CAPI methodology is best suited for complex investigations involving long and detailed questionnaires. The interviewer can help explain intricate questions, demonstrate how to fill in the questionnaire, and ensure the appropriate display of videos or other forms of stimuli.

In this article, we walk through the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) methodology, its benefits, and the steps needed to execute CAPI surveys.

Types of CAPI Surveys

Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing surveys can be categorized into two types determined by how the sampling is handled.

• Named CAPI surveys – where the researchers know the respondents beforehand and can make appointments to conduct the study. An example would be interviewing managers of companies or medical professionals in a city. It is possible to feed the CAPI system with a database of participants. The researcher can preload known respondent information. At GeoPoll, we call this CAPI and CATI feature Sample Management.
• Anonymous CAPI surveys – conducted randomly, for example, on a street where the researchers do not know the respondents and may need to screen them by observation and using profiling questions.

Benefits of CAPI Surveys Over Traditional Paper Surveys

• Guidance – CAPI facilitates logic checks, skip patterns, and validations during the interview to make the survey more efficient and improve data quality.
• Efficiency – CAPI saves time and resources in subsequent steps of data cleaning and data entry.
• Real-time monitoring – CAPI is an excellent tool to monitor enumerators in real-time or later during validity checks. It is possible to automatically record each interview’s start time, end time, and GPS location, making it easy for supervisors to cross-check the processes and manage teams.
• Real-time results – Data collected through CAPI surveys is immediately relayed for real-time analysis and processing.
• Quality of data – Validation and quality control of CAPI surveys can be done when filling out the survey, and it eliminates human error during data entry. Sessions can also be recorded for validation.
• Rich media – During a CAPI survey, the enumerators can take photos, record audio, and take videos to complement the study.
• Personification – CAPI allows direct contact with the interviewee, which helps complete the questionnaire, both in terms of administering stimulus and offering explanations if necessary. Personal contact makes the interview fluid and warm and may result in greater collaboration from the respondent than in remote surveys.

Steps and Considerations for Planning and Executing a Successful CAPI Project

As with all types of surveys, planning and executing a CAPI survey is dependent on several factors, including the research objective, environmental influences, complexity, and the availability of other methodologies, among others. Below, we look at generic steps to consider based on our experience and standard CAPI processes:

1. Objectives and methodology choice – Determine the project objectives and factors that justify using CAPI over other methodologies. Consider the time and cost of the fieldwork, its scope, and its limitations.
2. Map the project – Design a work schedule to execute the research project, from ideation to data collection, to analysis and reporting.
3. Software selection – Evaluate and choose the best CAPI platform and apps to use. At GeoPoll, we have developed an ecosystem for CAPI surveys that includes the Interviewer App tailored to emerging markets and backed by our data processors for data validation, analysis, and reporting.
4. Hardware selection – Evaluate and select the computer equipment or mobile devices used for the data collection. It is advisable to use devices with internet connections for a real-time relay of data and portability for convenience. GeoPoll uses smartphones and tablets.
5. Personnel recruitment and training – Several factors go into selecting personnel to perform the CAPI survey in the field (interviewers or agents). There are language and cultural nuances to consider, education levels, knowledge of the subject matter, and more. The team also needs to be trained well on how to conduct effective surveys, how to use the selected apps and devices, and how to flow through the specific survey they will be administering.
6. Pilot testing – A lot can go wrong in any research project. It is therefore imperative for researchers to meticulously pilot test the survey with the interviewers and devices in the field. This process can then be used to adjust the questionnaires, provide post-exposure training, adjust the verbatim, and correct any errors detected.
7. Fieldwork – After a successful pilot, the actual data collection can commence. If applicable, arrange appointments with respondents or get the interviewers on the ground, making sure that the data collection app and devices are being used and working as planned. Monitor the survey process, detect and correct errors on the go, measure the length of the interviews (LOI), and track the productivity of the team. The GeoPoll Interviewer App includes all these functionalities.
8. Data consolidation and validation – Data is only as good as its integrity. Whether real-time or after the data collection process, it is crucial to perform quality checks and ensure that everything checks out.
9. Data analysis – The data collected and cleaned from the CAPI survey can then be tabulated and analyzed, and the open-ended questions coded according to the research question and objectives.
10. Final report and delivery of results

Conduct Mobile-Based In-person Surveys Anywhere in the World

GeoPoll administers face-to-face surveys through our own Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) mobile application, which is specifically built for use in emerging markets and includes features such as offline capabilities, remote progress tracking, and interviewer metrics. We can conduct face-to-face interviews via CAPI in almost any country in the world and have experience in responding quickly to fast-moving situations. Please contact us to discuss your CAPI project needs.

The post Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) Surveys: A Guide appeared first on GeoPoll.

Note: During COVID-19 GeoPoll is limiting face-to-face research and taking all necessary precautions to protect respondents and interviewers. Read this post about how face-to-face research can be transitioned to remote methods. 

Advantages of Face-to-Face Research

Face-to-face interviewing has several advantages that have made it one of the most relied-upon research methodologies. These include:

• Length of Interview: Face-to-face interviews allow for lengthy questionnaires, as the respondent is more motivated to complete an in-person survey than in other methods, such as online interviews, which can easily be exited. A longer interview enables researchers to ask multiple question modules and gather more detailed open-ended responses than may be possible through online, text message, or even voice call surveys.
• Quality of Data: Face-to-face interviews are typically thought of as producing high-quality data, especially as key demographics such as age, gender, and location cannot be falsified. Interviewers can also note non-verbal cues from the respondent within their answers. However, there are also questions around interviewer bias in face-to-face interviews, which we review below. 
• High Response Rates: It has been found that face-to-face interviews have higher response rates than some other methodologies, however, this could be due to several factors and is not necessarily due to the in-person nature of interviews.  

Disadvantages of Face-to-Face Interviewing

Despite the high quality of data received, some research projects are not feasible for face-to-face interviews due to the following disadvantages:

• Cost: Face-to-face interviews are one of the costliest methods for survey research, as they involve hiring trained enumerators and sending them to multiple locations to collect data. If data is collected by pen and paper, it must be inputted once data collection is complete, adding to costs. 
• Lengthy Complete Time: Face-to-face interviews take longer to complete than online or voice call interviews. Enumerators often travel to multiple locations to collect survey responses. The time it takes to obtain the desired sample size depends on how many enumerators are working at once and the distances they need to travel.  
• Interviewer Bias: The presence of an in-person interviewer may introduce bias in some cases. Bias may occur with sensitive questions which the respondent does not want to answer in person, or if the interviewer reads a question in a leading way.  
• Data Entry Errors: Face-to-face interview responses were traditionally recorded using pen and paper, also known as PAPI. Using pen and paper, there is a high likelihood of human error when inputting answers or lost responses, which can harm data quality. 

How Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing Works

To mitigate some of the issues mentioned above, many researchers have transitioned to using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI), where in-person enumerators read questions and record answers on a mobile application, usually through a tablet device. CAPI platforms reduce the chance of enumerator error, both while administrating the interview and when inputting data.

While the interview is ongoing, CAPI applications can automatically route to the next question based on the respondent’s answer, ensuring no questions are skipped. Data is collected and stored within the application, eliminating the need for data to be inputted manually at a later date. CAPI also allows research organizations to track the progress of individual interviewers remotely, enabling them to see if an interviewer is taking a longer-than-expected time to complete each interview, or is recording unusual response patterns.

Other advantages of CAPI research include the ability to voice record, show picture or video content to respondents, and track the GPS location of interviewers.

Conduct CAPI Research in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America with GeoPoll 

Face-to-face interviewing can be especially challenging in emerging markets such as those in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Populations in these areas are often very dispersed and may speak multiple languages or dialects. A lack of formal roads and address systems can also make face-to-face interviewing in emerging markets even more time-consuming than it is already.

GeoPoll is experienced administering face-to-face interviews in emerging regions through our proprietary CAPI application, which was specifically designed for use in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. GeoPoll works with in-country partners to recruit and train interviewers who can administer surveys in multiple languages, and can remotely track and report back to clients on project progress. Our CAPI platform allows for various question types and advanced skip logic, and gives us full control over questionnaire scripting. GeoPoll’s CAPI application also includes offline abilities, so interviews do not need to be connected to the internet to record answers.

To learn more about GeoPoll’s CAPI capabilities or to request a project quote, please contact us here.

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