DATA COLLECTION PROCESS (CAPI)

CAPI brings questionnaire programming, interview administration and field monitoring into one digital workflow. Interviewers use smartphones or tablets to record responses, while programmed routing and validation rules help maintain consistency at the point of capture.

The setup is tailored to the study. It can include response checks, interview timing and supporting evidence where appropriate. Photographs, audio recordings and location data are collected only within the agreed protocol, with appropriate consent and safeguards. 

Agreed dashboards provide visibility into fieldwork progress, quotas and incoming records as connectivity and synchronisation allow. This helps teams identify issues early and adjust field deployment where necessary. 

Where enabled and consented to, GPS records support checks on interview location. These are interpreted alongside timing, response patterns, supervisor observations and other validation evidence.

Quality is built into the CAPI workflow through the following steps: 

• Testing questionnaire programming, skip patterns, response options and validation rules before launch.
• Briefing interviewers and supervisors on study objectives, eligibility, consent and interview procedures.
• Piloting the questionnaire and refining wording or programming where needed

Monitoring fieldwork through agreed checks, including:

• Accompanied interviews and supervisor observation, where appropriate. 
• Reviewing completed interviews for missing responses, inconsistencies and unusual patterns.
• Conducting spot checks and back-checks using the agreed project protocol.
• Reviewing flagged records and resolving queries before final data delivery.
• Maintaining coordination between project managers, field supervisors and data teams throughout data collection.