Training interviewers Stat – 472 Survey design

Training of Interviewers A large-scale survey requires hiring multiple interviewers. A professional-quality interview requires carefully selecting interviewers and providing them with rigorous training. As with any employment situation, adequate pay and good supervision are important for consistent high-quality performance. Unfortunately, professional interviewing has not always paid well or provided regular employment. In the past, most interviewers were middle-aged women willing to accept irregular part-time work.

Good interviewers are pleasant, honest, accurate, mature, responsible, moderately intelligent, stable, and motivated. They have a nonthreatening appearance, have experience with many types of people, and possess poise and tact. If the survey involves interviewing in high-crime areas, interviewers need to be protected. We may consider interviewers’ physical appearance, age, race, gender, languages spoken, and even the voice. For example, in a study using trained female telephone interviewers from homogeneous social backgrounds, Oksenberg and colleagues (1986) found fewer refusals for interviewers whose voices had higher pitch and more pitch variation and who spoke louder and faster with clear pronunciation and sounded more pleasant and cheerful.

Most training programs for professional interviewers are 2 weeks long Most training programs for professional interviewers are 2 weeks long. They usually include a mix of lectures and reading, observation of expert interviewers, mock interviews in the office and in the field that are recorded and critiqued, many practice interviews, and role-playing. The interviewers learn about survey research and the role of the interviewer. They become familiar with the questionnaire and the purpose of questions, although not with the answers expected. Although interviewers largely work alone, researchers use an interviewer supervisor in large scale surveys with multiple interviewers. Supervisors are familiar with the location, assist with problems, oversee the interviewers, and ensure that work is completed on time.

For telephone interviewing, supervisors help with calls, check when interviewers arrive and leave, and monitor interview calls. In face-to-face interviews, supervisors check to find out whether the interview actually took place. This means calling back or sending a confirmation postcard to a sample of respondents. Supervisors can also check the response rate and incomplete questionnaires to see whether interviewers are obtaining cooperation, and they may re-interview a small subsample, analyze answers, or observe interviews to see whether interviewers are accurately asking questions and recording answers.