Designing Effective Surveys for CAPI with KoboToolbox
Creating well-structured surveys is key to collecting accurate and useful data. With KoboToolbox, you can design surveys that are easy for both respondents and interviewers to understand. Here’s how to ensure your surveys are clear, efficient, and effective:
Use Simple, Clear Language
When designing your survey, make sure the questions are easy to understand. Avoid technical jargon or complex wording. The simpler your questions, the more accurate your data will be.Example: Instead of asking, “What is your frequency of maize consumption in a bi-weekly period?”, you can ask, “How often do you eat maize in two weeks?” This reduces confusion and ensures respondents provide the correct answers.
Choose the Right Question Types
KoboToolbox offers a variety of question types, such as multiple-choice, single-choice, and text answers. Choose the type that best fits the information you need:Single-choice for questions with one possible answer (e.g., “What is your gender?”).
Multiple-choice for questions where more than one answer is possible (e.g., “Which of the following crops do you grow?”).
Text input for open-ended questions (e.g., “Please describe the challenges you face in farming.”).
Example: When conducting a household survey, you might ask:
“What is your source of drinking water?” (Single choice: river, well, tap water)
“What sanitation facilities do you use?” (Multiple choice: pit latrine, flush toilet, none)
Use Skip Logic for Relevant Questions
Skip logic helps guide respondents to relevant questions based on their previous answers. This saves time and ensures respondents only answer questions that apply to them.Example: If you ask, “Do you own a mobile phone?” and the respondent answers “No,” skip the following questions about phone usage and move directly to the next relevant section.
Test Your Survey Before Deployment
Before deploying your survey to the field, always test it. KoboToolbox lets you preview the survey, so you can see how the questions flow and identify any issues with wording, skip logic, or design.Example: You can test a health survey by filling out the questions yourself or with colleagues to ensure everything functions smoothly. This way, you catch any problems early, like a question not appearing at the right time.
Best Practices for Managing CAPI Teams Using KoboToolbox
When you’re working with a field team to collect data using KoboToolbox, it’s essential to ensure that everyone is organized and on the same page. Effective management leads to smoother data collection and higher quality results.
Train Your Team on KoboToolbox
Before your team heads into the field, make sure everyone understands how to use KoboCollect (the mobile app) and the survey itself. Provide hands-on training, including how to download and sync surveys, enter responses, and handle common issues.Example: If you’re conducting a baseline survey in a rural community, walk your team through using the app offline. This way, when they are in areas with no internet, they’ll know how to collect data without problems and upload it when they return to base.
Assign Clear Roles and Responsibilities
Divide tasks among your team members to avoid confusion. Have specific people responsible for technical support, others for managing data quality, and the rest for conducting interviews.Example: If you have a team of 10, designate one or two people as “data quality checkers” who review incoming data each day, while the remaining team members focus on conducting interviews and syncing responses.
Set Realistic Daily Targets
Ensure your team has a clear goal for the number of interviews they should complete each day. This helps keep everyone motivated and ensures you collect enough data on time.Example: If your project requires 500 responses in 5 days, divide this among the team so each member knows their target. For a team of 10, this means completing 10 interviews per person per day.
Monitor Data Quality in Real-Time
One of the advantages of KoboToolbox is that it allows you to monitor data as it’s being collected. Regularly check incoming data for consistency and completeness. If there are any errors, you can address them before the team finishes the fieldwork.Example: If you notice that certain responses are missing or inconsistent (e.g., many participants skipping a particular question), you can inform your team immediately to clarify the questions during interviews.
Offline CAPI Data Collection: Overcoming Connectivity Challenges with KoboToolbox
Collecting data in areas with poor or no internet connection can be challenging. Fortunately, KoboToolbox is built for these environments. Here’s how to make the most of its offline capabilities:
Download Surveys in Advance
Before heading into the field, ensure that your team has downloaded the survey to their mobile devices. KoboCollect stores the surveys locally, so they can be accessed without an internet connection.Example: If you’re working in remote villages in Kenya, your team can download the surveys while they still have internet access at the office or in town. Once they reach the field, they can continue interviewing participants without needing Wi-Fi or mobile data.
Collect Data Offline and Sync Later
During interviews, KoboCollect will save all the responses on the device. When your team returns to an area with internet, they can upload all the data to the KoboToolbox server with one click.Example: After a long day of interviewing farmers about their crop yields, your team gets back to the office where there’s Wi-Fi. They sync their devices, and all the data is uploaded to the server without any issues.
Plan for Backup Power
In remote areas, battery life is a big concern. Ensure your team has portable chargers or backup power sources to keep their devices running throughout the day.Example: If your team is surveying in a rural area where electricity is unreliable, equip them with power banks to keep their devices charged. This way, they can keep collecting data without interruption.