Tutkimusongelma

1. TQMin Statistics Finland’s Interview Data Collection ProcessMatti Simpanen, Kai Vikki and Eero Tanskanen

2. Quality output Good reputation and glory! • Weighting, corrections Analyse, reporting • Data collection! • Survey plan, sampling M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen Tutkimusongelma

3. Topics • The employment system • The recruitment process • Interviewer training • The standardised interviewing method • Setting the objectives • Quality monitoring M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

4. Survey process is a coherent process • A survey is a process in which every individual stage is influenced by the other stage • Every part of the survey process has to have adequate understanding of the survey process, its backgrounds, goals and operating principles • Even interviewers • Needs long-term, continuous quality monitoring (various perspectives) • Interviewers employment system • What kind of employment system helps to keep quality high? • Remuneration • From what interviewers are paid? Efficienty or quality? • System has to be encouraging and fair M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

5. Quality starts from the recruitment process • Systematic recruitment process • to measure applicant’s ability to understand and follow the standardised interview method • to measure interaction and style of interview (positiveness) • to measure ability to adopt backgrounds and goals of surveys quickly (general understanding of surveys and interview work) • to measure general commitment abilities and a tolerance of routines • Interviewers represent survey organisation, are impartials • In Statistics Finland recruitment process divides into three phases: • Phone contact • Structured job application form • Job interviews M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

6. The quality demands training and orientation • To orietate interviewers to survey process • basic training, project training, further training • Basic training • The goal is • to orientate new interviewers to interviewer’s work • to familiarise interviewers to standardised interviewing method • to orientate new interviewers to the survey process as a whole • to orientate new interviewers to the organisation (commitment) • In SF one week basic training + repetition and follow-up after 1-2 months M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

7. Interviewer skills need continuing training • Project training • to give adequate understanding of the individual survey project and its backgrounds • Further training • to develop and to maintain interviewers skills • to motivate interviewers • to commit interviewers to the survey process and to the quality work • to repeat items of standardised interviewing method • Goal of training is also to get interviewers understand their role in the survey process and the value of their work M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

8. Standarised interviewing method • Questionnaire standards • Interviewing techniques • Interviewing style • Interview interaction M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

9. Questionnaire standards • Structured way to make questions, answer alternatives, introductions, descriptions to the questionnaires • Helps the interviewer realise how to ask different kind of questions • gives time to interviewer to use his/her skills of interaction to get the interviews • interviewer´s work is to do interviews, not to think how different questions should be asked • to reduce interviewer effect M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

10. Interviewing techniques • the manner in which interviewer presents questions and answer alternatives, introductions, descriptions • the manner interviewer presents the question modules and introductions and • clarifies questions if the respondent does not understand the question (probing) • Interview techniques allow more time to use to the interaction • Using interviewing techniques the interviewer ”teaches” the respondent to understand our way to do interviewing work (the ”right” answer atmosphere) • To keep quality high (to ask questions similarily leads to less interviewer effect and more comparable and reliable data) M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

11. Did you return in April, May or June from a domestic trip with overnight stay, with a destination of at least 30 km from your home. Interviewer: Always read the following text as well: Included are all trips with overnight stay in Finland; also trips to own free-time residence, visits to friends or relatives, and business and professional trips? M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

12. Interviewing style • Articulation • Pace • Use of pauses and emphasis • Speech manners • Neutrality of language • Voice in general M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

13. Interview interaction • We put effort to interaction: • The basic precondition is to get the respondent to agree to the interview • Interviewers behave to convince the respondent (persuation) • To create right kind of atmosphere by applying the interviewing technique and to use the correct interviewing style • In SF we measure by recordings the interviewers´ interviewing techniques, interviewing style and interaction M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

14. Objectives, follow-up • To maintain quality high needs the objectives, the goal settings • efficiency and quality • to the projects and to the interviewers • schedule, response rate, quality • Quality control by monitoring (recordings, supervisor monitoring) • Objectives to commit interviewer • to the project • to the survey • to the (survey)organisation • Cost control system M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

15. Feedback system • Appraisals • Interviewer feedback surveys • Respondent feedback surveys M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

16. Appraisal discussions • Feedback of the individual survey project is not enough to keep quality of the interviews high • Needs broader discussions with interviewers • how the employee has succeeded • how to improve • co-operation in the work society • motivation • professional development • and again to commit him-/herself to the survey and to interview work • In SF each employee has annual development and performance discussions (appraisals) with their immediate or own supervisor • personal performance -> flexible personal pay component M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

17. Interviewer feedback surveys • Systematic, comparable feedback surveys from each projects • to develope questionnaires and survey processes • systematic feedback • Also systematic feedback on the interviewers’ working conditions, work methods and job orientation • to motivate • to commit the interviewers part of the survey processes • Feedback surveys show also that researchers/organisation respects interviewers’ attitudes and their work M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

18. Respondent feedback surveys • Systematic, comparable feedback surveys from each projects • to develope questionnaires and survey processes • systematic feedback • response burden • validation M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

19. At the end... • The main point is NOT to say every organisation should have its own interviewing organisation but ... • survey is the coherent process - including several subprojects • every party of the whole process has to have similar values of the process • every party has to have similar understanding of the process • every party needs to commit themselves to the survey process - not only an individual project • Processes should be systematic and systematically evaluated • To maintain quality of data collection demands continuing follow-up • All these mentioned before have a great influence to the quality • Poor data collection cannot be corrected with mathematical tricks! M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen

20. Grazie! Thank you!matti.simpanen@stat.fi(back in the office 4.8.2008) M.Simpanen, K.Vikki, E.Tanskanen