Measuring household food security through surveys: Do the characteristics of the enumerators matter?

Pietrelli, Rebecca; d’Errico, Marco; Dassesse, Kate

doi:10.1111/dpr.12534

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 32 publications

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“…How enumerators or survey interviewers influence survey results has been described, for instance in relation to religion (Blaydes & Gillum, 2013), public health (Davis et al, 2010), and, in more general terms, in the literature on methodology (Singh, 1990; West & Blom, 2016). The question of whether interviewer or enumerator effects matter has also recently been posed in international development (Pietrelli et al, 2021). This rich literature is concerned with the effects that surveyor characteristics might have on the surveyed, thus showing how research is shaped by social relationships.…”

Section: Social Surveys As a Preferred Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Researcher effects in survey‐based research: Insights from research in South Sudan

Tomiak¹

2022

Development Policy Review

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Motivation:In policy-relevant and applied research in international development, the evidence-based turn has led to increasing donor demand for evidence that is neutral, objective, and value-free. Rather than this positivist understanding, the article argues for reflexivity and acknowledgement of positionality to help overcome potential researcher effects. Purpose: Drawing on the example of survey research in South Sudan, the article argues that social relations between the researcher, surveyors, and participants shape the research process and hence knowledge creation. It examines why survey research conducted under similar circumstances led to distinctive data sets. Methods and approach:The argument is based on comparing survey data gathered by two groups of locally hired surveyors in South Sudan and subsequent semi-structured interviews with them. Findings: The data show that the researcher's positionality, broadly conceived, influenced data collection. The way the locally hired surveyors perceived the lead researcher and the economically challenging environment of South Sudan-a country severely embroiled in violent conflict-affected the data that were gathered with a social survey, and consequently affected knowledge production. Policy implications: The article contributes to the literature that argues that researcher effects also occur in quantitative research. It shows that in policy-relevant research reflexivity is necessary to strengthen research results. Researchers working in conflict-affected, impoverished environments, and donors requesting evaluation and measurement, should be encouraged to take positionality into account and to ask questions about research practices.

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Section: Social Surveys As a Preferred Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Researcher effects in survey‐based research: Insights from research in South Sudan

Tomiak¹

2022

Development Policy Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Determinants of nutrition security status of women in rural households in Northwest Ethiopia

Teshome,

Andaregie,

Astatkie

2024

African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Developm

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When Who Matters: Interviewer Effects and Survey Modality

Walcott,

Cohen,

Ferris

2023

Eval Rev

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When and how to survey potential respondents is often determined by budgetary and external constraints, but choice of survey modality may have enormous implications for data quality. Different survey modalities may be differentially susceptible to measurement error attributable to interviewer assignment, known as interviewer effects. In this paper, we leverage highly similar surveys, one conducted face-to-face (FTF) and the other via phone, to examine variation in interviewer effects across survey modality and question type. We find that while there are no cross-modality differences for simple questions, interviewer effects are markedly higher for sensitive questions asked over the phone. These findings are likely explained by the enhanced ability of in-person interviewers to foster rapport and engagement with respondents. We conclude with a thought experiment that illustrates the potential implications for power calculations, namely, that using FTF data to inform phone surveys may substantially underestimate the necessary sample size for sensitive questions.

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Measuring household food security through surveys: Do the characteristics of the enumerators matter?

Cited by 3 publications

References 32 publications

Researcher effects in survey‐based research: Insights from research in South Sudan

Researcher effects in survey‐based research: Insights from research in South Sudan

Determinants of nutrition security status of women in rural households in Northwest Ethiopia

When Who Matters: Interviewer Effects and Survey Modality

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