Other than the logistics and safety of our fieldworkers, a key worry was if the tablets were going to be a distraction or if we used laptops would the screen form a ‘wall’ between the interviewer and the respondents. During piloting we found that after the initial novelty wore off the interviews carried on just like they do on paper and people were quite at ease with the technology. As it has been widely noted, many people in our study countries have leapfrogged to using smart phones so if anything our tablets/laptops could potentially start to appear archaic.
It must be mentioned that when moving to CAPI the majority of the work comes before the fieldwork starts. Not only do you have the logistical challenges mentioned above, but you must first design europe rcs data the questionnaire then program this questionnaire into CAPI. In Young Lives our research team develops the questionnaire and then we use an off the shelf software to build the CAPI program.
This includes screen layout, answer type (drop down vs radio buttons vs text answers), what data to preload, validation checks, and how the files export. All this must be carefully thought through and planned. Everything must be piloted and checked to ensure there are no bugs, data is displaying correctly and the skip patterns work. After the program is built and ready to be administered in the field the process of checking, handling, sending and backing up the data files must be carefully coordinated and everyone must be trained. Although the lead-in months are stressful, receiving your first batch of files with clean and usable data shortly after fieldwork is worth the effort.