More Honest Customer Responses on Surveys?

We always should worry that customer surveys will yield inaccurate results for a variety of reasons.  In many cases, people simply say one thing and do another; they don't behave in a manner consistent with their survey responses. 

According to Christopher Shea in the Wall Street Journal, researchers may have discovered a simply way to enhance the accuracy of responses.  He cites a study by researchers at the University of Michigan and the New School for Social Research.  They compared phone surveys with text-message-based polls.  They found that texting-based responses tended to be more candid.    In fact, they asked about somewhat sensitive topics such as drugs, religion, and sex.   People admitted to certain behaviors more openly via texting than by phone. 

Perhaps the results suggest that market researchers should try text-message-based questionnaires in lieu of the usual phone surveys.  They may discover how consumers actually behave, rather than just hearing a "sanitized" version via phone call.