RTI International

RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute. www.rti.org

Using Mobile Devices for Quality Control in

Developing Country Surveys

Clark Letterman

RTI International

From PAPI to CAPI and Beyond

How do you monitor quality

with PAPI surveys?

– Rely on humans and ex-post

data analysis

Why would you use PAPI?

– cost

– familiarity

CAPI: can it be more than

fancy paper?

– Passive monitoring at multiple

management levels

– Quick turn-around for QC

RTI International

RTI Mobile FS Software

Multiple questionnaires

grouped as part of a

case

Integrated case

management system to

calculate response rates

Quality control systems

– Passive GPS capture

– Customizable Paradata

– Computer Assisted

Recorded Interview

(CARI)

RTI International

Passive GPS- where the heck are we?

Quality Control for

geographic sampling

approaches

– Interviewers not

responsible for recording

their locations.

GPS coordinates can be

recorded multiple times

during an interview.

– Did the whole interview

take place at the

household?

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Paradata

RTI International

CARI

Turnaround time is an

issue

– Some questions or all

interview review

Quality of audio

recordings

Consent has not been

an issue for surveys with

low-sensitivity questions.

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Implementation

QC Feedback Loop

– Are we just collecting

more information, or are

we actually using it?

Willingness

– Contracts

– Competitive advantage

Ability

– Capacity building and

support (can’t set it and

forget it)