The UFSRC conducts a wide range of surveys, including substantial mail-based efforts, such as the Women and Infants Survey for Health (WISH) in collaboration with the Florida Department of Health.
In line with industry best practices, the facility ensures top quality mail surveys conducting a majority of the process in-house, subcontracting only the printing and mailing of the survey components.
The UFSRC applies a meticulous approach to guarantee the following: 

• efficient execution of mail surveys that aligns with postal schedules 
• confidentiality of sampled individuals 
• standardized letters that adhere to the client’s standards (branding, message content, design, formatting) 
• building upon the positive reputation of UFSRC and UF.  

To further assist with quality control efforts, the UFSRC utilizes a reputable local mail service provider, a secure web portal (for transmitting samples), conducts address verification, provides page proofs for review, conducts on-site visits, and employes “seeded mailings” for quality inspection. Incoming survey mail is securely managed at the UFSRC facility with data entry meticulously handled by trained staff members. For enhanced efficiency and accuracy recording mail survey responses, the UFSRC is in the process implementing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanning technology.

The UFSRC CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) survey lab ranks among the top largest university-based survey units in the country. Utilizing state-of-the-art voice-over-Internet protocol (VOIP) technology, 100% of outbound phone calls are recorded for quality control. The system offers the convenience of live monitoring calls during shifts, as well as the opportunity for real-time remote monitoring for clients.

The UFSRC consists of up to 200 interviewers with 30% to 50% being bilingual, fluent in both English and Spanish. The staff is also ethnically diverse, and gender balanced. The lab operates seven days a week and offers flexible shifts each day to accommodate in-lab and remote interviewers. The UFSRC toll-free number (1-888-536-2434) connects directly to the supervisor desk for prompt customer service and assistance. The programs, Sawtooth Technologies WinCati and Ci3 questionnaire authoring system, allow for complex survey coding and data management, ensuring efficient data centralization, backup, and administration. WinCati allows interviewers to securely interact with individual records, offers flexibility, and the phone system maintains call history records for data analysis as well as quality control. 

UFSRC’s locally developed proprietary Java-based lab management software, Scheduler, sets us apart in the industry by providing objective reviewer performance evaluations and optimizing interviewer assignments. Scheduler has become a critical component of resource management and technical infrastructure since it tracks productivity, attendance, and coding accuracy, allowing lab supervisors to focus on newer employees and improving interviewing techniques. While WinCati is utilized for distributing sample and setting study parameters, Scheduler aids in managing staffing levels to meet survey deadlines, tracks interviewer time records, and enhances overall productivity across surveys.
 

UFSRC offers two web survey platforms, providing flexibility and security for different needs. The cloud-based Qualtrics web survey system, available through the University of Florida, offers advanced graphical displays for questionnaire design and detailed reporting. Additionally, we provide the Sensus software, hosted on our secure server, suitable for collecting Protected Health Information and seamlessly integrating with CATI software for mixed-mode studies. Regardless of the platform, our survey questionnaires undergo rigorous testing procedures. Surveys can feature single links for multiple respondents or personalized links for email or paper mail distribution, ensuring security and accessibility. We also offer survey administration services, including reminders and duplicates, following a predefined protocol, as well as survey design services for external administration.