COURSE OF THE KAP SURVEY IN THE FIELD
interviewee can influence the one another). Exception is made when the sample population is difficult to reach, such as drug users or professional sex workers, and surveyors are “peer” members of the target group.
2 / Supervisors The number of supervisors is directly dependent on the number of surveyors, which is determined by the size of the survey (number of respondents to reach) and the means available. To determine the number of supervisors required, the principle is that each supervisor should have daily face-to-face contact with each of the surveyors that he/she supervises. For ten to fifteen surveyors, for example, a pair of supervisors works quite well. Their role is to move between teams of surveyors to help with any difficulties encountered; guarantors of the survey process, they check that the surveyors are following the correct respondent profiles and filling out the questionnaires properly. Supervisors also ensure that the number of questionnaires is reached for each site surveyed. Finally, equipped with monitoring forms, they are the link between the survey team and the programme team during the entire collection of field data. Role of the field supervisor
> Divide the work between surveyors; > Identify households to survey if surveyors do not do so themselves; > Answer questions the surveyors are asked, identify problems and round out the training of those who are not doing their job properly; > Ensure that interviews remain confidential (that surveyors do not
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discuss the results of questionnaires amongst themselves or with others); > Keep tally sheets and ensure proper execution of tasks; > After an initial audit by the surveyors themselves, to audit the data incorporating all the questionnaires before leaving each site to ensure they are properly filled and do not contain inconsistent or incongruous data; > Check that the expected number of completed questionnaires is reached for each site before leaving, and the identification of the site sponsors and surveyors is recorded on each supporting sheet.
In the KAP survey in Kinshasa, the supervisor was also the survey manager. Her role was to gather up the surveyors’ questionnaires every evening, and go through them to ensure that the data entered were understandable at the time it was input. This step was also an opportunity to correct incongruous data or to request additional information for each questionnaire. This review by the supervisor, done every night, facilitated corrections/ explanations by the surveyors. In fact, they had an easier time remembering the interviews with the girls when they were had been done the same day.