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Field Management: Roles & Responsibilities

Partially Adapted from Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) Regional Training Workshop – Survey Techniques, Unicef

Team Size

• The actual number of interviewers per team will depend on a number of factors– Cluster size– Questionnaire length– Envisaged workload etc.

• A team of 1 supervisor, 1 editor, 4-5 interviewers recommended

Recommendations

• Spread out data collection to 2-3 months• Do not rush data collection• Begin data entry simultaneously with data

collection• Edit questionnaires while in the field, on

location• Provide feedback to fieldwork teams early

on to correct systematic mistakes etc

FIELDWORK TEAM

• Supervisors

• Field Editors

• Interviewers

Supervisors

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Senior member of the field team

• Receives assignments from and reports to the field director

• Responsible for :– Managing Data Collection

Managing Data Collection

Managing Data Collection (Continued)

Managing Data Collection

Team Movement & Work Assignment

• Supervisor / monitor should move round the village once and gather as much knowledge on geographical & physical location I.e. Transit walk (which is a PRA tool).

• Ensure that each interviewer has all the required information and materials for completing the work

• Make sure that interviewers understand the instructions given

• Make daily work assignments and distribute work fairly among the interviewers, keeping in mind weak and clever surveyor in nearby areas

• Keeping in mind the number of target households (HH) and shuffling the staff from one HH to another

Managing Data Collection

Team Management: Creating and Maintaining Motivation and Morale

• Essential to good quality work. • Supervisors need to make sure that

interviewers: – understand clearly what is expected of them;– are properly guided; – receive recognition for good work;– are stimulated to improve their work; – work in secure conditions.

Team Management: Creating and Maintaining Motivation and Morale

• Direct orders vs. voluntary compliance

• Be a “Leader”, not a “Boss”

• Participatory approach: Involve interviewers in decision making and maintain it

• Deal with each and every field staff with care and try to solve their problems if possible

Team Management: Creating and Maintaining Motivation and Morale

• Listen and try to resolve interviewer’s complaints

• Try to foster team spirit and group work

• Do not show preference for a particular interviewer

• Try to develop a friendly and informal atmosphere

Team Management: Creating and Maintaining Motivation and Morale

• Supervisors and editors must:– set good examples– demonstrate punctuality, enthusiasm, and

dedication – not pretend to have special privileges to work

less– Be always well prepared to maintain credibility

and authority

• Interviewer morale and motivation depend on the supervisors morale and motivation

Managing Data Collection

Quality Control

• More accompaniment• Spot check and Backcheck• Keeping notes while observing• Going through all the done surveys to avoid

revisiting• Make the team share scrutiny• Observe all the surveyors: behaviour; dealing with

clients; documentation of data etc• See “Maintaining Data Quality” for further details

Managing Data Collection

Report Tracking

• All the control charts to be filed up before leaving the field spot

• Keeping track all the done interviews• Collection of all the done questionnaires

Managing Data Collection (Cot’d)

• Maintain MIS system (Quantitative data)

– Fill up day to day record from surveyor – Field coordinator

– Keeping track of the progress of the work – Update daily

– Plan according to the work – Next day plan based on time

line

• Report writing (Qualitative data)

– Prepare a summary sheet of the observation

– Discuss with the field team and with the HRs

Field Editors

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Monitor interviewer performance:– Observe several interviews every day– Edit all completed questionnaires in the field– Conduct regular review sessions with interviewers

• Arrange for sending of questionnaires to the central office

• Maintain a suitable mechanism to monitor the flow of questionnaires

Interviewers

INTERVIEWER’S ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES• Locate structures and households in the sample

and complete the questionnaires

• Check completed questionnaires

• Revisits for households and/or women/mothers/caretakers

• Assist the editor in conducting height and weight measurements of children.