An interviewer-oriented analysis of interview speed: Experience, burden, or both?

Research shows that survey interviewers strongly influence the duration and speed of face-to-face interviews, in some situations possibly even more so than do respondents, and that interview duration and speed changes as interviewers conduct more interviews over the course of the fieldwork. After accounting for sample composition, interviewer-level differences and changes in interview speed over the fieldwork may result from differences and changes in the interviewers’ interviewing behaviour. In attempting to explain the observed interviewer-level differences and changes in interview duration and speed over the fieldwork period, interviewer experience has been the main factor of interest. A few studies have also suggested that interviewer burden, and willingness to spend time and effort on the interviewing task more generally, are relevant. We verify previous research’s findings on the effects of prior and within-survey interviewer experience on interview speed. In addition, we find that interviewers who feel more positively about the interaction element of their tasks take more time. The evidence on interviewer workload in an objective sense and time-related indicators derived from other interviewer tasks is fragmented.status: publishe