SUMMARY

This activity prompt will guide trainers and project managers through the steps of leading a role play activity with training participants after the demonstration of how to complete survey forms in the app. Participants will take on and observe one of two roles—a survey respondent or the person conducting the survey—in order to practice interviewing techniques and completing survey form features learned in this training module.

TIME

30 minutes total (20 minutes in small groups and 10 minutes for a readout as a full group)

MATERIALS

• Project or personal smartphones and/or tablets
• Notebook or flipchart paper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Depending on the amount of people in the training session, divide the participants into groups of two or three. Groups of three (preferred) will have a survey respondent, a person conducting the survey, and an observer. Groups of two will not have an observer.
2. Ask each of the groups to imagine how surveys will be conducted for their projects and spend five minutes as a group listing the characteristics of that scenario. Aspects should include whether the setting is rural or urban, time of day, number and gender of surveyors, etc.
3. Once the groups have described their survey scenario, each member should choose a role and act out an interaction between a surveyor and a household member responding to the entire survey. If the group has an observer, that person should take notes about statements or behaviors during the activity that are noteworthy (good or bad).
4. Once the small groups have completed the activity, ask each observer to report back to the full group about their survey setting and what they observed. If a group did not have an observer, ask one of the group members to report their reflections on how their activity transpired.
5. Try to listen for common themes across all of the group readouts and emphasize or congratulate groups for demonstrating good survey practices. Also be sure to listen for common mistakes or bad survey habits that may have occurred during the activity and attempt to correct these. Remind participants about the Dos and Don’ts of Data Collection handout as a resource to help them.

NOTES

If there is extra time for the activity, ask participants to switch roles and have another round of surveys.