Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores

Always interview the respondent in a private
setting
A respondent is much more likely to
respond honestly if the interview is conducted
in a private setting. All interviews should be
conducted alone with the respondent. Once
an interview has begun, if a third person enters
the room/point or is within hearing distance,
explain to the respondent that it is important
that you interview him/her alone. This is
especially important since this questionnaire
contains many personal questions.
Read every question exactly as written
and in sequence
The wording of each question has been
carefully chosen and for that reason it is
essential that you read each question to the
respondent exactly as it is written. It is very
important for this survey that each question is
asked to each respondent in exactly the same
manner. Certain sections of the questionnaire
also have an introductory paragraph that must
be read to the respondent in its entirety.
Listen to the respondent
Listening carefully to what your respondents
say is as important as asking the questions
on the questionnaire. Some questions in the
questionnaire require you to listen to what
the respondent says and record it by simply
drawing a circle around the number next to
a printed response category. Sometimes,
you must write down exactly the answer given
by the respondent if the answer does not fit
in any of the listed categories. In either case,
be a good listener. Do not rush into circling
the code category before you have really
listened to your respondent. This may be
taken as a sign of disrespect or not paying
attention. More importantly, people who rush
into coding a response are often in danger of
attributing their own biases, preferences and
favorite response categories to their respondents.
Probing
Occasionally, a respondent may answer
a question incompletely, or seem to have
misunderstood the question. The first thing
to do is simply to repeat the question as
written a second time. If this does not help,
you will have to probe to obtain the response.
Probing is a way of asking for further information
without influencing the response.
For example, “Could you explain that a little
more?” or “Could you be more specific about
that?” You must never interpret a respondent’s
answer and then ask the respondent if your
interpretation is correct.
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A PPEN DI X 2 B EHAV I OR A L SURV EI L L A NC E S U R V EY S