Effective Fieldwork Organization and Management

Posted on Nov 27, 2024 in Psychology and Sociology

Organization and Management of Field Work

Recruitment

Employment Agencies

  • Schools, colleges
  • Universities

Notices in local newspapers

Selection

Application Form

  • Collect the necessary background.
  • Sample of writing and ability to follow instructions

Personal Interview

  • Although the effectiveness is lacking, it is useful when managers prefer to form their own impression of the applicants.

Psychological Tests

  • An intelligence test can serve as a first pre-screening mechanism. Example: verbal intelligence test

References

  • Letters of recommendation may be the best instrument for ‘target’ selection.
  • “An evaluation of self-confidence, appearance, balance, and behavior is significantly related to rates of collection”

Training of Interviewers

The training depends on:

  • The objectives of the study
  • The number of interviews
  • Previous experience
  • Available time
  • The difficulties of the questionnaire

Initial Training

  • Communicate actual information about the purposes, uses, and sponsors.
  • Develop interest and commitment.
  • Reach an understanding of the interviewer’s role.
  • Develop basic interviewing skills.
  • Familiarize interviewers with the questionnaire.
  • Develop positive attitudes and moods.
  • Eliminate candidates who do not adapt well to interviews.

To meet the above objectives we perform:

Preparation of Basic Material

It is advisable to prepare written materials emphasizing the study objectives, questions, and responsibilities of the interviewer. The advantage is that the interviewer can study it in their free time and clear some doubts.

Group Sessions

Enable you to communicate essential knowledge about the study and to influence the mood on the part of the supervisors, managers, and staff survey research.

Examples of how to organize:

  • Session 1 (3 hours approx.)
  • Session 2 (3 hours approx.)
  • Session 3 (3 hours approx.)
  • Session 4 (3 hours approx.)
Mock Interview
  • Those who run the academic side are not necessarily experts in live interviews.
  • It has 2 limitations: some candidates become timid, and there are variations in the difficulty of the situation.

Continuing Training

  • General trend of becoming careless as work is progressing and should be helped by means of frequent checks, reminders, and positive stimuli.
  • Periodic reviews of a sample of questionnaires and complete.
  • Encoders keep a checklist of problems encountered in their work and submit this list to the interviewers in the field (demoralization of the interviewers).
  • Mix of both: Interviewers to collect periodic reviews and remedial classes (publishers and coders).
  • The directors issued occasional memoranda citing specific difficulties (coding).
  • Materials for study at home (Tests for lead home).
  • Accompany this with personal contact (supervisor or study manager).

Field Supervision

Success requires careful monitoring, active participation, as well as positive leadership. Includes organization of production groups, completion of the review, liaison with the research office, and maintaining a high level of commitment to the study among interviewers.

Working Groups

  • Useful to develop a computer system, 5 or 10 interviewers working with a single supervisor in approximately the same geographical area.

Working Allocations

These are developed in two stages.

First, the central research office assigns a certain number of addresses in the sample to the field supervisor. Later, this is distributed a few directions at a time to the interviewers’ team. (Hauck and Steinkamp)

Production Quotas

Interviewers increase their production if they have a clear idea of the amount of work expected of them (social psychology of organization).

It’s useful to publish production figures for all personnel and equipment, adding a note that some areas are harder than others.

Quality Control

The Survey Research Center suggests that this problem is greater when interviewers are hired for a single study than when they are part of the “permanent” field staff.

  • Re-interview in the direction of the sample.
  • Postcard.
  • Telephone-verification of validity.
  • Give the report of the encoders.

Management Control

  • Measures to carefully control the flow of labor and materials.
  • A book of control over the sample.
  • Registration by interviewer.
  • By count-record interview.

Payment of the Interviewers

Pay interviewers based on “work done”, by interview, or per hour.