Do We Need to Go Cellular? Assessing Political Media Consumption Using a Single-Frame Landline/Cellular Survey Design

Abstract

Much research has been published on cellular phone only households and the challenges posed by cellular phones to traditional survey methodologies that attempt to generate representative samples using only landline telecommunications. This study reports analyses comparing two separate survey strata (N landline ¼ 152, N cellular ¼ 153) collected simultaneously and nested within a single-frame survey of a state in the American Midwest for differences in demographics, political orientations, individual differences, and a variety of political media consumption variables. Focus is also given to differences among audience variables that predict various forms of political media use across the two survey strata. Megan R. Hill (B.A., Oakland University, 2008) is a graduate student in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. Her research interests include political communication and media effects. John M. Tchernev (B.S., Northwestern University, 2001) is a doctoral student in the School

Digital Divide 2.0: The Role of Social Networking Sites in Seeking Health Information Online From a Longitudinal Perspective

“…Moreover, in 2008 and 2010, the response rates of landline samples differed from those of cellular samples. Hill, Tchernev, and Holbert (2012) found that although there were no differences in the mean education and income levels between landline and cellular samples, there were significant age and gender differences. In particular, participants in cellular samples tended to be younger than those in landline samples, and there was an oversampling of male participants in cellular samples and a majority of female participants in landline samples (Hill et al, 2012).…”

Are Demographics Adequate Controls for Cell-Phone-Only Coverage Bias in Mass Communication Research?

“…Although the problems posed by CPO households for survey researchers have been well studied within political and health contexts, the issue has received almost no attention by mass communication researchers. The exception is a study by Hill and colleagues (2012) that examined differences in political media use between survey participants reached via landline versus survey participants reached by cell phone. (The study did not separate out CPO households.)…”

“…Thus, this study heeds Hill et al’s (2012) call for additional research exploring the implication of a growing number of CPO households for media consumption surveys. Understanding media use is important not only for understanding the changing preferences among audiences but also for understanding how individuals access information about topics like politics (Dahlgren, 2009; Graber, 2009; McLeod, Scheufele, & Moy, 1999) and health (Noar, 2006).…”

“…As the percentage of CPO households has grown (along with the associated coverage bias), the survey research field has reached consensus that landline-only surveys cannot provide adequate coverage of the population and that telephone surveys must include cell phone sampling frames (Hill, Tchernev, & Holbert, 2012). Following this consensus, a number of sources of secondary data used in mass communication research now include cell phones.…”

“…Wei & Hindman, 2011). The fact that the majority of articles do not directly address the potential coverage bias associated with CPO households suggests that this potential bias has received inadequate attention within the mass communication literature (Hill et al, 2012).…”