Abstract

The paper aims at discussing the concept of standardised surveys by showing, through a conversational study of a telephonic survey, that the quality of data gathered is not only defined on the basis of a detailed definition of questions and potential answers, rather on the accuracy of mediation activity that interviewers put in place during the interaction with the respondent. Qualitative data from a telephone marketing survey are presented to support this claim. The term standardisation is then discussed since, in a conversational perspective, it should be referred not to the equality of questions posed or answers gathered, rather on the equal access to the meaning of questions by each respondent.