Standardized Survey Interviewing - Minimizing Interviewer Error

A practical, evidence-grounded guide to conducting standardized survey interviews that minimize the measurement error interviewers introduce into survey data.

Standardized Survey Interviewing distills decades of methodological research into a clear, actionable framework for treating survey interviewing as rigorous scientific measurement rather than art. Fowler and Mangione document precisely how interviewers—through the way they read questions, probe answers, record responses, relate to respondents, and set performance standards—can inflate standard errors, reduce reliability, and bias estimates. Drawing on a large-scale experiment testing interviewer training and supervision plus a rich body of prior research (notably Cannell's work), the authors show which levers actually matter: writing questions that can be asked and answered consistently, training respondents in their role, communicating high accuracy standards, selecting and training interviewers, and—critically—supervising the question-and-answer process via tape recording and monitoring. The book is essential for anyone who collects quantitative data from people, offering cost-effective, empirically justified strategies to produce more valid and precise survey estimates.

The model it argues

A causal model in which design levers (question design, training, supervision, selection) and contextual conditions shape interviewer behaviors and respondent orientation, which in turn drive standardization and ultimately survey data quality (interviewer-related error, bias, precision).

Key ideas

Question Design Quality: The degree to which survey questions are fully scripted, consistently understood, and specify acceptable responses, minimizing discretionary interviewer action.
Interviewer Training: The pre-data-collection instruction of interviewers in standardized interviewing techniques and problem-solving skills, especially supervised practice.
Interviewer Supervision: Post-training gathering, evaluating, and feeding back information about interviewer performance, focused on the question-and-answer process.
Interviewer Demographic Characteristics: Interviewer attributes discernible or inferable by respondents that may alter the interview stimulus.
Standardized Interviewer Behavior: Interviewer adherence to reading as worded, nondirective probing, discretion-free recording, and interpersonal neutrality.
Respondent Role Orientation and Standards: Respondent understanding of interview rules and internalized standards for accurate, complete, effortful reporting.
Interviewer-Respondent Relationship: The tone and quality of the rapidly established dyadic relationship enabling cooperation and free communication.
Question Probing Demand: The extent to which a question routinely requires discretionary probing beyond repeating the question to obtain an adequate answer.