Welcome!

The CATI Lab at Montana State University Billings, located on the fourth floor of McMullen Hall, uses a network of computers with software designed to streamline and manage telephone survey research. Our CATI Lab presently has six work stations, each consisting of a personal computer and a telephone. The six stations allow six interviewers to make telephone calls at the same time.

Each year MSU-Billings Sociology and Political Science students conduct a poll using the CATI lab system. The annual MSUB Poll is available online.

CATI Lab Features

The CATI Lab system of computers and software:

• Assists in the creation of the survey questionnaire.
• Places the questionnaire into computer memory.
• Allows up to six interviewers working on a survey at the same time.
• Can manage one to six different survey projects simultaneously.
• Automatically selects the proper route in conditional branching questions.
• Randomly selects and telephone numbers and facilitates the use of random digit dialing sampling.
• Automatically schedules call backs to unanswered calls
• Collects raw data from interviews ready for statistical analysis by external software.
• Automatically keeps track of any survey sample quota requirements.
• Monitors interviewer productivity to increase efficiency.
• Tracks the disposition of every single telephone call made during the course of a study.
• Provides reports on the progress of the survey, including marginal tabulations from the data, at any time.

For Further Information and Bids on Projects

To find out more about the CATI Lab or to obtain a bid for a particular research project, contact: Scott Rickard, Director 406-657-1763 or send e-mail to: srickard@msubillings.edu