We at Neotrends Research Africa consider this stage to be very crucial as it lays the foundation for data collection. At this stage the project manager manages the scripting of the questionnaire, selects and trains the data collection team among other key tasks. It is mandatory for the project manager to ensure that key quality controls have been adhered to before the project is launched. He/she must ensure;

Questionnaire Scripting

1. The questionnaire meets scripting format allowable.
2. The scripter is trained in the language of scripting.
3. The scripter is handling only one project at a time.
4. The scripter tests the questionnaire for various routing scenarios after completion.
5. The scripter tests the questionnaire with a dummy respondent taking into consideration various routing scenarios.

Only after the above quality controls are met that the project manager authorizes for live deployment of the questionnaire in our portal ready for team briefing.

Team selection

1. The team selected consists of refined interviewers who suit the methodology deployed.
2. The team members have undergone prior internal research training on sampling and interviewing respondents.

Briefing

1. All interviewers/enumerators must attend a face to face briefing of the project.
2. The briefing must be conducted by a client liaison person.
3. The briefing must be both oral and written.
4. The written brief must contain project objectives, ways to probe, clues on how to handle difficult questions, etc.
5. The briefing must emphasize do’s and don’t of the project by interviewer.
6. Interviewers must administer dummy interviews among themselves to understand script/questionnaire flow.

Piloting & Debrief

1. The project manager must ensure a pilot study happens to gauge the respondents’ understanding of the script/questionnaire.
2. The results of the pilot must be analyzed and shared with the client.
3. The entire interviewing team must be debriefed based on the outcome of the pilot especially on how to administer specific questions.