Iowa State University

Shirley Huck

Over the past decade, the institute's Survey Operations Unit has developed a reputation within the field of social science survey research for collecting high quality data. This success reflects the unit's focus on sample recruitment and retention, high standards of data collection and the ability to simultaneously gather and process complex data for multiple projects.

The Survey Operations Unit has seen tremendous growth over the past 10 years, from one full-time position in 1989 to 12 full-time positions in 1999. The staff consists of six project managers, a computer support specialist, a programmer, a database manager, a data entry manager, a desk-top publisher and a CATI manager (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview). Additionally, hourly staff provide vital functions from interviewing, to data entry, to quality control and to assembling interview materials.

Since 1989, the unit has completed more than 14,000 interviews with families in their homes and 41,000 telephone interviews. Data collection methods have varied from paper and pencil questionnaires, to videotaped family discussions, to Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI), and CATI. For example, the first group of field interviewers supervised family members completing paper and pencil questionnaires in families' homes. For some projects, field interviewers videotape family members discussing specific topics as part of the in-home visit. Field interviewers for the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS) administer questionnaires using laptop computers. Staff members working with FACHS have developed a system whereby the collected data is electronically delivered to the institute from interviewers in both Iowa and Georgia.

Survey Operations staff and interviewers have interviewed a wide range of respon-dents: rural families in Iowa, flood victims in Texas and Iowa; college students; homeless adolescents throughout the Midwest; African-American families in Georgia and Iowa; and Native American families in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Another strength of the unit is its commitment to providing opportunities for professional development. Staff members often attend the International Field Directors' Conference, which is held annually. At this conference other research groups present their latest innovations in survey research and these reports help ISBR staff to continually improve their research procedures. Over the years, several staff members have given presentations at the conference - Martha Stewart, Jody Sanders, Larry Patrick, John Clark, Becky Burzette and Debbie Bahr.

Other staff members completed training that enabled the unit to expand its data collection capabilities, such as when Colleen Buescher and Martha Stewart attended training in the administration of diagnostic instruments, or the Health Interview. Chris Kinley, Larry Patrick and Dawn Stiemsma attended training for the CATI software program (CASES), which increased the unit's computer interviewing abilities in both CAPI and CATI. Other staff members have attended the summer institute conducted by the institute for Survey Research at the University of Michigan. Our most recent attendees were Betsy Baumann and Debbie Bahr, who completed three courses in 1998.

In summary, the Survey Operations Unit has contributed significantly to the past decade of success at the institute. The unit is positioned for another 10 years of collecting and processing high quality data for a multitude of projects, as well as contributing to advances in survey research methodology.

Ames, Iowa 50011, (515) 294-4518. Published by: ISBR Computer Support, webadmin@isbr.iastate.edu. Copyright © 1998-2004, Iowa State University. All rights reserved.