FACE TO FACE PERSONAL INTERVIEWS
Face-to-face interviews are the standard method of collecting data in empirical social research. These surveys are conducted in households throughout the country, where we seek the “suitable” person to interview according to the survey’s requirements. Questionnaires used in this method may be complex, and an interview may take a long time to complete. This methodology is appropriate when trying to define a behavior and not just record public opinion.

TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS
Conducting telephone opinion surveys is a widely used method of data collection. The telephone data collection method has three main advantages: (1) It requires significantly less time to carry out, (2) It gives a better geographical and demographic coverage (sample dispersion) and reaches households or entire areas where the process of face-to-face interviews is often prohibitive, and (3) In a world where phones are common to every individual, it does not create biases of population underrepresentation.

ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRES
The current technological infrastructure of the Center offers the possibility of processing complex phone and/or online research using specialized software such as NIPO CATI & CAWI. (www.niposoftware.com).

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP IN DEPTH INTERVIEWS
The technique of personal interview using an unstructured questionnaire explores the perceptions, motivations and feelings of the respondent, in depth. It is particularly suitable for specific ‘sensitive’ issues.

  • Structured
  • Semi-structured
  • In-depth

FOCUS GROUPS
The Focus groups technique is highly recommended when conducting a group discussion that involves a small number of people (usually 8-12). Discussions are “focused” in two ways: first the discussion aims at exploring a particular sub-group of the population, , and second, these discussions are focused on a specific and predetermined theme.

OBSERVATION
Observation is made under defined conditions with systematic data collection. It can be applied in various ways: structured or open, participatory or non-participatory, in the laboratory or in the field. It allows for an immediate recording of behavior, in contrast to other techniques which are based on participants’ self-reports.