Researcher's Checklist

 One of the surest ways to carry out a research project efficiently and without foul ups is to follow this check list. At the end of this questionnaire you can evaluate yourself as follows :

Number of 'No' Answers
0-2      :	Excellent. A well managed project. Keep it up.
3-5      :	Good but you are slipping. Pay more attention to detail.
6-8      :	You are getting into dangerous ground. You probably have an  irate office manager, field manager, analysis manager,  accountant or client on your hands.
9 or more  :	No comment is necessary.

 

A. STARTING OUT

Sl	Check	Yes	No
1	Have you raised the estimate?
2	Have you had the estimate signed by the client and given a copy to Accounts?
3	Have you raised the bill for the advance payment?
4	Have you received the advance payment?
5	Have you prepared the quotation sheet and given a copy to accounts after having it approved by the Manager?
6	Have you sent a job warning form to the field Managers?
7	Have you consulted the Field Manager on interviewer productivity?
8	Have you prepared the yellow slip(s) and had it signed by the manager?
9	Have you sent the yellow slip(s) to all the Field Managers and given a copy to accounts?
10	Have you prepared the analysis budget and given a copy to Head of Analysis and Accounts?
11	Have you prepared a job card for your manager?

B. BRIEFING THE FIELD DEPARTMENT

SL	Check:	Yes	No
1	Have you given enough advance warning to field about your briefing dates?
2	Have you informed field about changes or postponements in briefing dates?
3	Have you sent field precise and unambiguous instructions about -
3a	- briefing of interviewers? (kind, age etc.)
3b	- sampling methods?
3c	- sample sizes?
3d	- administering the questionnaire? (instructions to field)
3e	- scrutiny methods for supervisors?
3f	- type of interviewers you want?
3g	- dead lines for fieldwork?
4	Have you sent a sample questionnaire in advance for translation (if necessary)
5	Have you sent a sufficient quantity of questionnaires, stencils, cards and other field materials sufficiently in advance to enable briefing to be held on the specified date?

C . MONITORING FIELD WORK

SL	Check:	Yes	No
1	Have you been to the field to see whether the questionnaire works?
2	Have you checked the translations to see if they are correct?
3	Have you asked field staff after the first day or two of field work whether they are facing any problems?
4	Have you kept regular tabs on the progress of fieldwork during the course of the project to see whether agreed deadlines will be met?
5	Have you looked at the latest Field Booking Sheet to see whether your target date is being shifted without your knowledge?
6	Have you asked for a few questionnaire to be sent to you in advance of completion of all fieldwork so that you can start working on the code lists ( if relevant)?
7	Have you raised the bill for completion of fieldwork (if relevant)?
8	Have you provided a budget and time for translating answers to open-ended questions (if relevant)?
9	Have you informed analysis about the dates on which questionnaires will be received by them for processing?

D. BRIEFING THE ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT

SL	Check:	Yes	No
1	Have you prepared an analysis plan which gives details of the number of tables you want?
1a	Have you prepared an analysis plan which gives details of the "titles" of each table
1b	Have you prepared an analysis plan which gives details of the "bases" for each table
1c	Have you prepared an analysis plan which gives details of the special analysis you want?
1d	Have you prepared an analysis plan which gives details of the significance tests you want?
1e	Have you prepared an analysis plan which gives details of the number of copies of printouts you want?
2	Have you anticipated the time needed to prepare a code list and planned for it?
3	Have you discussed the analysis plan with the client and obtained his approval?

E. MONITORING ANALYSIS

SL	Check:	Yes	No
1	Have you prepared scrutiny instructions and discussed scrutiny procedures with Head of Tabulation?
2	Have you checked tabulators' work to ensure that coding of open ended question is being done properly?
3	Have you seen the format of a few tables before the entire computer run is done?

F. REPORTING

SL	Check:	Yes	No
1	Have you checked on the number of copies of the report that are required?
2	Have you ensured that a full set of questionnaires and other materials are sent along with the clients' copy of the report?
3	Have you ensured that office copies of the report also have a full set of questionnaire /materials attached to them?
4	Have you ensured that a copy of the questionnaire is sent to the `Questionnaire Bank' ?

G. PRESENTATION

SL	Check:	Yes	No
1	Have you arranged for the projection and audio equipment (and screen ) and checked to see if it is working?
2	Have you checked to see if the cards are long enough? and the plugs fit?
3	Have you double checked the venue and the time?
4	Have you arranged for copies of slides/ charts to be left behind with the client?
5	Have you found out who is attending the presentation?

H. CLOSING DOWN

SL	Check:	Yes	No
1	Have you received payment of the advance and interim bills?
2	Have you raised the final bill?
3	Have you suggested a meeting with the client to discuss the report and its implications?
4	Have you received payment of the final bill?

I . EVALUATION

SL	Check:	Yes	No
1	Have you compared your budgeted OPE against actual OPE from the monthly statement?
2	Have you filled in your time sheets correctly and compared budgeted time costs against actual time costs from the monthly statement?
3	Have you given feedback to the Field Managers concerned about your views on the quality of fieldwork in their regions?
4	Have you asked the client if he was happy with your work and how else you can be of service?

You can Download the MS Excel File "Analysis Plan" from our Download page