Sampling Telephone Numbers and Adults, Interview Length, and Weighting in the California Health Interview Survey Cell Phone Pilot Study

This article describes several features included in a California Health Interview Survey cell phone pilot study that differ from earlier cell phone surveys conducted in the United States. One difference is that the study used a screening design and only adults living in cell-only households were interviewed. Most of the previous studies used dual frame designs. Another difference was the development and implementation of a within-household adult sampling procedure to cover adults when cell phones were shared in the household. The study was also intended to determine if conducting a cell phone interview of the same scope and length as a regular telephone interview was feasible. Most previous surveys were focused on cell phone topics and were shorter than the comparable landline surveys. We then explore some interesting problems that arise in weighting a cell phone survey using a screening design. We conclude with a discussion of planning a new cell phone survey in 2007 that incorporates findings from this study.