1. 1.
I AM VERY GLAD OF BEING HERE TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS CHALLENGING
CASE STUDY, WHICH I HOPE IS GOING TO BE INSPIRING TO ALL OF YOU AS
MARKET RESEARCHERS.
2.
THE VIDEO SHOWS THE CONTEXT OF COLOMBIA´S POLITICAL SITUATION, SO YOU ARE ABLE TO
IMAGINE HOW IT CAN BE TO CONDUCT RESEARCH IN ZONES WHERE THE GUERRILLA HAS BEEN
PRESENT FOR DECADES AND WHERE ONLY IN THE LAST FEW YEARS THE STATE HAS BEGUN TO
MAKE PRESENCE.
THESE ARE THE TOPICS I AM GOING TO COVER ALONG MY PRESENTATION. I WILL TELL YOU FIRST ABOUT SOME METHODOLOGICAL
CHARACHTERISTICS OF THE STUDY. THEN I WILL PRESENT THE THREE MAIN TYPES OF OBSTACLES WE HAD TO OVERCOME AND HOW
WE DID THAT, AND FINALLY I WILL LEAVE YOU WITH A MESSAGE THAT SUMMARIZES OUR LEARNING FROM THIS EXPERIENCE.
3.
INTERMS OF METHODOLOGY, HERE SOME IMPORTANT ISSUES I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT:
THIS IS A YEARLY STUDY
WE VISITED EACH YEAR 70 TOWNS LOCATED IN RED ZONES IN A TIMEFRAME OF 4 MONTHS
WE DIVIDED THE FIELD WORK IN WAVES AND I WILL TELL YOU LATER MORE ABOUT IT
WE CONDUCTED AROUND 7000 INTERVIEWS EACH TIME, WITH THE OBJECTIVE TO UNDERSTAND THE
PERCEPTION THE POPULATION HAS OF THE MILITARY FORCES AND OF THE WORK THEY HAVE BEEN DOING IN THEIR REGIONS.
LET´S SEE A VIDEO THAT WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE KIND OF SECURITY DIFFICULTIES
THAT WE FACED.
4.
A SET OF 4 “SECURITY RULES” THAT THE INTERVIEWERS HAD TO OBEY WERE DEFINED:
THE FIRST ONE WAS TO FOLLOW THEIR SENSE OF SURVIVAL. ANY TIME THEY FELT THREATENED
THEY SHOULD STOP WORKING. BY THREAT I MEAN ANY ABNORMAL SITUATION THEY PERCEIVED.
THINGS AS THE ONES DESCRIBED IN THE VIDEO: BEING FOLLOWED BY SOMEONE OR PERCEIVING
SOMETHING WAS GOING WRONG.
5.
THE SECOND RULE WAS TO IMPLEMENT ALTERNATIVE COLLECTION METHODS WHEN THE
SECURITY SITUATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY REMAINED UNSTABLE FOR MORE THAN TWO DAYS.
THERE WERE TWO POSSIBILITIES: CONDUCTING THE SURVEYS BY PHONE OR VISITING A
MUNICIPALITY HAVING A SIMILAR SIZE IN THE SAME GEOGRAPHICAL AREA.

2. 6.
A THIRD RULE WAS TO NEVER MENTION THE CLIENTS NAME. TO MENTION THE MILITARY FORCES
AS THE INSTITUTION CONDUCTING THE STUDY WOULD HAVE PUT THEM IMMEDIATELY IN A RISKY
SITUATION. THEY TALKED ABOUT YANHAAS AS AN INDEPENDENT INSTITUTION RUNNING THE
STUDY.
7.
THE FOURTH RULE HAD TO DO WITH HAVING A PERMANENT COMMUNICATION WITH THE
MILITARY FORCES AND WITH YANHAAS, LETTING US KNOW ABOUT ANY INCIDENT AS SOON AS IT
HAPPENED.
THEY HAD A CLEAR SCHEME ABOUT HOW TO PROCEED IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATION. THEY
KNEW WHO AND IN WHAT ORDER THEY SHOULD CALL.THEY COUNTED WITH A TOLL FREE
NUMBER TO CONTACT THE MILITARY FORCES DIRECTLY, FOR RECEIVING INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT
HOW TO ACT IN A PARTICULAR SITUATION.
8.
IN EVERY TOWN THEY VISITED, FIRST THING TO DO WAS TO GO TO THE POLICE STATION AND TELL
THEM ABOUT THEIR PRESENCE. THE POLICE DID NOT JOINTHEM WHEN MAKING THE INTERVIEWS,
BUT THEY WERE LOOKING AFTERTHEM FROM A DISTANCE.
9.
THERE WERE ALSO METHODOLOGYCAL ADJUSTMENTS WE HAD TO IMPLEMENT IN EVERY STAGE
OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS.
10.
IN TERMS OF SAMPLING, EVEN WHEN CONDUCTING FIELDWORK OUTSIDE URBAN AREAS,
MULTISTAGE SAMPLING IS USUALLY IMPLEMENTED. NEVERTHELESS, IN THIS CASE THE TOWNS
WERE SO SMALL AND THE SECURITY CONDITIONS SO DIFFICULT, THAT WE DID TWO THINGS:
FIRST, INTEVIEWERS WORKED IN GROUPS. THE SECURITY RECOMMENDATION WAS NOT TO BE
ALONE AT ANY TIME.
SECOND: SOME TOWNS WERE SO SMALL, THAT A DIFFERENT WAY OF SCREENING THEM WAS
USED, JUST GOING OVER THE PLACE FROM DIFFERENT CARDINAL POINTS.
11.
IN 2010 WE WERE SUPPOSED TO VISIT FOUR TIMES 68 MUNICIPALITIES IN A TIMEFRAME OF FOUR
MONTHS, BUT WE FACED ACCESS, SECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE BARRIERS, ENDING UP
NEEDING MORE TIME THAN EXPECTED FOR COMPLETING THE SURVEYS. IN SOME CASES WE HAD
TO WAIT UNTIL THE APPROPRIATE TIME CAME TO VISITCERTAIN TOWNS.

3. WE ENDED UP DIVIDING THE SAMPLE AND VISITING HALF OF THE MUNICIPALITIES EACH WAVE IN
2010. IN 2011 OUR EXPERIECE WAS CONSIDERED AND FROM THE BEGINNING IT WAS DEFINED
THAT THERE WERE GOING TO BE MADE ONLY TWO WAVES.
THIS BROUGHT A DIFFICULTY IN CONTRACTUAL TERMS, WHICH ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO CHANGE WHEN YOU ARE WORKING WITH A
PUBLIC INSTITUTION. WE HAD TO JUSTIFY VERY CLEARLY WHY WE NEEDED TO MAKE THIS METHODOLOGICAL CHANGE.
12.
DUE TO THE EDUCATION LEVEL OF THE TARGET WE WERE INTERVIEWING, PARTICULAR CARE WAS
TAKEN IN TERMS OF THE LANGUAGE WE USED THROUGHOUT THE QUESTIONNAIRE. MILITARY
AND WAR TECHNICAL TERMS WERE AVOIDED.
13.
WHILE CONDUCTING THE FIELD WORK FOR THE FIRST TIME WE NOTICED THAT PEOPLE DO NOT
DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN MILITARY FORCES AND POLICE. WE ADDED A CLARIFICATION IN THE
QUESTIONNAIRE TELLING THEM THAT THE MILITARY WEAR CAMOUFLAGED CLOTHES, WHILE THE
POLICE DO NOT.
14.
ALSO RELATED TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE: AS YOU SAW IN THE VIDEO, MANY TIMES OUR
INTERVIEWERS WERE INTERCEPTED AND THE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE TAKEN AND REVISED BY
THE GUERRILLAS, SOMETHING THAT PUT THE INTERVIEWEES IN DANGER, SINCE THEIR IDENTITY
WAS REVEALED AND THEIR PARTICULAR ANSWERS COULD BE IDENTIFIED CLEARLY VIOLATING
MARKET RESEARCH CODES. TO SOLVE THIS SITUATION, WE DESIGNED A “PARALLEL” DOCUMENT
NUMBERED AS THE QUESTIONNAIRE, WHERE THE PERSONAL INFOMRATION OF THE
INTERVIEWEES WAS COLLECTED. SURVEYORS KEPT THAT DOCUMENT APART FROM THE MAIN
QUESTIONNAIRE.
IN THIS CASE, THE USE OF ADEQUATE WORDING RESULTS CRITICAL. WHEN WE FIRST DESIGNED
THE QUESTIONNAIRE AND BEGUN THE FIELD WORK, WE NOTICED THAT THROUGH THE
QUESTIONS IT WAS DEDUCED THAT THE MILITARY FORCES WERE THE OWNERS OF THE STUDY.
WE IMPLEMENTED MEASURES AS WHEN ASKING ABOUT THE IMAGE OF DIFFERENT INSTITUTIONS
LIKE THE GUERRILLAS AND MILITARY FORCES, WE INCLUDED OTHER TYPE OF INSTITUTIONS AS THE
CHURCH, THE TOWN HOSPITAL, ETC. AS DISTRACTORS.
ALL QUESTIONS ARE FORMULATED IN THIRD PERSON. WE DO NOT ASK “DO YOU AGREE WITH…”, BUT “DOES THE POPULATION IN THIS
TOWN AGREE WITH…”.
16.
IN 2011, BEFORE BEGINING THE FIELD WORK AGAIN, AN EXHAUSTIVE REVISION OF THE
QUESTIONNAIRE WAS MADE AND WE TRIED TO FIND WAYS TO SIMPLIFY IT, EVALUATING ALSO IF
IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF QUESTIONS OR ATTRIBUTES. WE RAN SOME

4. STATISCAL VALIDATIONS. IT WAS SURPRISING TO FIND IN MANY CASES THAT THE RESULTS OF THE
TESTS WERE VERYGOOD. AND I AM TELLING YOU THIS, BECAUSE IN THIS CASE THE INITIAL
REVISON OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS SO EXHAUSTIVE AND WE THOUGHT SO MUCH ABOUT
HOW TO MAKE IT EASY, CLEAR, UNBIASED, ETC… THAT WE REALLY CAME UP WITH A GOOD
PRODUCT. THE TIME SPENT IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE IN THE DESIGN OF THE QUESTIONNAIRES
AS WELL AS ALL THE THOUGHTS PUT INTO IT WAS WORTH IT AND WAS REFLECTED IN THOSE
QUANTITATIVE MEASURES OF THE QUALITY OF THE INSTRUMENT.
17.
3 OUT OF 10 INTERVIEWERS QUIT THIS WORK, FORCING US TO OUTSOURCE PART OF THE FIELD
WORK, WHAT WE USUALLY DON´T DO. WE HAD TO ORGANICE THE WORK TEAMS DIFFERENTLY,
HAVING ALWAYS ONE OF OUR OWN INTERVIEWERS WITH THE OUTSOURCED GOUPS,
SUPERVISING THEM.
18.
IN TERMS OF TRAINING, THERE WERE ALSO THINGS WE DID DIFFERENTLY. WE INCLUDED AS PART
OF THE PROJECT´S TRAINING A SPECIAL SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS SESSION, IN WHICH THE
SECURITY RULES WERE EXPOSED AND ALL PARTICULAR RECOMMENDATIONS WERE GIVEN. OUR
RESPONSABILITY WAS NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF THE QUALITY OF THE COLLECTION, BUT ALSO IN
TERMS OF THE INDIVIDUALS SAFETY.
19.
COMPLYING WITH MARKET RESEARCH GUIDELINES AND CODES IN A CASE LIKE THIS TURNS TO BE
ONE OF THE GREATEST CHALLENGES. THE BACKCHECKING WAS DIFFICULT TO DO BECAUSE OF
THE FEAR THE INTERVIEWEES FELT IN CONFIRMING VIA PHONE THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THE
STUDY. YOU CAN READ IN THE PAPER MORE DETAILS ABOUT HOW WE FINALLY DID IT.
20.
AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE SLIDE, THE NUMBER OF VARIABLES STUDIED IS LARGE, AS WELL AS THE
NUMBER OF SAMPLE POINTS. IT HAS ALSO BEEN CHALLENGING TO CONDENSE ALL THE
INFORMATION WE GET IN AN EXECUTIVE REPORT. WE DEFINED DIFFERENT TYPE OF INDICATORS
WHICH HAVE BEEN WELL VALUED BY THE MILITARY FORCES AND WHICH ALLOW THEM TO SEE
VERY QUICKLY THE IMPACT OF THEIR ACTIVITIES IN DIFFERENT TOWNS AND REGIONS.
WE USUALLY PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY TO HIGH RANK OFFCIALS. THEY ARE USED TO
EVALUATE THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL COMMANDERS. IN 2011 WE HAD ONE OF THE
COMMANDERS SAYING HE DOES NOT BELIEVE IN THE RESULTS, BECAUSE HIS IMPRESSION WAS
VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE WERE SHOWING. A FEW MONTHS AGO A DIFFICULT SITUATION
TOOK PLACE IN THAT REGION AND OUR MAIN CONTACT IN THE MILITARY FORCES CALLED US TO
LET US KNOW THAT OUR CREDIBILITY WAS VERY HIGH BECAUSE IT WAS SHOWN THAT OUR
RESULTS WERE REFLECTING THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION IN THE REGION.

5. LET ME SHOW YOU NOW THE KIND OF INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES WE FACED, WHICH WAS THE
THIRD BIG OBSTACLE WE HAD TO OVERCOME.
21.
IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE, THE PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE TELEPHONE LINES HAVE BEEN
DIFFICULT. IT WAS THOUGHT THAT BECAUSE OF THE SECURITY CONDITIONS IT MIGHT BE EASIER
TO CONDUCT TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS IN SOME CASES, BUT IT ENDED UP BEING A BIG PROBLEM
FOR US. WE HAD TO BE VERY CREATIVE TO FIND WAYS OF HAVING SOME NUMBERS TO CALL, AS
THE ONE DESCRIBED ON THE SLIDE.
AT THE END, THE PERCENTAGE OF TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS WAS LESS THAN INITIALY DEFINED,
WHAT RAISED AGAIN CONTRACTUAL DIFFICULTIES.
ON THE OTHER HAND, THE EXPENSES OF THE STUDY GREW AND THE PROFITABILITY DROPED.
22.
HAVING NO NOMENCLATURE MADE US HAVE TO WRITE DOWN AS MUCH INFORMATION AS
POSSIBLE OF THE LOCATION OF THE HOUSES. ALL THIS TALKS ABOUT THE MANY ADDITIONAL
CAPABILITIES THAT THE INTERVIEWERS HAD TO DEVELOP. THEY REALLY HAD TO TAKE CARE OF
MANY DIFFERENT THINGS. AT THE END, THEY FELT VERY PROUD AND SATISFIED WITH THE WORK
THEY DID-
23.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE DIFFICULTIES LED MAINLY TO THE SUBSTITUTION OF SAMPLING POINTS
AND REQUIRED A VERY EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS AND MAKING
DECISIONS QUICKLY, TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT ON THE TIMETABLE OF THE STUDY.
I LEAVE YOU NOW WITH A FINAL VIDEO THAT SUMMARIZES THE MAIN
LESSONS WE LEARNED WITH THIS CHALLENGING STUDY. MANY THANKS.