Stage 3: Fieldwork
Survey implementation should start as soon as training is complete.
Contacting and interviewing respondents
The method of contacting and recruiting respondents will depend on whether the survey is interviewer led or self-administered. In both, recruitment should be guided by ethical standards that obtain informed consent and ensure confidentiality.
For interviewer-based surveys
Click on the arrows below to see stages at conducting interviews.
The initial step may involve advanced notice via a letter or community meeting describing the purpose of the survey and respondent rights. Then contact is made with the sampled unit (eg. household) and a more detailed explanation of the survey and respondents rights given. If the respondent agrees to participate informed consent (written or verbal) should be obtained, followed by a screening form to determine eligibility. This is then followed by the interview using the questionnaire.
Conducting the interview
Interviewers should guide respondents to help create a favourable private, place for the interview. Variability in the location and social circumstance of the interview should be minimised. Delivery of the questions should be kept the same, by keeping to the exact wording and order of questions. A good interview should resemble an informal conversation.
Privacy and confidentiality should be maintained at all times, particularly when the topic is sensitive.
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For self-administered questionnaires
Similar to FFI, the initial step may involve advanced notice via a letter or community meeting describing the purpose of the survey and respondent rights. The next step is to contact the sampled unit (eg. household) directly, provide a more detailed explanation of the survey and respondents rights. If the respondent agrees to participate informed consent (written or verbal) should be obtained. This may be followed by a screening form to determine eligibility. Once these steps are completed, the interview takes place using the questionnaire which in either PAPI, CASI, or ACASI form.
For postal or web-based surveys initial contact is made via post or email. This should explain the survey, clarify respondent rights, and provide either the paper materials for completing a mail survey or information for accessing the web survey.
Supervision
Supervisors organise and direct data collection, and are responsible for the technical and logistical issues encountered by interviewers during data collection. They should spend approximately 50% of their time checking interview quality, and this will include monitoring response, contact, and cooperation rates. In large surveys data control procedures may involve revisiting a small proportion (5-10%) of households to ensure that the correct person was interviewed and to recheck responses to key questions.
In large surveys Supervisors:
- Oversee teams of up to 5 interviewers
- Liaise with community authorities where necessary
- Organise and oversee the daily work of the interviewers
- Review completed work
- Provide ongoing training to maintain quality and commitment
- Trouble shoot to solve problems with implementation
- Implement data-control procedures.
Supervisors may also:
- Draw up a fieldwork, and data entry plan
- Organise survey staff into teams led by a supervisor
- Secure ethical and administrative authorisations
- Oversee printing of forms (questionnaires, consent) and manuals
- Organise the purchase or rental of equipment, including vehicles
- Organise travel schedules, accommodation, per diems for field staff
- Establish systems for communication between field staff and central office
- Purchase stationary, bags, all weather clothing for interviewers.