Understanding Logical Framework and Theory of Change
February 18, 2021
Evaluation: Top 3 Common Myths about Evaluation Busted!
March 3, 2021
Understanding Logical Framework and Theory of Change
February 18, 2021
Evaluation: Top 3 Common Myths about Evaluation Busted!
March 3, 2021
0

7 Validation, Constraint, and Logic Checks you must enforce in a CAPI App

In previous blogs, we discussed principles of good questionnaire design and common types of questions in quantitative research. This blog lists some of the good practices to ensure that your Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) App is smart enough to aid the enumerator to navigate properly and helpful for respondents to answer correctly and quickly.

Today, developing a CAPI App is not a complex task that only a few chosen ones can do.  Free resources such as ODK are available but with a little bit of learning curve (not a steep one, I promise). My blog compares a few commercial software-as-service platforms that are used to develop CAPI. Irrespective of the platform used, the following programming tips are possible in most and will help you get data that needs minimal cleaning and ready for analysis.

7 Validation, Constraint, and Logic Checks you must enforce in a CAPI App

1. Datatype

Select a correct data type that is most appropriate, and do not compromise thinking what if some answer comes where I have to write instead of ‘select’ a number. If it does, perhaps your questionnaire design is wrong, and most CAPI Platforms will allow you to attach a ‘comment’ to any question anyway. Common data types used are –Text, multiple-choice, Numbers (Integer, Decimal, Numeric-ID), Date, Time, GPS, Image, signature, audio, video. Most CAPI platforms will pop-up a correct keyboard as per the data type and will not allow illogical characters.

2. Range Check

This is a basic check for continuous or numeric data type where we allow an answer in a pre-specified range. You can specify the range as a minimum-maximum number, duration of audio, or length of a text string. A great value of CAPI is to make the ranges ‘dynamic’ or customized to previous answers. Think about that one in a thousand possibilities here and ensure you do not have an outlier.

3. Mandatory/Required Answers

Usually, do not allow blank answers. If a question should be skipped, then a programme should take care of it.  And if a question is not answered, you still want a special code to know the reason why it was not answered – did the respondent not know? Did she refuse? If you allow question skips without an answer, you will exactly get that… lots of blanks and no explanation about why!

4. Randomize sequence of answer or option list

Categorical or MCQ questions with many options often give us a curious case – the first 7-8 options are selected more frequently than the bottom ones. Well, we frown upon a question with more than 15 options, but if we must have a long options list, then at least, randomize the sequence in which these options appear. This is again a feature most CAPI platforms have.

5. Don’t allow an illogical set of answers to be selected in MCQ

We often find MCQs with answers such as ‘I don’t know what happened’ and ‘this is what happened’ both coded. It is illogical and CAPI should give an error message to the enumerator that the choice set selected has an illogical combination of choices.

6. Dynamically modify question content

We often end up asking respondents illogical questions or questions which are answered before! We should constantly look for ways a question can be customized to a respondent. At a basic level, it can be inserting her name in the question (if helpful). But we suggest even filtering option list and range checks according to previous answers. You can even display a previous answer in a question and customize the wording of the question to get a specific and quick answer.

7. Design ‘answer box’ such that enumerators can write correctly

This becomes important especially when a long number needs to be written (e.g., Aadhaar ID) or when the options list is too long. Most CAPI platforms allow you to present the text box, number box, or choice list in different visual patterns. For example, a long number can be split into a few small sections of 3-4 digits each, like how we are made to enter our 16-digit credit card numbers in four boxes.

Once you have the programming checks listed above in your CAPI, ensure that when an error is trapped, a ‘correct’ error message is displayed to the enumerator so she can take some action.  We know all above is easier said than done, but these 7 checks and programming will soon become second nature to you once you see how your one hour of extra efforts in CAPI programming can save at least ten hours of data cleaning and processing. You will also enjoy the high of a new skill, creativity, and innovation.

NEERMAN can…

  • help you choose an appropriate digital monitoring platform based on your needs
  • develop no/low/cost-effective solutions based on your choice​, and
  • provide training and support throughout the process (before/ during and after handholding support) for establishing monitoring services​
To discuss further you can…

Related posts

March 24, 2021

Field Survey Team Training: A Good Practices Guide for Research Managers, Field Managers & Field Executives

Read more
March 3, 2021

Evaluation: Top 3 Common Myths about Evaluation Busted!

Read more
February 18, 2021

Understanding Logical Framework and Theory of Change

Read more

Seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience spread across social advisory & management advisory. Key player in Business development and project management of assignments spread across diverse sectors such as livelihood, health, skill development, rural decentralisation/ rural development and social communication.

Experience with key stakeholders from state governments across multiple states while also acting as project co-ordinator to donor  agencies like World Bank, ADB, UNDP, IFAD, UNICEF and DFID for strategic assignments.

Alumni of prestigious Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar with Post Graduation in Rural management with Graduation in Mass Media from Mumbai University. Initial stint in advertising sector handling clients like Colgate-Palmolive.

As a Research Assistant, Alron provides support on projects, proposals, data analysis, ideation. He has over two years of experience in MIS, economic analyses, and policy research writing. He is passionate about migration-refugee crisis, decoding and mitigating disinformation mechanisms, and has written extensively on these topics, among others.

Alron holds a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Mumbai and is currently pursuing a Diploma in International Affairs.

As a Research Assistant, Alron provides support on projects, proposals, data analysis, ideation. He has over two years of experience in MIS, economic analyses, and policy research writing. He is passionate about migration-refugee crisis, decoding and mitigating disinformation mechanisms, and has written extensively on these topics, among others.

Alron holds a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Mumbai and is currently pursuing a Diploma in International Affairs.

Hrishikesh works as a Research Assistant at NEERMAN where he applies his skills to the development of impact assessment. Apart from this, he volunteers his time by working for various projects and activities associated with the Rotaract.

He holds a Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Mumbai.

Anshuman manages our survey research and data division. He leads a critical position that ensures researchers need for quality data are met on time and within budget.

He has an MPhil in Population Studies from IIPS, Mumbai and a Master’s degree in Population Education and Rural Development from the University of Lucknow. Prior to joining NEERMAN, he worked with UNICEF (UP) and IIPS.

Rupam is working as a Senior Research Associate at NEERMAN. She has over 4 years of work experience in social/ development sector. Her area of interest is in domains like population and development, maternal and child nutrition, education, reproductive and child health, gender issues, transgender study etc. She holds her Master's degree in Population Studies from International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS, Mumbai) and Bachelor’s from University of Delhi.

Anil has more than 25 years of experience in the area of data management and analysis. Previously he has worked with Nielsen India Pvt. Ltd. He is adept in facilitating operations for projects using CSPro (Version 7.6) Data Entry package and analysis of data using statistical package for social science (SPSS). He has proven ability in maintaining large databases and conducting field training of CAPI related aspects.

Free or highly subsidized power for farm irrigation has been a cornerstone of India’s agricultural policy since the 1970s, but it also results in high subsidies, technical and commercial losses, and ultimately poor service to the consumers.  Government of India is investing billions to separate feeders that supply power to farmers from other consumers for better regulation, measurement and quality of supply. However, no robust evidence was available on whether and how these infrastructure improvements benefit the end consumers.  NEERMAN in partnership with Asian Development Bank and Central Discom Madhya Pradesh undertook an impact evaluation of the Feeder Separation Project in Madhya Pradesh. The study proved that feeder separation benefit farm and non-farm consumers by decreasing power theft, increasing coverage of electrical connections, reducing irrigation, and reducing the use of diesel.

Read the study results in this published manuscript (paid access) or the summary in our blogs.

In a partnership between UC Berkeley, UCSF, IFPRI and NEERMAN – one of the largest mHealth programmes in the world with support from the World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of India. The study included multiple types of evaluations at multiple points in time. In addition to a strong research role from proposal to publication stages, NEERMAN also collected data from over 800 villages in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar and 6000+ mother-child dyads, 1500+ community workers for the evaluation and several interim surveys for process evaluation using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The study identified what mHealth can and cannot do and resulted in programmatic and policy decisions at national level about revamping the technology for nutrition programmes.

The study is published in a peer-reviewed journal – British Medical Journal (BMJ).

 

NEERMAN in collaboration with UNICEF and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation undertook a CBA of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Data came from household surveys from twelve Indian states that once contributed to over 90 per cent of open defecation in India. The time and money spent by households in building and maintaining toilets were monetised. Along with this, the government’s investments in subsidies and campaign activities were also costed out. Reductions in medical costs and mortality associated with diarrheal diseases, productive time saved from fewer diarrhoea cases and accessing outside defecation and an increase in the property value of having a toilet were all monetized as benefits. The findings of this study were presented to a high-power committee led by the chief economic advisor of India and used by the PMO and other prominent ministers as proof of the success of SBM.

The study findings are also published in the World Development Journal.

NEERMAN was the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning partner for UNICEF’s Adolescents Empowerment Programme for a period of three years between 2016-2019. Under the partnership, NEERMAN collaborated in developing the monitoring-evaluation-learning framework and plans for the national programme, collected multiple rounds of monitoring surveys across four programme states, developed android and multilingual quarterly process motoring systems for partner NGOs of UNICEF. Further, we managed data from multiple sources and analysed it for actionable inputs, conducted secondary data analysis to generate policy insights, participated in national and state workshops as a technical resource agency and advisors, helped several state offices develop monitoring systems and design evaluations in the child protection sector.

Primer on Non-Research aspects of Research in India

This primer is specially written for international researchers, universities and Institutes working or want to work in India.
The primer gives an overview of taxation, visa, insurance, ethics, and contracting and funding research in India. We have also included suggestions and tips to help avoid costly mistakes international researchers often make.

Non Research Aspects of Research in India

WEBINAR

Randomised Controlled Trial – Concepts, Designs, and Implementation

Dr. Sumeet Patil - Founder and Research Director at NEERMAN - has covered the following key points:
▪️ The concept of 'causality' and why RCTs are theoretically best suited to prove causality
▪️ Differences in random sampling and randomization
▪️ Various design options for RCTs in social sciences
▪️ Ethics of RCTs
▪️ Practical insights into the planning and management of RCTs.

WEBINAR

Relevance of Evaluation in Developmental Change

In this video, Dr Milindo Chakrabarti - a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, and a Professor and Associate Dean at Jindal School Of Government and Public Policy - has covered the following key points:
▪️ What is evaluation?
▪️ Why evaluation matters?
▪️ How evaluation contributes to developmental change?

This video will also clarify your doubts about:
▪️ The concept of evaluation and why their importance is magnifying each passing day
▪️ How is evaluation different from monitoring
▪️ When and why should you use evaluations
▪️ Practical insights into how evaluations contribute to the society

    Thank you for your interest. Please share a few details before you get access.

       

      Pritesh is the backbone of the data processing and analytics division at NEERMAN and is responsible for data reporting, CAPI Design, STATE and ODK work in close collaboration with the Senior Data Manager. He also manages teams of assistants for data processing and QAQC. Pritesh holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from the University of Mumbai.

      Vishal contributes to every phase of the project life cycle — from design, implementation, to report-making. With his sharp analytical skills and background in Econometrics, he regularly conducts data analysis on Excel and STATA. He has previously worked on a Health Impact Evaluation project and successfully carried out cost-effectiveness analyses using tools like Impact2 and LiST.

      Vishal has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, OP Jindal Global University and a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and Engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal University.

      Simran collaborates with the internal team on research frameworks, CAPI and proposal development.

      Simran has completed a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from KC College, University of Mumbai, and a Master’s degree, also in Economics, from the Mumbai School of Economics and Public Policy, University of Mumbai. After post-graduation, Simran has worked on a project on digital financial Inclusion for migrants, on the Interstate Migrant Policy Index (IMPEX 2019), and in behavioural sciences.

      Varsha contributes her quantitative skills as a Research Associate at NEERMAN and works on developing impact assessment and evaluation frameworks. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s in Applied Social Psychology from the Royal Holloway, University of London. Prior to joining NEERMAN, she worked on impact assessment projects in the education sector.

      Debangana is a Senior Research Manager at NEERMAN, with a strong foundation in sociology and hands-on research experience..

      Debangana did her Bachelor's in Sociology from the Lady Shri Ram College for Women and has a Master's in Sociology from Jamia Millia Islamia University. Previously, she has worked at a non-profit focusing on spreading awareness about menstruation and related topics.

      In her current role at NEERMAN, she oversees multiple aspects of research projects, including qualitative research studies and analysis, managing quantitative surveys, coordinating field operations and research teams, handling client relationships and project timelines, developing client presentations, and contributing to technical reports as needed. She has also managed NEERMAN's social media presence, showcasing her versatility in research communication. Her work primarily focuses on public health, nutrition, and social development projects, bringing valuable insights to NEERMAN's research endeavours. 

      Moushumi Maiti is part of the Research Project management team and is primarily involved in efficient implementation of projects. She has over 6 years of work experience in project implementation, policy research, planning and execution in domains like education, early childhood nutrition, gender and women's issues, disability, and child rights. Moushumi has a double Master's degree in Management from the K J Somaiya Institute of Management Sciences and in Social Work from the Delhi School of Social Work.

      Lancy leads the Operations and Administration Division at NEERMAN. She is responsible for overseeing HR, contracting, regulatory compliance, finance, and taxation.

      Lancy holds a PG Diploma in Finance and a Master’s degree in Commerce, both from the University of Mumbai.

      Suresh heads the field survey and data division at NEERMAN and is responsible for the quality of measurements and data collection. He has more than 20 years of extensive experience in operations and leadership in marketing research. He has overseen both quantitative and qualitative studies during this time.

      Suresh has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Mumbai and has held leadership positions in survey agencies such as Milward Brown, GfK, and TNS.

      Amit heads the data processing and analytics group at NEERMAN and is responsible for developing android apps for surveys, dashboard visualizations and analyses, CSPro data entry systems, developing monitoring systems using SaaS platforms, quality audits of primary data, and processing of survey data for further analysis.

      Amit holds a Diploma in Marketing Management from the Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai, a Diploma in Population Studies from the Indian Institute of Population Studies, Mumbai, and a B.Sc. (Physics) degree from the University of Mumbai.

      OP manages NEERMAN's field surveys in the Central and Northern states of India, in the Hindi-speaking belt. He is a veteran with 25 years of extensive field work experience.
      Throughout his career, he has been responsible for the execution of large field studies as part of organizations such as the USAID, the World Bank, UNICEF and CARE India.

      OP holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from Kanpur University.

      Somalee heads the Center for Healthcare Transformation (Heat) which does cutting-edge and technology-driven research in public health systems.

      As a Board-certified Internal Medicine physician practising in California, USA, Somali is involved in healthcare delivery research studying access to care at a large, fully integrated health system. She is experienced in health systems strengthening work in rural and urban settings in India and Malawi.

      She holds an M.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and a Masters in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley.

      Gus leads the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Division that focuses on customized client offerings and strategic partnerships.

      Prakash has over 16 years of experience in Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, with an approach of designing, developing strategies and implementation at the field level. He has a diverse measurement expertise in the domains of education, health and nutrition, HIV/AIDS, child rights, WaSH, gender equity, and audience measurement.

      Prakash holds a Master's Degree in Population Studies with a specialization in demography.

      Jijo leads the Growth and Partnerships Division and is responsible for driving business at NEERMAN.

      He has over 9 years of experience in the domains of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), grant management, fundraising for nonprofits, and strategic institutional partnerships.

      Jijo holds a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of Mumbai and a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.

      Nandish manages NEERMAN's research partnerships with international universities and strategic clients within India. He is also the administrative head of our New Delhi Research Office.

      He has over ten years of experience managing research including study design, field management, questionnaire design, data analysis, and liaising with government officials, donors, and civil society organizations.

      Nandish holds a Master's degree in Public Policy from Tufts University, USA, as well as a Master's Degree in Economics from the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, India.

      A passionate researcher and published writer, Sumeet is the force behind NEERMAN’s research and serves as a Director on NEERMAN's Board.

      Before he founded NEERMAN, Sumeet worked at RTI International as a Senior Economist and at PRESTELS Mumbai as an Executive Engineer. He has also led a World Bank impact evaluation of a sanitation programme as a Staff Consultant.

      Sumeet holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley, and double Masters degrees in Economics and in Environmental Engineering from the NC State University.

      /* ]]> */