Conducting Electronic Surveys in Developing Countries Presented by: Joachim De Weerdt

1. www.cwestionnaires.com Conducting Electronic Surveys in Developing Countries Presented by: Joachim De Weerdt

2. Aim • Talk from personal experience – this is NOT a complete review of electronic surveys • What are benefits of changing • What are costs of changing • Mainly: Practical demonstration of our own survey software (CWEST – Capture With Enhanced Survey Technology)

3. History of CWEST • EDI is a survey company established in 2002 in Tanzania • Typically contracted to conduct complex surveys with large samples • Till 2006 everything was done on paper, but: • Handheld technology became cheaper • Mobile phone networks became widespread • Time was right to switch to electronic surveys Originally developed to improve speed and accuracy of EDI’s own data collection

4. Software • Software: dozens of off-the-shelf products exist for market research in the West (mystery shoppers, customer satisfaction surveys, etc.) – simple linear questionnaire structures. • Not really suitable for complicated qx structures typically used (e.g. LSMS type surveys) unless with serious compromises to best-practice. • We developed CWEST from scratch to make it exactly as it needs to be for survey work in developing countries - no compromises.

5. Hardware: UMPC • Ultra Mobile Personal Computer • Large touch Screen • Runs standard desktop operating systems • Multiple ports just like a desktop

6. Large screen allows you to see the whole picture • Whole sections are displayed and flow maintained

7. Rapid click navigation to other sections • You are about to finish an interview when a child walks in that the respondent had not mentioned before. With a UMPC layout you can get to the census/ roster section in one click to add the details and continue your interview

8. Entire household census and other rosters can be easily displayed • You are asking about household activities and want to check that the respondent has remembered everyone. You can use the big screen of a UMPC to pull up the household census /roster to prompt the respondent, “what about ...?”

9. Display of large picture options for greater accuracy • The respondent says “a bunch of bananas”. With a large UMPC screen and storage you can display different sizes to choose from, calculate the correct energy value and therefore obtain accurate data (food, medication, amount of production, size of asset...)

10. Multiple entries display for rapid error correction • The total doesn’t add up but which field is wrong? • You need to see all fields to make the right correction Error

11. Why do we use UMPCs ? • Many UMPC models come with built in cameras, sound recording, GPS, external keyboard, fingerprint scanner... as standard • They do not get mistaken for high grade mobile phones / blackberries thus attracting theft, fall out of pockets...

12. You will want to use your usual applications as well as CWEST • The standard operating systems + large screens means the ability to use other software • Diagnostic tools • Expense records • MS Office/ Open Office • Large screen information and training videos • Diagram / map drawing

13. CWEST DEMO

14. Other features of CWEST CWEST is focussed on complex field surveys: • Listing & sampling • Listing questionnaires & stratified sampling • Randomised selection of questions • Randomised selection of response codes • Use of existing data (e.g. in panels/cohorts) • Multi-language (change questionnaire language through click-of-a-button)

15. Time stamps Soundex algorithm: Matches names that sound similar, but have different spelling: e.g. to match movers to original households Automatic updates: additions to response codes, drop-down menus, phrasing of questions, interviewer manuals, etc.

16. Cost/Benefit: Costs • Market-research type of-the-shelf products: licenses (e.g. pocket-survey $20,000 annual license + consultant to programme questionnaire) • ‘No-compromise’ software does not come off-the-shelf. Needs to be custom- made for each survey. • CWEST is carefully handcrafted by a team of software engineers, takes up to 2 or 3 months. • Cost $50-100k, depending on size of the survey (including on-site training, help-desk support, etc.). • UMPCs: $1000 / unit (incl. peripherals) • Netbooks: $400 / unit • Powering options: batteries, solar panels, generator

17. Cost/Benefit: Quantifiable benefits • Easier to edit & translate questionnaire • Easier to write interviewer manual • No need to write Date Entry (DE) application • No need to hire Date Entry Staff, provide space, computers, supervision, HR, etc. • No printing • Checks are done on the field: much less cleaning after data comes from field • Automated export of labeled, clean data set

18. Cost/Benefit: Non-quantifiable benefits Data is of higher quality: cleaner, more accurate. Faster data: gets uploaded through mobile phone network, next-day availability (clean, labeled and neatly organised in files in Stata). New survey techniques are possible. Ability to manage remotely – you can follow what’s going on in the field from anywhere in the world, as long as you have internet connection.

19. The Economics of CWEST Value of Fast data Value of Clean Data Value novel tech-niques

20. Cost/Benefit: likely evolution • Costs will likely drop significantly over next months/years, as market develops and ways are found to • recycle code • make product more customizable • move toward suitable off-the-shelf product

21. Thank you More information: www.cwestionnaires.com j.deweerdt@edi-africa.com