City Services Satisfaction Survey 2003 City Services Satisfaction Survey | Page 86

Data Collection Telephone Interviewing Each primary number in the sample received an original call and up to two callbacks at different times on different days. If, including weekends, an interview could not be completed after two callbacks, substitution was permitted. Data Tabulation The final statistical tables were created via UNCLE ® . This comprehensive data management and cross-tabulation system has one overriding objective in mind: the production of consistently accurate statistical tables. For example, most formatting is automatic within UNCLE ® to eliminate format-related errors. The software contains hundreds of embedded error-trapping algorithms to eliminate syntactical errors. The system produces a Summary Report, to condense all of the programmer's instructions into a simple, easy-to-read format, which makes any programming errors easy to find during quality-control checking. Another quality-control procedure involves a thorough crosscheck of percentages in the statistical tables against the same percentages in an UNCLE ® Marginal report. (Within UNCLE ® , the Marginal program and the program module which compiles the statistical tables are based upon different algorithms so that each can serve as an independent accuracy check upon the other.) Additionally, tabulation programmers follow a multi-step, quality-control checklist to ensure produc- tion of accurate statistical tables. All questionnaires and source documents will be stored by Decision Analyst for six months before being destroyed. The data itself will be stored on magnetic tape for three years. During this time period, additional cross-tabulations or statistical analyses can be purchased at Decision Analyst's standard hourly rates. Decision Analyst, Inc. 86