China Quality Control

Every completed interview is one you can rely on

The standard checks we apply to quantitative fieldwork across China.

1

Briefing

Every city’s team hears the same brief.

2

Pilot interviews

Each interviewer is tested before fieldwork.

3

Location control

GPS, photos and recordings show where interviews happen.

4

During fieldwork

Recordings are reviewed at the end of every day.

5

Back-checks

One in five respondents is called back.

6

Data checks

Every questionnaire is checked before processing.

Briefing

  • A central briefing for each city’s senior operations lead, so every team hears the same message.
  • Local briefings for every supervisor and interviewer, with our Shanghai team joining remotely.

Pilot interviews

  • Every interviewer completes at least two pilot interviews before fieldwork, to check flow, logic, wording and instructions.
  • A supervisor checks each interviewer’s questioning skills before they go into field.

Location control

  • GPS-enabled devices log where interviews take place.
  • Photos are taken at each interviewing location.
  • Interviews are recorded and a sample called back to confirm the address.

During fieldwork

  • Every interview is recorded and its length checked.
  • Supervisors visit field locations without warning.
  • A sample of each interviewer’s recordings is reviewed at the end of every day. Failed interviews are removed and the interviewer is retrained.

Back-checks

  • Quotas checked continuously against the project plan.
  • 100% of completed questionnaires checked twice: once by quality control staff and once by a supervisor.
  • 20% of respondents called back to confirm the interview took place as reported.
  • If more than 10% of call-backs in a city fail, every interview in that city is called back.

Data checks

  • Length, logic and missing answers checked on every questionnaire before data is processed.