Tuesday 16th July
Wednesday 17th July
Thursday 18th July
Friday 19th July
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Survey research in developing countries 3 |
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| Convenor | Dr Evelyn Ersanilli (University of Oxford) |
| Coordinator 1 | Dr Melissa Siegel (Maastricht Graduate School of Governance ) |
Research on survey methodology is burgeoning. However, most research on survey methodology is conducted in developed countries and it remains unclear to what extent best practices developed there are also valid in developing countries.
On the one hand survey researchers in developing countries do not always share the problems of their colleagues in developed countries. Response rates are for instance rarely an issue in rural Africa where social trust is high and surveys are sometimes seen as a welcome break from the monotony of daily life rather than an infringement on personal time. On the other hand the demographic structure and level of development of these countries can pose a number of specific challenges. A high number of different local languages can complicate questionnaire translation, low quality roads make it hard to reach remote villages and obtain a representative sample, ethnic tensions can make the selection of interviewers an arduous task. Some challenges such as the lack of up-to-date data on population size and composition are not unique to the development context, but are more common.
This session aims to explore the challenges involved in conducting survey research in developing countries and discuss best practices. We welcome papers on all phases of survey design and data collection. Papers may address topics such as:
- Creating sampling frames with good coverage
- Consequences of illiteracy/low literacy for questionnaire and answer scale design
- Development of standardised question wording in areas with high linguistic diversity or non-standardised scripts
- Conducting surveys in non-democratic countries
- Conducting surveys in countries with (recent) ethnic tensions or civil war
- The role of gender in survey research in patriarchal cultures
- Use of mobile phone and other modern communication technology in survey research
- Cultural challenges in partnerships with local researchers and authorities (hierarchy, post-colonialism)
A key challenge for conducting survey research in developing countries can be the illiteracy or low literacy of respondents. In settings where computer-assisted approaches are not always feasible, this can limit the complexity of questionnaire design. It can also have an impact on social desirability bias since self-completion methods, which are typically used to minimise social desirability bias, are more difficult to implement.
This paper reviews the success of innovative visual approaches to address these challenges, and also discusses the design, implementation and success of one such approach with hard-to-reach audiences in eight developing countries. In the first multinational study exploring attitudes towards and potential acceptance of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, graphics were used to enable a discrete-choice experiment in low development settings with illiterate respondents or respondents with low literacy levels. Graphics were also used in conjunction with a confidential self-completion method administered face-to-face to allow respondents with low or no literacy to answer highly sensitive questions about HIV status and sexual behaviour, thus reducing the risk of social desirability bias.
Additional authors: Mr Robert Melvill, Mr Andreas Eisingerich
Surveys are viewed as the wonderful tool to collect information in a systematic manner. Questionnaire designing is the crucial part of a survey whereas it often receives lesser attention compared to other components of the survey throughout the process. Questionnaire design is important because it is not only the matter of 'ask what you want to know, not something else--but also, more important, the ambiguities of language and the powerful force of context in interpreting the meaning of questions and answers'(Bradburn et al 2004). This paper aims to discuss few key problems of designing survey instrument based on practical experience of conducting three national level social surveys in Bangladesh. Firstly, this paper wants to show how the attitude related question leads to 'social desirability problem' in perception surveys conducted in Bangladesh and how it affects survey result. It also aims to present several alternatives to avoid this sort of bias. Secondly, the paper aims to focus on the 'scale' bias of the social perception surveys. Building on the experience of the above mentioned surveys, it would like discuss the use of likert scale in attitude questions and try to argue that in attitude related questions, using even scales sometimes generate more apparent results compared to that of even scales.
Audio Computer-Assisted Self Interviewing (ACASI) has been used on U.S. surveys since the mid 1990's as a methodological tool for the administration of sensitive or stigmatizing questions in order to improve reporting on such measures. For example, studies such as the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) use ACASI to collect specific information on sexual behaviors and abortion. By removing the interviewer as the administrator of the questions, respondents are afforded a private environment in which to provide accurate responses, thereby reducing social desirability bias and thus increasing reporting of sensitive behaviors. It is also believed that ACASI, in comparison to other self-administered modes such as Computer-Assisted Self Interviewing, reduces use barriers related to low literacy.
Little is known about the use of ACASI across different cultures and languages, specifically in the developing world. This session will explore practical issues in the implementation of ACASI based on data collection experiences across several surveys implemented in three countries of varying levels of economic development, social structure, and technology penetration across different segments of the population: NSFG, the World Mental Health (WMH) study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the China Mental Health Study (CMHS).
Specifically, the presentation will cover aspects of project implementation, including questionnaire content of ACASI, translation issues, text-to-speech use, and other design considerations. In addition, field experiences across the three studies will be presented, including an evaluation of non-response rates, break-offs, and mode switching.
Conducting surveys in developing and transitional countries can be challenging. However, there is very little in the published literature to guide survey practitioners who want to undertake studies in such regions of the world. Much of the existing literature is old and out-of-date and therefore devoid of advice about use of technological advances (e.g. Smartphones, tablets, etc.). Such advances have reached far beyond the developed world. For example, according to the International Telecommunication Union 2011 World report, in the last 5 years internet users increased from 44% in 2006 to 62% in 2011. Even so, many developing and transitional countries have been slow to incorporate technology in data collection (moving from paper-and-pencil to computer-assisted instruments). Even where computerization of instruments is being used, moving to data driven responsive designs (using paradata to manage filed operations) is still quite rare. There is a clear need for comprehensive, methodologically focused and practical guidelines, for conducting research in developing countries that capitalizes on the technological advances of the past decade but recognizes local limitations.
This presentation will summarize the challenges and cultural considerations of conducting research in developing and transitional countries. These are discussed in terms of the overall survey life cycle, but will primarily focus on questionnaire development and data collection. Examples will be given from studies conducted in China, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, and Tunisia. In addition, recommendations will be given on how to advance this area of research.