An application of interactive voice response (ivr) technology to longitudinal studies of daily behavior

A relatively new technology-an interactive voice response (IVR) system-was used to collect selfreport data from 51 male subjects (21–56 years old) concerning daily tobacco and alcohol consumption over a 112-day period. After resolution of initial technical problems, the Touch-Tone data-entry methodology of the IVR was shown to provide notable advantages over traditional longitudinal self-report methodologies. The high compliance rate (93%) for this study was attributed to (1) implementation of important study design characteristics; (2) an innovative compensation scheme that reinforced consistent daily reporting and incorporated feedback to the subjects on a daily basis; (3) a simple, unobtrusive Touch-Tone data-entry interface with the interview and data-collection system that provided subjects with flexibility and time efficiency; and (4) direct coupling of the automated data-collection system and a relational database-management structure, providing immediate access and analysis of collected data.