Workshop Summary

Whether you are preparing your first field survey, adapting an existing questionnaire for in-person interviews, or working with community organizations to reach respondents, surveying vulnerable populations requires careful planning and flexibility. In this workshop, you will explore what is involved in adapting a major cross-national online survey of the general population to one-on-one in-person interviews with vulnerable populations. The lessons shared will draw on interviews with approximately 300 respondents recruited through civil society organizations addressing needs such as food security and housing.

Dr. Modzelewski will unpack the core components of the field research process, from questionnaire adaptation to interviewer recruitment and training, scheduling and completion tracking. Participants will also hear from Polish field interviewers, who will share challenges they encountered along the way and the approaches they used to address them. Through this workshop, participants will gain practical insights into planning and adapting field surveys, recruiting, hiring and managing a team of field interviewers, and documenting procedural and methodological choices.

Outline

Surveying vulnerable populations

• Polish study

• Early results

Field Preparation

• Questionnaire adaptation

• Interviewer training and materials

• Recruitment and scheduling

Anticipating Challenges

• Recruitment and scheduling

• Interview settings and experiences

  • Location, privacy, and anonymity

  • Clarifications and visual aids

  • Other considerations

• Polish interviewer feedback

Documenting your approach

• Procedures, materials and lessons

• Anonymization and completion tracking

• Remuneration and incentives

• Methodology and interpretation

Review: executing your own project

• Creating a plan

• Involving partners

• Documenting your process