Fieldwork

The Nature of Fieldwork

Researchers have two major options for collecting data: Developing their own organizations or Contracting with fieldwork agencies

In either case, data collection involves the use of field force

Fieldwork/Data-Collection Process

All fieldwork involves following activities: Selection of field workers Training of field workers Supervision of field workers Validation of fieldwork Evaluation of fieldwork

Selection of Field Workers

Develop job specification for the project Decide what characteristics field

workers should have Recruit appropriate individuals Interviewers’ background

characteristics, opinions, perceptions, expectations, and attitudes can affect the responses they elicit

Training of Field Workers

Training of field workers is critical to the quality of data collected

Training may be conducted at a central location, or if the interviewers are geographically dispersed, through mail

Yet another option is to “train the trainer”

Training should cover the following issues

Making Initial Contact

Could result in cooperation or loss of potential respondent

Do not use phrases like “Would you please spare a few minutes of your valuable time?” or “Would you like to answer a few questions, please?”

Instead use sentences like “Hello, my name is Haris and I am working for Oasis International. You are one of the randomly selected respondents in this survey. We highly value your opinion and would like to ask you a few questions. Your identity shall never be disclosed to any other party”

Asking the Questions

Interviewers should be specifically told to ask only questions that appear in the questionnaire

They must also be trained to use the exact wordings of the questions

Interviewers must be told not to change the order of the questions

Interviewers must be trained to ask every applicable question, follow skip patterns and repeat questions when respondent appears not to have understood the question well

Interviewers must also be specifically trained to develop the skill of probing

Probing

A motivational technique used when asking survey questions to induce the respondents to enlarge on, clarify, or explain their answers and to help the respondents to focus on the specific content of the interview

Interviewers should be told the difference between probing and prompting

Probing can be done by remaining silent to a reply giving the impression that interviewer is waiting for more elaborate response

Probing contd…

by repeating question by repeating the respondent’s

reply By boosting the respondent Eliciting clarification Using objective/neutral questions

Recording the Answers

Record responses during the interview Use the respondent’s own words (verbatim) Do not summarize or paraphrase the

respondent’s answers Include everything that pertains to the

question objective Include all probes and comments Repeat the response as it is written down Do not use acronyms that are only known to

you instead use standard acronyms, such as AE for anything else; AE for anything else; etc.

Terminating the Interview

The interview should not be closed before all the desired information is obtained

Any comments offered by the respondent after the close of the formal questionnaire should also be recorded

The respondent should be thanked for cooperation and left with a positive feeling

Give gift if it is available in the survey and inform the respondent of possible verification

Supervision of Field Workers

To ensure that interviewers are following instructions they were given in the training

Supervision ensures control of researcher over the data collection process

Supervision includes the following:

Quality Control and Editing Quality control means checking that the

interviewers are following prescribed procedures for the survey

Supervisor must interact with the interviewers to know about interviewer problems and on ground realities

In case the problem is beyond the domain of supervisor, he/she should immediately contact the central office for further advice

Supervisor must edit the questionnaires daily Editing means completing the questionnaires in

front of the interviewers by confirms illegible responses, unknown acronyms, confusing checks in fixed alternative questions, incomplete probing or any missed questions or demographic information

Sampling Control

An aspect of supervision that ensures that interviewers strictly follow the sampling plan rather than select sampling unit based on convenience or accessibility

Control of Cheating

Interviewers should be told in advance about validation of field work and handing over gifts to respondents where due

Proper training and counseling interviewers during editing of a questionnaire can minimize cheating

In case the company has some penalization policy about interviewers caught cheating, that should also be spelled out during the training session

Control of Central Office

Supervisors provide quality and cost-control information to the central office so that a total progress report can be prepared

Central office controls include tabulation of quota variables, important demographic characteristics, and answers to key questions

Validation of Fieldwork

Validation of fieldwork means verifying the information collected by interviewers through questionnaires

The validate the study, the supervisors verify 10 to 25 percent of the completed questionnaires

Typically supervisor about start and end times, quality of the interview, answers to key questions and open-ended questions, confirmation of demographic information and giving away gifts, if any

Evaluation of Fieldwork

Supervisors evaluate fieldworkers usually on time taken to complete the interviews and cost incurred on completing an interview

Interviewers are also evaluated on the basis of response rate

Interviewers are also evaluated on quality of interview conducted

Interviewers are also evaluated on quality of data they have collected