A Data Quality Control Program for Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews

Abstract

Researchers strive to optimize data quality in order to ensure that study findings are valid and reliable. In this paper, we describe a data quality control program designed to maximize quality of survey data collected using computer-assisted personal interviews. The quality control program comprised three phases: (1) software development, (2) an interviewer quality control protocol, and (3) a data cleaning and processing protocol. To illustrate the value of the program, we assess its use in the Translating Research in Elder Care Study. We utilize data collected annually for two years from computer-assisted personal interviews with 3004 healthcare aides. Data quality was assessed using both survey and process data. Missing data and data errors were minimal. Mean and median values and standard deviations were within acceptable limits. Process data indicated that in only 3.4% and 4.0% of cases was the interviewer unable to conduct interviews in accordance with the details of the program. Interviewers' perceptions of interview quality also significantly improved between Years 1 and 2. While this data quality control program was demanding in terms of time and resources, we found that the benefits clearly outweighed the effort required to achieve high-quality data.

Association of Work Environment With Missed and Rushed Care Tasks Among Care Aides in Nursing Homes

“…Trained TREC data collectors went to each participating nursing home and invited all eligible care aides to participate. 12 Care aides who agreed to participate completed computer-assisted, structured interviews in person 16 between May and December 2017.…”

Who Is (Still) Looking After Mom and Dad? Few Improvements in Care Aides’ Quality-of-Work Life

“…For this article, we refer to nursing homes from all three Alberta health zones as "Alberta" because they are governed by one health authority. Care aides completed self-report structured surveys using computer-assisted personal interviews (Squires et al, 2012). Care aides were eligible to complete the survey if they (a) had been working in the facility for more than three months, (b) could identify a unit they worked on at least 50% of the time, and (c) worked at least six shifts a month on the unit.…”

The Influence of Organizational Context on Best Practice Use by Care Aides in Residential Long-Term Care Settings

“…Research assistants administered the survey to care aides with computer-assisted, structured personal interviews. 42,43 The TREC surveys measure organizational context, best practice use, staff outcomes, and select individual factors believed to influence best practice use (Table 1).…”

“…Extensive quality monitoring was done during data collection. 43 The ACT is embedded in the larger TREC survey and is a validated instrument for the 10 modifiable elements of organizational context noted above. Development and initial validation has been previously reported.…”