Interviewers

• Interviewers are critical to the collection of quality data.

• Invest study resources in the hiring, training, and supervision of interviewers.

• Maximize the number of completed interviews Keep refusals and early terminations to a minimum

• Engage the subject in the interview Communicate importance of study Convey value of subject’s participation Motivate respondents to participate thoughtfully

and candidly Help the subject understand their role

• Administer the questionnaire Ask questions in unbiased manner Record answers correctly Probe incomplete responses

Interviewer Roles

Interviewer Abilities

Abilities: capacities to perform the job

• Speak clearly and use correct grammar in the language of the interview

• Read in the language of the interview Deliver written statements and questions

naturally Understand and follow written instructions

• Write in the language of the interview record verbatim responses accurately

Interviewer Abilities (cont.)

• Interpret verbal and nonverbal cues in order to provide reinforcement or clarification

• Regulate verbal and nonverbal behavior to avoid influencing responses

Interviewer Knowledge

Knowledge: facts and principles that interviewers must learn during training

• Understand the role of the interviewer

• Understand why maintaining neutrality is important

• Acquire sufficient information about the study to answer respondent questions NOT study hypotheses

• Principle of confidentiality and protecting identity of respondent

Interviewer Knowledge (cont.)

• How to contact and enroll respondents

• Correct procedures for asking questions

• Procedures for recording answers

• Rules for handling interpersonal aspects of the interview

• Administrative procedures and forms Study management forms Reimbursement forms Time sheets

Interviewer SkillsSkills: capabilities to do specific tasks,

acquired through training and practice• Initiate and maintain a conversation with a stranger

• Techniques of minimizing refusal rates

• Respond professionally to unexpected questions and situations

• Remain neutral by keeping personal opinions out of the interview process

• Motivate reluctant respondents to participate in the interview

• Deliver the questionnaire in a flowing, conversational manner

• Probe incomplete responses in an unbiased manner for more useful results

Interviewer Training• Written materials

Interviewer’s Manual Background information on study topic

• Lectures, presentations, discussions Method of administration Understanding the meaning of items Coding instructions Demonstration of technique Discussion of interviewer concerns

• Practice Exercises Role-playing Code a taped interview Practice interviews with pretend and real subjects

Interviewer Training (cont.)

Conduct interviews with study subjects• Trainer conducts, trainee also codes

Compare and discuss recorded responses

When trainee is coding correctly:• Trainee conducts, trainer also codes

Compare and discuss recorded responses

Interviewer Training (cont.)

• Trainers Teach how to conduct interview Serve as role models Must instill a concern for the importance of:

• Respect for ethical concerns• Data quality• Attention to detail

• Each part of the training should be conducted by the person most qualified in that area

Interviewer Training (cont.)

• Importance of Interviewer TrainingDon’t cut corners hereCritical to:

• Response rate• Data quality

• Allow time between training sessionsTime for reflectionTime to formulate questions

Interviewer Training (cont.)

• Pay interviewers for training Consider delayed payment schedule

• I.e., partial payment during training, balance of payment after n interviews are completed

• Training is expensive Be sure trainees are screeened in advance Plan training sessions well

Interviewer Training (cont.)

• Interviewers must be fully trained before they can conduct interviews independently

• There is no “learning period” in which they are allowed to come up to standards

• It is possible to overtrain Not worth the additional resources Can be counterproductive - create

uncertainty and insecurity rather than raising level of competence and confidence

Interviewer Training (cont.)

• The investigator must demonstrate concern with the quality of all aspects of the study Make the interviewers feel they are part of

the team and invested in the success of the study

Don’t expect interviewers to pay attention to data quality if you don’t

Interviewer Supervision

• Maintain and improve level of performance Identify retraining needs

• Invest time and resources in evaluating interviewer performance

• Maintain morale Concern for interviewer safety Debrief after an upsetting interview

• Detect fraud or misconduct

Interviewer Supervision (cont.)

Supervise interviewer performance for:

• Response rate Monitor throughout course of study

• Most important when interviewer is new

• Early detection of decline is important

Track rates and patterns of• Refusals

• Early termination

• Missing data

Interviewer Supervision (cont.)

• Quality of interviews Appropriate introduction of study Obtaining informed consent Ability to establish rapport Asking questions as written Probing properly Clearly coded response for each item

Interviewer Supervision (cont.)

• Resources Time spent Productivity Expenses

• Mileage, phone bills

Interviewer Supervision (cont.)

• Interviewers may identify problems with:

Study procedures Data collection instruments Relations with study site

• Interviewers often have excellent suggestions for resolving problems

Interviewer Supervision (cont.)• Conduct random checks with study

subjects to determine: Whether interview took place Duration of interview Whether all sections of interview, particularly long or

difficult sections, were asked

• Ask subject if they remember being asked about particular questions, especially those that might be avoided by the interviewer

Impression of interviewer

• Inform interviewers that you will be conducting these checks and the reason for them

Maintaining Staff

• Jobs can be demanding, stressful and/or tedious

• Make sure staff needs are met

• Maintain morale Incremental pay scale over time Celebrate events

• E.g., completion of particular study goals

• E.g., staff birthdays

Flexible scheduling

Maintaining Staff (cont.)

• High morale results in: Lower turnover Lower costs (recruiting, training) Higher data quality

• Let staff know you understand they are fallible

Better for them to reveal their mistakes Allows you to deal with consequences Opportunity for retraining

Ethical Obligations to Study Staff

• Do not put staff in the position of being deceptive, misleading, or inaccurate

Interviewers should have sufficient and accurate information to give subjects

Interviewers should not be asked to misrepresent information about response rate or study data

Ethical Obligations to Interviewers (cont.)

• Interviewer safety Don’t send interviewers into an unsafe

situation Be sensitive to racial and ethnic issues,

particularly in context of recent events in your study area

Inform interviewers explicitly that it is not a job requirement to go somewhere under circumstances that they feel are unsafe

Ethical Obligations to Interviewers (cont.)

Maximize safety by:

• Providing transportation or escorts

• Assigning interviewers appropriately Race and sex Time of day

• Train on ways to increase safety and reduce risk

• Hire interviewers who are indigenous to the neighborhood

• Have interviewers inform supervisor of dangerous situations or illegal behaviors

Longitudinal Studies• Collect information that will help locate

subject: Date of birth Social Security Number Expected location at follow-up Names and addresses of >1 person who will

know subject’s whereabouts

• At each wave of data collection ask: Whether contact information has changed Plans for relocation

• Maintain interim contact if time to next data collection is long and/or population is mobile

E.g., Birthday and holiday cards with return postcard for corrections

Longitudinal Studies (cont.)• Use “Do Not Forward: Address

Correction Requested” Re-mail card to updated address

• Use public records and other sources Computerized data bases Liaison to Income Maintenance Division Armed Forces Base Locator Services Death Records Provide updated consents to residential child

welfare settings Develop liaisons with adult correctional system;

find central registries Use of agencies that track persons

• Check which data bases they use• Check what information they need to be successful

Data Quality• The primary goal of study management

is high quality data

• Ensuring high data quality should be incorporated into all aspects of study management

• This lecture described some features of field operations for achieving this goal

• Aspects of data quality that should addressed, but are beyond the scope of this lecture, appear on next slide

Data Quality (cont.)• Design of data collection instruments

Selection and/or construction of measures Item order Length of interview Formatting of instrument

• Editing and Coding Interviews Levels of edits

• Interviewer - immediately after interview• Supervisor – check for completeness, appropriate skip patterns

• Field Coordinator Consensus coding Document coding decisions in Interviewer’s Manual

• Preparation of instruments for data entry Data entry Data cleaning Data management Documentation and storage of data and forms

Relations with Field Sites

• Form alliance with agencies and organizations that control access to respondents

• Convince them of value of your study

• Negotiate with them to obtain what you require: Personnel Space Time frame

Relations with Field Sites (cont.)

• Determine the quality and availability of data for selecting sample or obtaining study measures Data readily available or archived Completeness of data Accuracy of data Recency of information Additional approval needed

• Parents• other agency or branch of government

Format of records• Hardcopy• Electronic

Software needed

Relations with Field Sites (cont.)

• Start process early Can be very time-consuming Be sure to specify all details to avoid

misunderstanding later on IRB application

• Maintain alliance with these individuals and organizations Investigator should be available to intervene when

there is a problem For large study or small problem, field coordinator

can perform some of these functions

Relations With Larger Community

• Decide if and how to inform the community at large Meet with influential leaders or community

boards Media

• May want to keep a low profile in some communities and for some studies

Sources• Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & van Kammen, W. B.

(1995). Data Collection and Management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Marinez, Y. N., McMahan, C. A., Barnwell, G. M., & Wigodsky, H. S. (1984). Ensuring data quality in medical research through an integrated data management system. Statistics in Medicine, 3, 101-111.

• Fowler, Floyd, J., Jr. (1993). Survey Research Methods. Sage Publications, pages 123-131.

• Sage Survey Kit #1: chapter 4

• Sage Survey Kit #4: pages 18-24

• Sage Survey Kit #4: pages 109-146