with low telephone coverage may introduce bias on the estimates of prevalence of chronic diseases. Conclusion: The use of telephone survey for the conduction of interviews during epidemiologic investigations could be suitable to be feasible for the federal units with coverage rates above 70%.

This research explores what type of verbal/text survey content translates effectively between survey modes within a Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) and Computer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) mixed-mode survey project within unified mixed-mode survey design. This phenomenon is researched through the implementation of online probes within an existing CAWI survey project for sections close to an original CATI design. This research provides insights into how respondents understand and conceptualize verbal content within a unified mixed-mode CAWI survey in today’s online survey environment. This research is timely as the penetration of mobile has increased drastically, which may have implications on CAWI/CATI mixed-mode research considering the conflicting best practices for mobile CAWI survey design and CATI survey design. The results show that respondents do not engage with introductory pages enough to reliably recall their information, even when significantly shortened and simplified. Additionally, respondents are sensitive to high amounts of text and topics within survey question spaces. This means that some aspects of CATI survey design do not translate to CAWI and may even be cause for data quality concerns. These findings highlight some key issues faced by researchers and practitioners, provide some guidance on how design choices may impact results, and presents rich opportunities for future research.