On Friday 6th June, we interviewed Assaye Bulti – UNICEF Data Control Officer who coordinated the mobile data collection for the Nigeria National Nutrition and Health Survey 2014
Regular systematic data collection can be expensive and logistically difficult in resource-poor countries. The normal accepted methods and tools for national surveys are constrained by time-consuming tasks and recording error on paper questionnaires followed by manual double data entry and validation. These surveys can often take up to one year or more between data collection and release of results. In situations where program data are not regularly available, these delays limit the capacity of governments and other agencies to track progress towards set goals. The collection of data on mobile devices has helped to significantly address issues of cost, timeliness and data quality.
How many teams and how many tablets did you use for the National Nutrition and Health Survey?
For the current survey, we employed 27 survey teams. The survey was representative at the state level plus Federal Capital Territory so there were 37 representative strata. Normally surveys employ at least one team per strata but we found it was easier to employ a smaller number of highly qualified interviewers. This allowed us to use only 10 supervisors and 4 regional coordinators from National Bureau of Statistics, National Population Council and the Federal Ministry of Health.
We used 50 tablets for the data collection. We planned for each team to have one working and one spare tablet but we found it was easier to have the supervisor manage the spare tablets. During their normal use, screens were cracked on four tablets during data collection but the devices were still completely usable, so we continued to use them in interviews until the end.
What type of mobile devices did you use for data collection? Were the people in the villages that you visited freaked out by the use of this technology?
We used a well-known name brand of 7-inch tablets. These were easy to purchase locally with a data plan. They were more expensive than some lesser known brands but we found these to be the most robust tablets to use. The 7-inch size was comfortable to work with, the questions were easy to read on the screen and the tablet easily fits into any bag or pocket. It was not too small like mobile phones that can be more difficult to read. We did not have any problems with the tablets during data collection. All the tablets were returned at the end of the survey.
Did any respondents react positively or negatively to the use of tablets for data collection?
No. Basically, we did not have any problems with using tablets in the field.
What type of connection did you have to the network and how well did the network work in Nigeria?
We used a local national carrier to provide a 3G / Edge connection through a fair priced data plan. The carrier was recommended for its solid connections throughout the north of Nigeria, but the connection was solid all over the country. We managed to receive data daily basically from all corners of the country.
How did you prevent the teams from stealing the tablets?
When we hired the teams, each team member had to sign an agreement to pay for the tablet if they lost or broke it. As 50% of their salary was paid at the end of data collection, we made the final payment only after collecting all survey equipment and there were no problems.
I understand that Facebook is very popular in Nigeria, how did you prevent the teams from using all their allocated dataplan on facebook, youtube or other sites?
The tablets used a parental lock software. All uses of the tablets were locked except the survey data entry application. If someone needed to access the other functions on the tablets they had to use a password to log in. None of the data collection staff managed to crack password. This was obvious as we monitored the use of data on the data plan. We did not have any problems with sending the data over the network.
Were there any benefits of using tablets for data collection compared to the traditional paper based questionnaires?
Yes, the costs of data collection with tablets are actually much less when you consider the cost of printing questionnaires and the subsequent double data entry and validation. We budgeted the costs for paper questionnaires versus data collection on mobile devices and found it was half the cost to use the tablets. And, if you reuse the tablets for a second survey, then you cut the original costs in half.
Another point is the timeliness. All of the normal data entry tasks are eliminated. The headache of compiling data from the first round of data entry in the field is gone. The data are compiled on the server as they are sent in real-time. We figured that the removal of these tasks saved us at least 8 weeks of work.
Wasn’t it more difficult for the supervisors to check the questionnaires for mistakes?
We found that we were able to monitor a lot more than just the questionnaire. The data entry form included all the skips and checks, which removed the common errors that you find on paper questionnaires. We regularly reviewed the data from each strata and team for accuracy and completeness. Also, we were able to monitor the performance of all the teams, such as starting time, average interview time, movement within the cluster, their movement plan, and the daily standardization of tools. So the supervisors were able to monitor the actual data collection instead of focusing on the questionnaires. It made the system hard to beat.
So you are saying that no one cheated?
Well if a survey team wanted to cheat or take a shortcut. 1st they had to travel to the selected cluster, 2nd they had to stay there for 4 to 6 hours, 3rd they had fill the data entry form in 22 different places … Otherwise, these details were noted and disciplinary action would be taken against them. This helped to ensure that we collected the data from the correct location and thereby the representativeness of the survey.