Designing and Fielding Population-Based Epidemiological Studies

This chapter offers best practice recommendations for collecting survey data in epidemiological studies. Survey data provide data on a population’s preferences, needs, beliefs, and behaviors. They take the form of questionnaires administered by an interviewer in a face-to-face or a telephone survey or web-based or paper-and-pencil surveys completed by the participants themselves. The chapter starts with an overview on the strengths and weaknesses of the different survey modes. Thereafter, we propose principles for designing a questionnaire, including recommendations for layout, question wording, and response options. The second part of the chapter deals with fielding a survey and monitoring fieldwork. Here, we provide guidance on how to recruit participants, train interviewers, and monitor the fieldwork. Specifically, we illustrate how data on the interview process, also known as paradata, can be used to monitor overall fieldwork progress and interviewer and respondent behavior.