Wisconsin Behavioral Risk Factor Survey
Methodology in Brief

State and territory-level BRFS programs manage their own survey data collection following CDC's protocol, and most use the services of professional survey organizations for the computer-assisted telephone interviews. A single sampling contractor provides randomly selected sample telephone numbers to all states and territories based on the sampling criteria local BRFS programs submit to CDC. BRFS interviewers randomly select one adult per sampled household to complete the survey.

BRFS conducts both landline and cell phone interviews. Landline sampling procedures exclude adults living in institutions and other group quarters. Cell phone sampling is separate from landline sampling, and cell phone sampling protocol allows interviews with respondents in some group quarters, such as college dormitories. CDC calculates post-survey weights for each state's/ territory's annual BRFS landline results and provides weighting variables for use in analyzing the data. Weighted BRFS results (see weighting protocol -- exit DHS) are representative of state and territory adult populations residing in households with landline telephones. Currently, BRFS cell phone data are maintained separately from landline data and are not included in annual datasets. Landline and cell phone data will be merged in the near future when the combined weighting protocol is finalized.

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Last Revised:  November 13, 2009