An intercept interview is a survey comprised of close-ended questions that is conducted at beneficiary service sites by intercepting those beneficiaries. Intercept interviews are a great option for conducting evaluations with vulnerable populations who may not have access to phones or the internet.

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USING
INTERCEPT
INTERVIEWS
TO SURVEY
VULNERABLE
POPULATIONS
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What is an Intercept Interview?
is a survey comprised of close-ended questions that is conducted at beneficiary
service sites by intercepting those beneficiaries.
Site details are provided by service providers, who can also inform program
beneficiaries of the data collection activities.
This methodology is best used when the evaluation directly links to programmes
provided and programme implementers, as the data collected will be in reference to
the programmes and service providers
An Intercept Interview

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Data is collected without personal
identifying information
Beneficiaries can be easily reached and data
collection easily coordinated
Data can be collected more quickly due to the
concentration of beneficiaries and
implementers
Why does
this work
for
vulnerable
populations? In person data collection enables
participants to have questions explained
to them and asked in their own language
This can be used to capture beneficiary
impact stories as well
Representation of the sample relies of
the availability of beneficiaries before
and after their programme and the
nature of the programmes intercepted
This method is most useful when evaluating
programmes or implementers
If programme managers do not brief
participants before hand, enumerators
can be “cold calling” participants, which
may affect the response
What are the
limitations of
this
methodology? Data must be collected in person
with enumerators that speak the
participants’ languages

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My story
I recently used this methodology to
conduct an evaluation of the
effectiveness of DOS-Supported
programmes for Refugee Youth in
African cities.
Practical Guidelines
for using intercept interviews

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1. How to invest in detailed
outreach
You need clear schedules from them, as well as information on the language
needs and demographics of their beneficiaries
• Begin your outreach to program implementers at least 1 month
before travelling for data collection
The broader the group you can intercept, the more representative and unbiased
the sample.
• Communicate clearly about which days and times your enumerators
will visit which programs, ensuring an unbiased sample
1. How to invest in detailed
outreach
The brief will ensure beneficiaries will make time to take the survey, give their
consent for any media used or parental consent for minors
• Ask program implementers to brief beneficiaries on the data
collection activities
For example, if you have mainly collected data from women, revisit the schedule
and engage with implementers to ensure you collect representative data.
• Keep track at the end of each day how many surveys were conducted with
which demographics, to ensure you cover gaps during data collection

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In order to mitigate against information being lost, using web-based applications with offline
functionality ensures your enumerators can collect data from anywhere with seamless upload
once they re-connect to the internet.
Another benefit is that surveys can be designed in English (or your preferred language) and
translated verbally by enumerators.
Mitigate risks through survey-applications
2. Use of web-based survey
applications with offline functionality
These are tools we frequently use to collect data on SIM-enabled tablets in a variety of settings
across the globe. They are user-friendly for first time users.
Survey Monkey, KoBo Toolbox and Jotform are good examples
3. Contextualize the survey
language and presentation
In my example, instead of asking refugee youth if they had legal protection in their
host community, we asked if they felt protected by the local police.
Vulnerable populations may have lower levels of education (due to
age or lack of access) and concepts need to use simple language
Topics such as sexuality, female genital mutilation and other cultural
practices need to be asked sensitively and explained clearly, with an
emphasis on the anonymity of the survey
Be sensitive about taboo topics that vulnerable populations
might not respond well to

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3. Contextualize the survey
language and presentation
The simpler the presentation, the more accurate the data.
Use a simple presentation with straightforward matrices that are not
complex for participants to interact with
Specifically for drop-down menus and single/multiple choice
questions, participants need to be able to view and reflect on the
question being asked.
If translating into various languages, have a physical copy of the
survey enumerators can use to show participants their options
4. Visit the same sites repeatedly
for an unbiased sample
Collect data from the programmes run for both women and men of different ages and
backgrounds, if that is relevant to your evaluation.
The same sites may run different programmes for different target
audiences
In order to gather an unbiased sample, try survey beneficiaries that are on the
outskirts of the programme.
Visiting the same programme a second time may provide the opportunity
to survey the outliers and not just those brought by implementers

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In order to get an unbiased and rigorous sample in a small time period before and
after a programme, use more enumerators to spread out among beneficiaries,
among programs or venues, to collect sufficient data.
The more, the merrier
5. Use a large number of
enumerators where possible
In conclusion

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This methodology relies on
strong outreach and in person
data collection
The How
Use a large group of
enumerators that speak the
languages of your target group
Personnel
Invest in outreach and
scheduling. Keep detailed
records. Visit sites repeatedly.
Planning
Use web-based applications with
offline functionality.
Contextualize the survey to this
audience.
Tools
Intercept interviews cater to vulnerable
populations for which one cannot get
personal information. Lots of data can
be collected in a short time.
Benefits
Intercept interviews are useful
for performance evaluations of
programmes
Use
Using Intercept Interviews
Thank you
for listening
By Jesse Webb