Checklist: Preparing for a Survey Pilot

Get printable version here. For more resources on the topics covered in this checklist, see Survey Pilot, Structuring a Survey Pilot, Piloting Survey Content and Piloting Survey Protocols. Note that this checklist is best displayed in Chrome, Firefox, Safari or any other modern browser.

			Project name: _______________________________________
			Country: ___________________________________________
			District: ____________________________________________
			Year, Month and/or Day: _____________________________
1. All stages
	Initials	#No	Checklist Item
[ __ ]		1.1	Have you identified a sufficient number of qualified interviewers?
[ __ ]		1.2	Have you trained the interviewers on the survey instrument?
[ __ ]		1.3	Have you identified a comparable area and population for the pilot?
[ __ ]		1.4	Have you secured all approvals / letters of support needed in your context?
[ __ ]		1.5	Has someone contacted the local leaders in the pilot area to inform them of planned survey activity?
[ __ ]		1.6	Will the team be staying overnight in the pilot area? If so, do you have necessary permissions to travel (from government, World Bank, etc)?
[ __ ]		1.7	Has someone taken care of the logistics (e.g. car rentals, meals or per diem for interviewers)?
[ __ ]		1.8	Do you have a venue reserved for training the interviewers?
2. Pre-Pilot
	Initials	#No	Checklist Item
[ __ ]		2.1	Do you have a set protocol for identifying participants in focus group discussions?
[ __ ]		2.2	Do you have a form prepared for interviewers to record qualitative observations and notes from discussion?
[ __ ]		2.3	Have you tested interviewers’ note-taking abilities during the training and provided feedback on content and handwriting?
[ __ ]		2.4	If you do not speak the local language(s), do you have a tried-and-true research assistant to accompany you to translate?
3. Content-Focused Pilot
	Initials	#No	Checklist Item
[ __ ]		3.1	Is the questionnaire you are piloting fully translated into the local language?
[ __ ]		3.2	Is the instrument formatted for printing? Make sure there are sufficient margins on all pages for taking notes.
[ __ ]		3.3	Did you print enough copies of the instrument for all interviewers and all people accompanying interviews to have a copy for each planned interview?
[ __ ]		3.4	Does the survey instrument include both the research team language and local language (where different)? If not, remember to print out copies in each language as applicable.
[ __ ]		3.5	Do you have access to a printer to print revisions in real time if significant changes are needed?
[ __ ]		3.6	Have you instructed interviewers (or observers) to record the start and end time for each module?
4. Data-Focused Pilot
	Initials	#No	Checklist Item
[ __ ]		4.1	Have you office-tested the final version of the programmed instrument for any bugs, and to ensure that all questions appear as expected and reflect the final translation?
[ __ ]		4.2	Have you set up a SurveyCTO server for the pilot? (For DIME members: Remember, no data can be uploaded to the DIME Test server.)
[ __ ]		4.2.1	Is the name for the pilot form on the server clearly distinguishable from the final survey?
[ __ ]		4.2.2	Have you assigned a form id unique to the pilot? (to avoid confusing pilot data with final data)
[ __ ]		4.2.3	Do all team members who need it have log-on information?
[ __ ]		4.3	Is the SurveyCTO Collect app updated to the version of SurveyCTO your server is running? (See the ‘Collect’ tab on your server for instructions.)
[ __ ]		4.3.1	Best to update your server and app to the latest version of SurveyCTO before starting the pilot.
[ __ ]		4.3.2	Once you have piloted, avoid updating the app even if a new version is released, to avoid compatibility issues.
[ __ ]		4.4	Are all tablets / phones running the most updated version of their operating system (OS)? (or at a minimum, are they all running exactly the same OS?)
[ __ ]		4.5	Are all tablets / phones set to the correct date and time?
[ __ ]		4.6	Is the pilot-form downloaded and ready-to-go on all tablets?
[ __ ]		4.7	Are all tablets fully charged? Do you have battery packs with you in case any batteries run out?
[ __ ]		4.8	Do you have a couple of paper copies of the survey, for observers to use, and/or as a last resort in case of unsolvable tablet problems?
[ __ ]		4.9	Have you built in time to the field plan to make any required revisions to the programming and re-download the revised forms on all tablets?
[ __ ]		4.10	Have you set up Stata do-files for importing and labeling data?
[ __ ]		4.11	Have you set up a Stata do-file for running high frequency checks?
The checklist are edited through Git Hub. This checklist corresponds to the file with the name chk_surveyprep.js. To read a simple step by step guide on how to edit the checklist, see this documentation: https://github.com/worldbank/DIMEwiki/tree/master/Topics/Checklists.

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This article is part of the topic Check Lists.

Additional Resources

• DIME Analytics’ guidelines on piloting surveys
• DIME Analytics’ guidelines on survey design and pilot