Centre for Applied Social Surveys
Short Course

Computer Assisted Data Collection for
Interview Surveys
Supported by the ESRC

Richard Boreham, Sven Sjödin and Roger Thomas 9-10 March 2005 University of Southampton

CASS is an ESRC Resource Centre hosted by the National Centre for Social Research, the University of Southampton and the University of Surrey

Blaise is a powerful computer-assisted survey processing system, widely used in social survey research.  The course will explain from the researcher's viewpoint how Blaise works, drawing attention to its special facilities for controlling and supporting the data collection process in complex interview surveys.  It will give students a practical grasp of how Blaise implements research aims, questionnaire manoeuvres and data management operations.  Hands-on workshops based on practical survey examples will be used.  Differences between computer-assisted interviewing and paper and pencil as they affect the researcher, the interviewer and the survey process as a whole will be discussed.

Course Aims:

To review the technical options currently available for data collection in quantitative social surveys conducted by interview, comparing the merits and costs of low technology and high technology modes. 
To review the question and response routines and the data management manoeuvres that the designer of complex interview survey questionnaires may wish to use.
To introduce the programming concepts and strategies that underlie the BLAISE programming package and to explain how the above manoeuvres are managed in BLAISE. 
To teach course member to write simple BLAISE programs and to follow BLAISE program documentation. 
To give an overview of other aspects of CAPI surveys that need to be considered in addition to questionnaire development such as project management, sampling, testing, resources and training.
Developing, documenting and communicating about CAPI surveys.
Other applications of computer-assisted data collection and electronic methods generally. 

The Instructors:

Richard Boreham is a Research Director at the National Centre for Social Research. 

Sven Sjodin is Deputy Director of Project Computing at the National Centre for Social Research. In 1991, after taking degrees in Computer Science and Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, he moved to Britain to join NatCen, at a time when it was starting to introduce Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI). Since then he has specialised in using the Blaise system to develop CAPI surveys of many types and in many topic areas, in collaboration with NatCen researchers. This has required complete understanding not only of the research viewpoint, but also that of interviewers using CAPI on laptops in the field. In addition to programming he has been heavily involved in the development of systems for managing the new technology. He has had much contact with the Dutch developers of Blaise, contributing to discussion and testing of new features, and has regularly attended international Blaise User Conferences.

Roger Thomas is the Deputy Director of CASS. He has had long experience of designing, running and managing surveys, first at Social Survey Division of the Office for National Statistics, where he was also assistant director in charge of methodology and founder and editor of the Survey Methods Bulletin, and then at National Centre for Social Research's Survey Methods Unit, where he participates in the programme of methodological research and consultancy and teaches survey methods.

For further information please e-mail Jane Schofield [log in to unmask]


-- 
Jane Schofield
Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute
University of Southampton
[log in to unmask] 
Tel:  +44 (0) 2380 595376