Computer Assisted Interviewing Software

Lead Editor(s): NicolasSheon

ACASI (Audio Computer-Assisted Self Interview) : Respondents complete an interview (or a portion of an interview) by themselves. Questions, responses and instructions are presented on a computer screen (usually a laptop) and the respondent can answer using a mouse, keyboard or touch-sensitive screen. The respondent can have the questions and answers read aloud (usually through headphones) so that the effect of literacy level is minimized.

CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interview) : The interview is administered on a computer (usually a laptop), but an interviewer reads the questions, responses and instructions, assisting the respondent with the completion of the interview.

HAPI (Handheld-Assisted Personal Interview) : This modality is much like CAPI, except the interview is administered with a handheld computing device (a.k.a. handheld, Personal Digital Assistant / PDA, Palm® Pilot, etc.). HAPI is more portable and can be administered in the field. In a crowded location, the small screen provides more privacy than a laptop or kiosk. New mini computers are powerful enough for multi-media, making Audio HAPI interviews possible.

Computer Platform Considerations

Aside from the software used to design and administer the survey, another important consideration when choosing a handheld or portable solution is the computer operating system. As of 2008, WinCE and PalmOS PDAs have been replaced by smartphones which have smaller screens and higher costs. While PDAs were once attractive as a less expensive and more portable alternative to a laptop, this is no longer the case with the advent of low-cost net-top computers, such as the $400 Asus Eee which costs less than a PDA. These "net-top" computers can run Windows XP, thus providing full support for ACASI, a larger screen and a larger keyboard for entering larger amounts of text. PDAs also suffered from other issues: tiny, low-resolution screens, they require a stylus, tiny keyboards, and very limited file storage. PDAs tend to lose all their data unless the battery is kept charged. ActiveSync, the software that syncs the PDA to a Windows computer is terribly buggy. It is much too easy to lose QDS HAPI data when syncing the PDAs.

Although ACASI software has been exclusively a Windows application, the new Apple handheld computers (e.g. the Ipod Touch and iPhone) may eventually offer a new platform for ACASI interfaces that include support for multimedia, better web support and data syncing via wifi. However, given how small the ACASI market segment is, this may not happen for a while.

Nova Research Questionnaire Design Studio (QDS)

QDS is widely used in epidemiological research and is currently the standard, but QDS software is somewhat complex to use for non-specialists. This has lead many researchers to look for alternatives (described below). Nova Research, the company that created QDS, primarily provides data management services and QDS was designed by Nova Research for their own use. This means that there is little incentive for Nova Research to make QDS more user-friendly or to add new features. That conflict of interest is evident in the poor support provided for the HAPI module which seems like an afterthought. As a result, development of HAPI has been slow. Based on meetings we've had with the company owners, they were not very interested in improving the interface or the data management tools to make them easier to use. For example, since PDAs can capture audio, it would be nice to include the option to collect qualitative responses as an audio recording. QDS does not have a web interface and does not support non-western languages such as Chinese.

http://www.novaresearch.com/Products/qds/index.cfm

Alternatives to QDS for HAPI and AHAPI applications:

Techneos Entryware Software claims to work with PalmOS and WinCE. It also offers multimedia capabilities such as recording audio.

http://www.techneos.com

Pendragon Forms was originally designed for PalmOS but now supports WinCE as well.

http://www.pendragon-software.com

Snap Survey is primarily designed for web surveys as well as HAPI, but does not appear to support ACASI.

http://www.snapsurveys.com

QEDML is a subscription-based Questionnaire Design service.

http://www.qedml.com.au/

For an article comparing these and other ACASI software, see http://chipts.ucla.edu/TEMPMAT/Broadsheet/Assessment.pdf

Software to improve the quality of voices in ACASI

Although ACASI has the potential to overcome literacy problems by reading the questions to the participant, one of the drawbacks of ACASI software is the robotic sound of the computer generated voices that are included with Windows. It is possible for a human to record each question and answer and have the software play these audio files. However, recording each question and answer is very time consuming, especially if the survey is in several languages and undergoes many changes. An alternative solution is to use better quality text to speech software. Next-Up Text-Aloud software is inexpensive ($30) and works with a wide array of more natural sounding voices, both male and female with various English accents or even in other languages. http://www.nextup.com

Compare two computer voices reading the following question about anal sex in the last 12 months:

¿En los últimos 12 meses, tuviste sexo anal conun hombre (metiste tu pene en su ano)?

Listen to Windows "Computer Sam" reading the above question in Spanish.

Listen to Nuance RealSpeak Solo® "Paulina" reading the above question in Spanish. Paulina and other voices are available from http://www.NextUp.com for $45.