Final answer:
Face-to-face interviews are the most time-consuming survey method due to the need for meticulous planning, travel to various locations, and repeated attempts to contact respondents.
Step-by-step explanation:
The method for administering a survey that requires the greatest amount of time is a) Face-to-face interviews. Face-to-face interviews involve logistical challenges such as randomly selecting households or polling locations, ensuring representativeness, and often requiring multiple attempts to reach a respondent. Organizations like Gallup may use this method in areas where a significant portion of households do not have phones, to obtain a more representative sample. This method is also used for exit polls and focus groups. In contrast, online surveys, mail surveys, and telephone interviews, including those utilizing computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) systems, tend to be more time-efficient and have streamlined the data collection process significantly.