How we can adopt new ways of data collection during the COVID-19 crisis? This blog focuses on Computer-Based Telephonic Interview (CATI) to optimize efficient and relevant data collection.

COVID-19 has changed the lives of people across the globe and has forced mankind to acclimatize themselves to the current worldwide crisis. The vulnerable sections of the society are being affected more than others. Since virus such as COVID-19 is likely to spread in overcrowded conditions/ poor hygiene pockets where there is little infrastructure or sparse resources to respond to it effectively. Hence, as we all grapple with our lives in this situation, it is important to keep an eye out for information of the communities who are vulnerable so that relief could be doled out on time.

Previously a key method to gain insights about vulnerable or communities at a disadvantageous position was by conducting field interventions with in-person interviews. However, the unprecedented times that we are in does not leave us with that choice. Hence, as a social enterprise and data collection firm, Outline India has been reflecting on its past experiences and has commenced transitioning to other modes of primary data collection. Since we still believe that raw numbers from the field are pivotal for data-centric informed decision making, more so in times like COVID-19.

In this article, we tried to put together our 8 years of field experience, possible issues on logistics and technological innovation to ease this transition. This article may contribute towards helping other data collection agencies, research organizations and donors to understand how we can still go ahead collecting quick data to keep up the momentum.

One of the most rational way of going ahead is transitioning from in-person to virtual surveys. This will ensure that we are able to maintain social distancing and still be able to gather some numbers. There are a couple of online survey techniques that are available like web surveys, email surveys, phone surveys so on and so forth.

Of the available remote sources, phone/ mobile surveys can be a good way of engaging with respondents. Mobile surveys can further, be categorized under 3 heads especially for administering it for low- and middle-income country research:

1.    Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), which consists of interviewer-administered phone surveys

2.    Interactive Voice Response (IVR) surveys, automated voice surveys

3.    Short Message Service (SMS) surveys that use text messaging.

CATI or Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing is a telephone survey process wherein an electronic device (computer/tablet/mobile) displays questions on its screen and the interviewer reads them to a respondent over a phone call and directly enters the responses into the electronic device. It not only helps to establish a connection with the probable respondents but also provide a better chance of getting accurate information from the respondents.

Of the different modes, we suggest using a combined targeted approach to ensure data reliability and meeting the target sample size for a survey. Using CATI along with reminders over SMS can be an effective way forward. Using software, to track and manage the calls and data to be collected could be a good idea as it uniquely minimizes data entry and management hassles.

The broad set of activities to be undertaken by research organizations/ data collection firms include:

1.    Identifying & accessing respondents: Obtaining a list of valid phone numbers to get started with the phone surveys is the first step in this process. However, this can be a tedious task. Designing studies around CATI could be beneficial for cases where contact details of the potential respondents from the previous round of data collection (either midline or endline) are available. However, if there is no such data available one can also procure lists of valid phone numbers from the telecom companies or private market research firms. However, these lists often need to be purchased or negotiated. This can prove to be time-consuming in a rapid response situation like COVID-19. The lists may not represent the entire population. Moreover, the lists obtained might not be representative of the entire target group.

2.    Research objective: After procuring lists, it’s important to focus on the research design and objectives. As CATI would be a remote data collection technique, only priority objectives should make it to the final research variable sheet. In case there are multiple objectives, one can allow some time for ranking the objectives in terms of priority and focus on the most important ones.

3.    Questionnaire design: Since the survey will be administered over the phone, the questionnaire should be short and crisp, prioritizing the most relevant questions. Ideal survey duration in CATI ranges between 8-10 minutes which can at max be stretched to15 minutes (based on project requirement).

Do keep in mind: 10 minutes is likely to translate into 20-30 questions in flat lay and all follow up questions should be counted as separate questions since it will also take some time for the enumerator to explain it to the respondent.

4.    Training of enumerators: It is prudent to conduct elaborate enumerator training, developing easy to comprehend training materials for them. It could be helpful to create scripts, FAQs, call checklists for training.

5.    CATI Software: As mentioned earlier, using software to manage data, collect data and track the overall progress of the study is a great way to keep things on track; especially in a time, when we are all working from home and are spread out across different locations. One such easy to use the software is SurveyCTO. This is also helpful for the organizations who have been using CAPI for data collection earlier. Using SurveyCTO makes the transition all the easier! The primary steps involve:

6. Combined Targeted Approach: Only making phone calls can result in low response rates. It can so happen that due to lack of prior information the target respondent is not available during the time of the call. Hence, sending SMS prior to making calls can be a good medium of informing respondents of the scheduled interview.

7. Things to remember:

o   There is an important gender gap in mobile phone ownership in many countries. Phone ownership is also lower in rural areas, which can be additionally exacerbated by localities/ regions where mobile phone coverage is patchy or non-existent.

o   A significant point to note for COVID-19 is that some people who are most affected by COVID-19 could be no longer be reachable by phone. Consequently, firms that are under lockdown might not be able to provide lists/ numbers of the respondents.

o   People who are suffering from financial strain may not top up their phone credit.

o   Even though mobile penetration in India has increased, however, one family might be using a single phone across 5 family members. Hence, multiple phone calls could be required to survey the target respondent within a family.

o   There is absolutely NO alternative to rapport building & briefing respondents about the study to ensure they consent to complete the survey.

o   Back checks have become all the more important to maintain data quality.

The situation around is critical and CATI has become more relevant in the social sector research than ever. It is the call of the time to explore possible modes of data collection and CATI easily stands a chance to be a showstopper in this case. Using CATI is easy, rationale, and effective!!

We hope this piece helped you to get an overall idea of transitioning to CATI and adapting to changes due to COVID-19. Do let us know if you would like us to include anything specific in our next blog. Happy transitioning and be safe!!

This blog aims to examine how coronavirus has affected the education sector in rural and urban India. Was the implementation of Education Policies strong enough in the first place, to have us questioning the added upheavals caused due to coronavirus? What are the consequences of lack of attention paid to rural education development, and how many we as Indians improve these in the long run?

There is nothing like a good crisis to shake up an industry. The coronavirus has stormed into our lives, altered our realities, and forced us to change for the better. Be it fashion, sports, hospitality, or banking, there is no arena where the coronavirus has not played its hand. The biggest and most important impact has been on our younger generation, the future of tomorrow. No one can deny that the pandemic has opened our eyes, to the need for major reformation of the education sector.  

According to a recent article titled Education: From disruption to recovery by UNESCO (May 2020), nation-wide lockdowns are impacting over 70% of the worlds' student population. The report estimates that across 22 countries, over 290 million students shall be adversely impacted. UNESCO also estimates that about 32 crores of students are affected in India, including those in schools and colleges. The repercussions of the pandemic will continue to produce pronounced changes in teaching and learning practices for all levels of education. But how evenly will these issues be addressed across villages across India, is a matter of concern.

Urban-Rural divide

According to a survey report called the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), more than 50% of the students in the 5th standard attending rural schools are not capable of reading a second standard textbook and do not to solve basic mathematical questions. As if there wasn’t enough disparity between urban and rural education in the first place, the coronavirus crisis has only further impacted our rural education system.

As per the Eighth All India School Education Survey of 30th September 2009, 13 lakh primary, upper primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools were identified across the country. Out of these, 84% of the schools were in rural areas, while the remaining 16% in urban areas. This fact eliminates the argument of a lesser number of schools existing in village areas. What it does highlight, however, is the gargantuan ineffectiveness of educational reforms in India- does the process stop at writing policies and making school buildings in villages? Even after 11 years of the RTE ACT of 2009, less than 12% of schools are RTE-compliant.  

The problem to address here is the inefficient use of human capital, technology, and communication. Since our foundation was not strong in the first place, the stakeholders of rural education- students, teachers, and parents- have increased concerns in the lack of relief interventions to ensure the continuity of the learning process during the lockdown. The urgency to enact redressal has to be understood as schools are more than just learning centres for students from rural or poor strata. A school provides social protection, nutrition, health, and emotional support to the most disadvantaged, from low- to high-income. About 9.12 crore Indian children are not receiving their mid-day meal during school closure. These meals served as an important safety measure, as economists estimate that 75% of poor families’ income is spent on food. 

National Sample Survey Office 2014-2015 data clearly shows economic factors as key to children dropping out of school. The pandemic and lockdown have impacted 14 lakh migrant workers as well as others working in the unorganised sector (90% of India’s population is engaged in unorganised work). In such a situation, blatant emphasis on technology-driven education will exclude many children in this country from continuing school education. Besides infrastructural challenges, India is a diverse and multilingual country. One nation, one channel, or one digital framework needs to be reconceptualised to ensure equity and quality in education.

Source: NCERT - 8TH AISES CONCISE REPORT

Challenges Faced

Rural schools face a number of challenges when it comes to the learning arena- enrolment and dropout of students, the number of teachers, infrastructural deficiencies, and technological barriers to name a few. One reason why urban schools are far ahead in the race is, due to the way of teaching and administration that differs. While the teaching methodology in rural schools is still primitive, urban schools have always been keen on adopting modern ways of teaching like concept learning and focus on the development of each student through holistic activities. This is complemented by regular interventions and audits by authorities, which becomes comparatively difficult when it comes to accessing villages in far off areas. The incomes and infrastructure in urban cities have enabled the easy introduction of e-learning modes, supplemented by the availability of devices and the internet, during the lockdown period. Inadequate access to facilities, drastic change in earnings, and the movement of families due to the economic shutdown have worsened the situation for rural learners.

A look at the recent emergencies in the country reveals the direct and indirect impacts of natural disasters on school education. Direct impacts include the destruction of school buildings and damage to roads connecting to schools, resulting in uncertainty of reopening and irregular attendance. Indirect impacts include long-term closure of a school due to temporary conversion of the school building to a rehabilitation centre, silent exclusion of children belonging to families in distress through displacement or migration, resulting in child labour, child marriage, and child trafficking.

The National Commission for Protection of Children Rights (NCPCR), which is the primary monitoring agency of the RTE Act 2009, has seen a huge s in the number of complaints it has redressed before the lockdown. In the previous year, the NCPCR addressed around 5,000 complaints; post-outbreak (beginning March 2020), this has increased about 8-fold. Lack of safe drinking water, toilets, hand-washing facility, electricity, and cramped classrooms means schools don’t have the prerequisites to reopen. 

Along with this, contractual teachers across the country have also been hit, with no guarantee of future employment. In many states like Bihar and Delhi, were not receiving their salary for several months even before the pandemic broke out. Those who are willing to participate in COVID-relief operations are still having some stable income, but only momentarily.

Changing times call for changing measures

The crisis will prepare school systems to face such pandemics in the future more efficiently and without prolonged disruption, as well as move towards building a strong public education system in the country. 

Shyam Kishore Singh Gandhi, the headmaster of a school in Jharkhand’s Dumka district, set an example for everyone, by conducting classes for his 200+ students over loudspeakers across the village. This move is to be lauded as the administration understood that students might be bereft of smartphones but still willing to learn amid lockdown. Such unique innovations and interventions pave the way for a better learning outcome. The coronavirus pandemic is teaching us how schooling is not equivalent to merely learning, but encompasses a social space, a social process, to learn to live, think and act for one’s self and the collective good.