Preparing field survey forms

Prepare the field form from the approved questionnaire, with the same variable IDs, wording, response codes and routing. A printed form, an offline digital form and the analytical dictionary should represent one instrument version. Separate household interview questions from focus-group prompts and key-informant guides.

Make the interview easy to follow

Use readable text, adequate answer space and a consistent distinction between words to read aloud and interviewer instructions. Show the eligible respondent, reference period and unit beside the question. Keep a question and its response options together across page breaks.

Use member or activity rosters when a sequence repeats. Include space for additional records and a clear continuation identifier. Put the survey version and page number on every sheet, with the interview ID where pages could become separated. Keep names and contact details in the controlled tracking record rather than repeating them throughout the questionnaire.

Print skip destinations explicitly using stable question labels. Distinguish a checked zero from a blank, and provide the approved codes for refusal, uncertainty and inapplicability. Color may help navigation, but text labels and symbols should carry the same information when printed in grayscale. The UN guidelines emphasize readable formats, instructions, wording and sequencing. UN, 2008, section 2.2.2

Test the issued copy

Run a practice interview using the actual paper size, printer, language edition and field equipment. Follow a short and a long roster, every skip path and a partially completed interview. Check writing space, legibility, page order and the time needed to transfer answers into the data system.

Agree a correction convention that preserves the original response and identifies the person making the change. Arrange secure carriage, daily reconciliation of issued and returned forms, and controlled storage. If paper is an offline fallback, specify how submissions will be entered once and reconciled with any digital record.

Release forms, manuals and translations together. Record the approval date and withdraw superseded copies. Continue with survey design and the detailed fieldwork protocol.

See the methods references for source editions and related guidance.