Telephone versus face-to-face mode for collecting self-reports of sequences of behavior

This study compared telephone vs face-to-face interviews as ways to collect self-reported sequences of daily activities. Twenty-seven persons with spinal cord injury in a rehabilitation hospital participated. The Self-Observation and Report Technique was used to obtain, in the participants' own words, two reports per week of 24-hour sequences of activities. One report per week was given over the telephone and one in person. Each behavior was coded for activity, assistance, companions, and locations. Nineteen measures assessing independence, level and diversity of activity, mobility, and social contacts were derived from the last four interviews for each participant. Differences in the measures derived from each mode were tested. Accuracy was assessed by comparing the self-reports to data on activities recorded by trained observers. Measures from the two modes did not differ, nor did the percent agreements with observation data. Investigators can use the more convenient and efficient telephone mode with confidence.