Recruitment questionnaire

(interview) Ulrike Fiddicke and UBA-Team

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Train the trainers module 1: Fieldwork, Berlin, June 2011

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DICE-TV

Outline

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Preparation

Be prepared

Quiet place

Information on hand

Prepare answers

Landline – no cell phone – for

a good connection

Focus on the interview

Sit up straight with a smile

Don‘t talk too much

// don‘t be afraid of a pause

Exercise in a role-play

(mind your speech and filler

words)

Behaviour

Summary from: dice-TV= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1QkAm1sj4o&feature=youtu.be and How to

ace a telephone interview = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4hKN6vt6VE&feature=youtu.be

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The date:

non interrupted, quiet conversation must be possible

Quiet place:

No voices to disturb the call, even a distinct hum in the

background can disturb the person you are calling.

Information:

Information arranged and organized in front of you!

Be ready with the points you want to raise and highlight.

Anticipate questions so you will be able to answer immediately when

the participant asks about certain issues.

Preparation is the key to a successful interview

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Behaviour

Speech:

Start polite and friendly, even smile.

Attempt to create a relationship over the phone so the potential

participant feels comfortable.

The speech must be fluently and clearly, with adjusted speed and

sound intensity.

Use pauses, short sentences and easy wording (no expert expressions).

Don’t rush through the questions,

repeat them if they were not understood and

for DEMOCOPHES: read them verbatim (each word).

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Listen:

In any kind of interview listening

is very important.

Don’t expect to talk more than you would face-to-face.

Do not speak to another person while on an interview call.

Record what the potential participant tells you.

Thank effectively:

Always thank the phone partner after an interview.

Establish the next steps.

Information on slide 4-6 has been taken from: Lynn Mattoon

http://www.job-interview-site.com/phone-interview-tips-for-phone-interviews.html

Behaviour

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DEMOCOPHES recruitment interview - Preparation

Begin, aim and structure of the call must be clear

Arguments for participation must be quickly retrievable

Be aware of and know how to handle objections

See your respondent as an equal

Material at hand: - reply card, - protocol sheet,

- information leaflet, - invitation letter

- a calendar/time schedule

- and of course: pencil and clock

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How to handle objections in general:

• Take them siriously but not personally

• Accept them as constructive critisism

• Always come back to facts

• If the critisism of the phone partner is right concede a

point to her

• Repeat the objection with different, alliviated words:

„I can understand your fear, but…“

„This is a qualified question, but…“

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How to handle objections in general:

Find out the reasons for the objections

Are the objections

directed against participation (reasons for non-participation) or

a result of remaining questions about the survey

If objections can‘t be destroid,

ask the non-responder questionnaire

Information on slides 7-9 have been retrieved from the KIGGS operation handbook, RKI

FAQs

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Preparation: Arguments against non-participation

Objections Arguments

Not interested/ objections of

the father

That‘s a pity non-responder questionnaire

Removal Switch to non-responder questionannaire

No time It‘s just one visit, participation is important for the

success of the survey (random selection)

Already taking part in

another survey

Here you get information about substances in your

body

On holidays/ school trip / in

hospital or ill

Ask when they/it will be back /healthy

Refuse to have

samples/specimen taken

Hair and urine sampling doesn‘t hurt, it is a unique

possibility to anaylse the substances under study

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Objections Arguments

Child is afraid of

nurses/physicians

The interviewer doesn‘t look like a nurse/physician

and the sample taking is more like a hair-cut

Against home visit /

renovation at the home

Visit us at our examination centre

My child feels well That‘s good, therefore it is eligible, we don‘t look

for acute diseases

A child is not a guinea pig Only analyse urine and hair and don‘t do anything

harmful to the child

Urine vessels can‘t be

stored in the refrigerator

A cold place, e.g. in the cellar is also possible

Afraid of efficient data

protection

Survey has been checked by the data protection

agency and got the approval

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Preparation: FAQs

Purpose of the survey

Why has my child been chosen to participate?

How long does the home visit take?

What happens during the home visit?

Advantage for mother and child

When do we receive our results?

What happens with our results? (Who gets to know them?)

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Personal advantage:

1) every participant receives the results of the analyses

2) every participant helps the scientists to learn more about

the distribution of environmental pollutants in people. In the

future this will help to develop a way in which human

biomonitoring studies can be used for the benefit of the

European populations.

Incentives for the child

Preparation - Some more arguments:

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• If a reply card was sent to the survey office:

At least five attempts to reach a potential participant by phone have

to be undertaken (different days, different time, possibly even on a

Saturday) and the result noted down in the protocol sheet.

Answering machine: leave a message that you will try it later/next day

again, provide your number in case the mother wants to call back.

DEMOCOPHES recruitment interview - Preparation

• If no reply card arrived at the survey office different efforts to find out

the phone number must be undertaken. If this is not successful

at least three attemps to reach the potential participant personally at

home must be undertaken

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DEMOCOPHES recruitment interview – Start

Remember: The voice is the first (and only) connection

between the potential participant and the survey staff member.

Before the start remind yourself on the situation of the potential participant:

a) she has sent the reply card and is interested in taking part, she knows

that she will be called: try to call the potential participants shortly after the

reply card arrived at the survey office, so she will remember best. Be aware

of the possibility that not the mother will answer the phone.

b) no reply card has arrived at the survey office: the one you call doesn’t

expect your call

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Interviewer introduces her-/himself and the institution

he/she is calling from (to create confidentiality)

He/ she mentions reasons for the call:

DEMOCOPHES invitation

received the reply card, now have to check

the suitability for DEMOCOPHES

or no reply card arrived, now want to check

the interest in taking part (be very polite, explain more)

Start with question 1, to get to know the correct name of the

person on the phone

“With whom am I speaking?”

DEMOCOPHES – recruitment interview - Introduction

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If obviously the wrong person is on the phone (man, child) ask for

the mother of the selected child

If an adult female person is on the phone, continue with question 2:

“Are you the mother, stepmother or foster mother

of [Name of the child] ?”

Answer “Yes” you can continue with the questionnaire

Possible introduction: “May I ask you some preparative questions, because

all participants have to fulfill some requirements. Or would you like to ask

some remaining questions?”

Answer “No” continue searching for the right

mother–child pair

DEMOCOPHES – recruitment interview - Introduction

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Question 2: mother, stepmother, or foster mother

(the one who cares for the child)

Question 3: exclusion: age >45, i.e. born before 1966

Question 4: age between 6 and 11, i.e. born year 2000-2005 (included)

(could also be 5 y old, if the birthday is after the date of the field work)

Question 6+7: living in the community = sampling location

(district / region selected for sampling)

Question 8: Child doesn’t live in the dwelling of the mother,

but very close to her (next door or next flat, but within

the sampling location still exclusion, because mother

and child don’t live together)

DEMOCOPHES – recruitment interview - Notes

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Question 9+10: mentioned chronic diseases must be

diagnosed by a physician (no other diseases lead to exclusion)

Question 11: interested in participating

Answer “Yes” Ask if there are remaining questions

Fix date and time for home visit

Thank for the interview

Establish next steps: letter of confirmation,

informed consent, urine vessels

Answer “Not made up my mind” appointment for next call

Answer “No” Ask for reasons

Switch to non-responder questionnaire

DEMOCOPHES – recruitment interview - Notes

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All these tips for the telephone interview also apply to the

non-responder interview.

The non-responder questionnaire is only asked the families who were

selected and don‘t want to take part (e.g. no interest, movers)

If the reply card indicated that only some questions of the non-responder

will be answered you may start in a very polite way to ask if you should

explain the survey once again, in case misunderstanding lead to the

decision not to take part (don‘t try to persuade them, just inform).

The questions of the non-responder questionnaire have been taken from

the basic questionnaire.

DEMOCOPHES non-responder questionnaire

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Always finish with a polite good bye

DEMOCOPHES – recruitment interview and

non-responder questionnaire

Summary

How to ace a telephone interview