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Chapter 18
Fieldwork
AT-A-GLANCE
I. The Nature of Fieldwork
II. Who Conducts Fieldwork?
III. In-House Training for Inexperienced Interviewers
A. Making initial contact and securing the interview
Personal interviews
Telephone interviews
Internet surveys
Gaining participation
B. Asking the questions
C. Probing when no response is given
D. Recording the responses
E. Terminating the interview
IV. Principles of Good Interviewing
A. The basics
B. Required practices
V. Fieldwork Management
A. Briefing sessions for experienced interviewers
B. Training to avoid procedural errors in sample selection
VI. Supervision of Fieldworkers
A. Sampling verification
B. Interviewer cheating
C. Verification by reinterviewing
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Describe the role and job requirements of fieldworkers
2. Summarize the skills to cover when training inexperienced interviewers
3. List principles of good interviewing
4. Describe the activities involved in the management of fieldworkers
5. Discuss how supervisors should minimize errors in the field
CHAPTER VIGNETTE: Software for Fieldwork? Ask Askia
In the past, fieldworkers used notebooks and clipboards to gather specialized or detailed data.
Fortunately, technology has made this process significantly easier. One example of a company that has
specialized in face-to-face fieldwork software is Askia. This company has developed a fully functioning
software application that works with tablet PCs and PDAs for field researchers. Their interface provides
seamless integration with telephone-assisted survey databases and an ability to directly download data
into an analysis program. Additionally, survey applications can be updated on-the-fly, and users can even
use multimedia to present products or services, or provide illustrations for the respondent.
SURVEY THIS!
Students are asked to examine the section of the questionnaire shown and to answer several questions.
Respondents answered these questions without the benefit of an interviewer. Do you think an interviewer
could help provide better answers to these questions? What are the pros and cons of a personal
interviewer or a telephone interviewer for this type of information? If you think an interviewer should be
used, explain why and give an indication of the instructions the fieldworker should receive. How might
the interviewer actually contribute to lower quality in responses?
RESEARCH SNAPSHOTS
Interviewing for Horizon Research Services
Many smaller research companies offer interviewing and other services to clients in their city or
region, and an example is Horizon Research Services. This company conducts focus groups,
telephone surveys, and other research projects. Horizon uses part-time employees to staff its
dozen computer workstations whenever a client requests a telephone survey. One of biggest
challenges is keeping the respondent from hanging up, so in the first few seconds, an interviewer
quickly reassures the person that the call is for research, not to sell something. Retaining
respondents becomes a matter of reinforcing that they are doing something good for research.
Recruiting 12 people to participate in a focus group typically requires four interviewers to spend
about three hours, perhaps requiring up to 600 phone calls.
Why is “Why” Important?
While the use of field interviews has many logistic and quality management challenges, they are
unique in the ability to really capture what a respondent is thinking about. This is due to the
ability to follow up and probe deeper on a respondent’s initial response, and key way is through
asking “why” follow-up questions. Calo Research Services makes asking “why” their business.
Regardless of the reason for the research, they have adopted a philosophy from the top down that
stresses the importance of asking why. Field interviewers that can probe deeper into the question
of interest will recognize the value of this approach.
Probing for Deeper Meaning at Olson Zaltman Associates
This research firm’s method, called ZMET (for Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique), begins
by asking respondents to come to a one-on-one interview, bringing along a set of 8 to 10
photographs related to their thoughts and feelings about the topic. The photos are used as
nonverbal clues about the associations the person makes with the product and brand. A typical
interview lasts 2 hours, and the challenge is to ask questions that reveal what is behind the
selection of the photographs. Probing is used to uncover a deeper meaning by asking respondents
to elaborate on their initial statements. Skill based on training in fields such as psychotherapy
and sociology is needed by interviewers. Finally, a computerized collage that illustrates the
respondent’s thoughts and feelings about the topic is created and submitted to computer software
to identify response patterns that suggest “metaphors” for the product—a general theme that
describes respondents’ attitudes.
Total Quality Management for Interviewing
Interviewers and their supervisors can improve the process of data collection to minimize errors,
and total quality management (TQM) seeks continuous improvement by getting everyone
involved in measuring performance and looking for ways to improve processes:
Measure response rates, and improve interviewer training to improve response rates.
Measure defects in terms of measurement errors, and improve interviewer techniques
and respondent behavior.
Measure the interview process, including the training provided, the application of
principles from training, and feedback about the interviewer.
OUTLINE
I. THE NATURE OF FIELDWORK
A personal interviewer administering a questionnaire door-to-door, a telephone interviewer
calling from a central location, and an observer counting pedestrians in a shopping mall are
all examples of researchers conducting fieldwork.
All of these people are fieldworkers.
II. WHO CONDUCTS FIELDWORK?
The actual data collection process is rarely done by the person who designs the research.
The people who gather the data typically have little research training or experience.
Much fieldwork is conducted by research suppliers who specialize in data collection.
In some cases, a company may subcontract the fieldwork to a field interviewing service that
specializes in gathering data.
Field interviewing services and full-service research agencies typically employ field
supervisors who supervise and train interviewers, edit completed questionnaires in the field,
and confirm that interviews have been conducted by telephoning or recontacting respondents.
Whether the research administrator hires in-house interviewers or selects a field
interviewing service, it is desirable that field workers meet certain job requirements.
Interviewers should be healthy, outgoing, and of pleasing appearance (i.e., well-groomed and
tailored).
In ethnographic research, however, the interviewers should dress to blend in with the group
being studied.
Survey interviewers are generally paid an hourly rate or per-interview fees, and many are
part-time workers from a variety of backgrounds.
Some research projects require special knowledge or skills (i.e., health care professionals).
III. IN-HOUSE TRAINING FOR INEXPERIENCED INTERVIEWERS
After personnel are recruited and selected, they must be trained.
Almost always there will be a briefing session on the particular project.
The objective of training is to ensure that the data collection instrument will be administered
in a uniform fashion by all field workers.
In most extensive training programs, the following topics are likely to be covered:
How to make initial contact with the respondent and secure the interview.
How to ask survey questions.
How to probe.
How to record responses.
How to terminate the interview.
Making Initial Contact and Securing the Interview
Personal Interviews
Interviewers will be trained to make appropriate opening remarks that will
convince the respondent that his or her cooperation is important.
Telephone Interviews
Giving one’s name personalizes the call and using the name of the research
agency implies that the caller is trustworthy.
Providing an accurate estimate of the time helps gain cooperation, but it also is
the ethically correct thing to do.
Internet Surveys
The potential respondent may receive an email requesting assistance.
Gaining Participation
Avoid questions that ask permission for an interview, such as “May I come in?”
and “Would you mind answering some questions?”
Interviewers should be instructed on handling objections.
In other cases, client companies will not wish to offend any individual, so in the
case where a respondent refuses, the interviewer will be instructed to merely say,
“Thank you for your time.”
The foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face compliance techniques are useful in
securing interviews.
Foot-in-the-door theory attempts to explain compliance with a large or
difficult task on the basis of respondents’ earlier compliance with a
smaller initial request.
With the door-in-the-face technique, the interviewer begins with an
initial request so large that nearly everyone refuses it (that is, the door is
slammed in his or her face); the interviewer then requests a small favor—
to comply with a “short” survey.
Asking the Questions
There are five major rules for asking questions:
1. Ask the questions exactly as they are worded in the questionnaire.
2. Read each question very carefully and clearly.
3. Ask the questions in the specified order.
4. Ask every question specified in the questionnaire.
5. Repeat questions that are misunderstood or misinterpreted.
Even the slightest change in wording may inject some bias into a study.
If respondents do not understand a question, they will usually ask for some clarification,
and the recommended procedure is to repeat the question.
However, interviewers often supply their own personal definitions and ad lib
clarifications and these may include words that are not free from bias.
Often respondents volunteer information relevant to a question that is supposed to be
asked at a later point in the interview.
In this situation, the response should be recorded under the question that deals
specifically with that subject.
Probing When No Response is Given
Training of interviewers should include instructions on how to probe when respondents
give no answer, incomplete answers, or answers that require clarification.
Probing may be needed in two types of situations:
1. It is necessary in situations in which the respondent must be motivated to enlarge on,
clarify, explain, or complete his or her answers.
2. May be necessary when a respondent begins to ramble or lose track.
The interviewer will have several possible probing tactics to choose from, depending on
the situation:
Repeating the question: When the respondent remains completely silent, he or
she may not have understood the question or decided how to answer it. Mere
repetition may encourage the respondent to answer.
Using a silent probe: If the interviewer believes that the respondent has
more to say, a silent probe—that is, an expectant pause or look—may
motivate the respondent to gather his or her thoughts and give a complete
response.
Repeating the respondent’s reply: This may stimulate the respondent to
expand on the answer.
Asking a neutral question: Asking a neutral question may specifically indicate
the type of information that the respondent is seeking. For example, if the
interviewer believes that the respondent’s motives should be clarified, he or she
might ask, “Tell me about this feeling?” Exhibit 18.1 shows some standard
interview probes and the standard abbreviations that are recorded on the
questionnaire with the respondent’s answer.
Probes should be neutral and not leading.
Probes may be general, or they may be questions specifically designed by the interviewer
to clarify a particular statement by the respondent.
Recording the Responses
Although recording an answer seems extremely simple, mistakes can occur in this phase
of the research.
Each field worker should use the same recording process.
The rules for recording responses to fixed-alternative questions vary with the specific
questionnaire.
The general instruction for recording open-ended questions is to record the response
verbatim, a task that is difficult for most people.
Some suggestions for recording open-ended answers include:
Record responses during the interview.
Use the respondent’s own words.
Do not summarize or paraphrase the respondent’s answer.
Include everything that pertains to the question objectives.
Include all of your probes.
Terminating the Interview
The final aspect of training is to instruct interviewers on how to close the interview.
The interviewer who departs hastily will be unable to record those spontaneous
comments respondents sometimes offer after all formal questions have been asked.
The field worker should also answer any respondent’s questions concerning the nature
and the purpose of the study.
The respondent should be thanked for his or her time and cooperation.
IV. PRINCIPLES OF GOOD INTERVIEWING
This section presents the principles of good interviewing as put together by one of the
nation’s top research organizations, Yankelovich and Partners.
These principles have been divided into two categories:
1. the basics—the interviewing point of view
2. required practices—standard inquiry premises and procedures
The Basics
Interviewing is a skilled occupation. The basic qualities of a good interviewer are as
follows:
1. Have integrity, and be honest.
2. Have patience and tact.
3. Pay attention to accuracy and detail. A good rule of thumb is not to record an answer
unless you fully understand it yourself. Probe for clarification and rich, full answers
and record all answers verbatim.
4. Exhibit a real interest in the inquiry at hand, but keep your own opinions to yourself.
5. Be a good listener.
6. Keep inquiry and respondent’s answers confidential. Do not discuss the studies with
others, and never quote one respondent’s opinion to another.
7. Respect others’ rights. There is a happy medium path to pursue in obtaining this
information. On the one hand is failure to get it all; and on the other hand is
unnecessary coercion.
Required Practices
These are the practical rules of research inquiry, to be followed and used without
exception:
1. Complete the number of interviews according to the sampling plan assigned to you.
Both are calculated with the utmost precision.
2. Follow the directions provided. Lack of uniformity in procedure can only spell
disaster for later analysis.
3. Make every effort to keep schedules.
4. Keep control of each interview you do. It is up to you to determine the pace of a
particular interview, keeping several points in mind:
a. There is an established average length of an interview from the time you start to
talk to the respondent to the time you finish. It represents a guideline, but
some will be shorter and some longer.
b. Always get the whole story from the respondent, and write it all down in the
respondent’s own words, but it’s equally important to keep the interview to the
subject at hand.
c. Avoid offending the respondent by being too talkative yourself.
5. Complete the questionnaires meticulously. This means:
a. Follow exactly all instructions that appear directly on the questionnaire.
b. Ask the questions from the first to the last in the exact numerical order.
c. Ask each question exactly as it is written.
d. Never leave a question blank. If none of the answer categories provided prove
suitable, write in what the respondent said, in his or her own words.
e. Use all the props provided to aid both interviewers and respondents.
6. Check over each questionnaire you have completed. This is best done directly after it
has been completed; if you find something you have done wrong or have omitted,
correct it.
7. Compare your sample execution and assigned quota against the total number of
questionnaires you have completed.
8. Clear up any questions with the research agency.
V. FIELDWORK MANAGEMENT
Managers of the field operation select, train, supervise, and control fieldworkers.
Briefing Session for Experienced Interviewers
There is always a need to inform field workers about the individual project.
Both experienced and inexperienced field workers must be briefed on the background of
the sponsoring organization, sampling techniques, asking of questions, callback
procedures, and other matters specific to the particular project.
If there are any special instructions (e.g., using show cards or video equipment) they
should also be covered during the training session.
Instructions for handling certain key questions are always important.
Interviewers are provided with minimum information about the purpose of the study, to
ensure that they will not transmit any preconceived notions to respondents.
One technique used to train the interviewers about the questionnaire is for a field
supervisor to conduct an interview with another field supervisor who acts as a
respondent.
The trainees observe the interviewing process and afterwards are instructed to personally
interview and record the responses of another field supervisor “respondent.”
Training to Avoid Procedural Errors in Sample Selection
The briefing session also covers the sampling procedure.
A number of research projects allow the interviewer to be at least partially responsible for
selecting the sample, and the potential for selection bias exists.
Considerable effort in training and supervisory control should be carried out to minimize
these errors.
Another selection problem is the practice of contacting a respondent when and where it is
convenient for both parties.
VI. SUPERVISION OF FIELD WORKERS
Direct supervision of fieldworkers is necessary to ensure that the techniques communicated in
the training sessions are implemented in the field.
Field supervision of interviewers requires checking to see that field procedures are being
properly followed.
In addition to quality control, continual training may be provided.
Sampling Verification
Another important job of the supervisor is to verify that the interviews are being
conducted according to the sampling plan rather than at the households most accessible to
the interviewer.
Supervisors must also make sure that the right people within the household or sampling
unit are being contacted.
Interviewer Cheating
Interviewer cheating in its most blatant form occurs when an interviewer falsifies
interviews, merely filling in fake answers rather than contacting respondents (a.k.a.,
curb-stoning).
This situation is not common if the job of selection has been properly accomplished.
However, less obvious forms of interviewer cheating occur with greater frequency.
Quota samples are often seen as time consuming, and the interviewer may stretch the
requirements a bit to obtain seemingly qualified respondents.
An interviewer may fake part of a questionnaire to make it acceptable to the field
supervisor.
Interviewers fake answers when they find questions embarrassing or troublesome to
ask because of sensitive subjects.
What appears to be interviewer cheating often is caused by improper training or
fieldworkers’ inexperience.
The quality of fieldwork improves if fieldworkers know that a supervisor may follow up
with a respondent.
Verification by Reinterviewing
Supervisors verify approximately 15 percent of the interviews by reinterviewing.
Normally the interview is not repeated, but the supervisors recontact respondents and ask
about the length of the interview and their reaction to the interviewer.
Such verification does not detect the more subtle form of cheating in which only portions
of the interview have been falsified; rather, it may simply point out that an interviewer
contacted the proper household but interviewed the wrong individual.
