An exploding technology is contributing to the fast pace at which the field of survey research is moving today. Despite this, growing and unresolved problems hamper some of the major accomplishments in this field. Those problems are affecting its growth in the future as well.

These were the comments of George Gallup Jr., the nationally known poll-taker, who spoke at a recent symposium in Indianapolis sponsored by Walker Research, Inc. Gallup, who shared his insights on the future of survey research with his audience of about 100 senior marketing executives, included thoughts on the subject from people who are involved in the business.

In a mail survey questionnaire, some senior marketing executives were asked to comment on their predictions on the future of survey research. Their responses indicated a pervasive concern over a wide range of problems such as telemarketers posing as interviewers, poorly-designed surveys, a declining pool of interviewers, fear of being interviewed, and a lack of understanding of the purposes of survey research. Some predictions were even more severe. For example: "'Consumer overload' will destroy the industry; interviewers will be a vanishing breed; opinions will be available only for a price; survey respondents, angered over fake surveys or poorly designed surveys, will demand government regulation."

Can the industry afford to suffer such mishaps considering the progress it has made over the past 50 years? Gallup listed a sample of those accomplishments:

The respondents see the future of survey research as accomplishing many milestones. A few of these are:

These previous accomplishments and the forthcoming ones predicted are jeopardized because of rather threatening developments and persistent problems. According to the respondents, these are:

These threats to the survey industry signify the need to remind people nationwide of the importance of their ...