Design for Data Quality in a Multisite Cross-Sectional and Panel Study

Abstract

The authors address the issues faced while collecting survey data as part of a large multisite, multidisciplinary long-term project using interviewers rather than self-administered questionnaires in a country in which the researchers are not native. The issues pertain to the collection of high-quality data that accurately measure the variables of interest from which generalizations can be made. Three issues were prominent: potential cross-cultural variation in the validity of measures; how to manage multiple control sites and multiple study sites; and how to control for problems presented by series/panel data (i.e., the influence of prior interviews or subsequent intervening events on later interviews). The authors addressed these issues through five strategies at different points in the study. This discussion concerns the challenges and benefits of using these techniques to address the three main issues.