Bench Testing Protocol
Overview
This documentation outlines the bench testing protocol to ensure smooth operation during surveys. Bench testing helps identify and resolve issues in a SurveyCTO form before deployment.Â
SurveyCTO forms are customizable digital tools for efficient data collection, supporting various question types, logic, and validation rules. After designing a SurveyCTO form, bench testing is essential to ensure it functions correctly during the survey.
Bench testing a survey form is crucial for several reasons. First and foremost, it ensures data integrity, preventing issues that could arise during data collection and analysis. A poorly designed survey form may lead to inaccuracies in the gathered data, ultimately affecting the reliability of your findings.
Additionally, thorough bench testing is essential for maintaining the efficiency of enumerator training. If the survey form is not well-structured, it can hinder the training process and compromise the effectiveness of the data collection effort.
By ensuring that our survey forms are meticulously designed, we uphold data integrity and facilitate a smoother survey process. This not only enhances the quality of our data but also supports effective analysis, making bench testing an indispensable step in our survey preparation. Below is a step-by-step guide for conducting bench testing effectively.
💡Tip: Apart from some special cases, backcheck isn’t optional; it should be integrated into the project plan from the get-go.
Purpose of Bench testing:
There are several things to check before implementing the survey form. Bench testing is the approach that helps to ensure the efficiency, correctness of the form.Â
Firstly check if survey questions are properly in the survey form. Secondly, check all logic in the form so that any kind of hindered situation does not happen further. Thirdly check if all the questionnaires can be passed through and can submit the form with the answers.Â
đź’ˇTip: From experience, using mobile devices for bench testing has proven to be much more efficient. When correcting an issue and updating the form on the SurveyCTO platform, testing through the web often requires you to return to the platform and reload the form. However, when using the SurveyCTO mobile app, you can simply refresh the form without having to navigate back and forth. This makes the process significantly faster and more time-effective.
Purpose of Bench testing:
Run the Form check.do File
Before starting bench testing use a form checker. Here is the link for the form checker code-samples/Stata/Miscellaneous/Form check.do at 2b1184b6970915fe3f527bdca736aa2c90035abc · ARCED-Foundation/code-samples. This file is essential for diagnosing and resolving problems in your SurveyCTO form. It will allow you to export the results into an Excel file with multiple sheets, making it easy to reference.Â
A separate description along with an example image for each sheet listed below:
Â
Recommended Fields
This section lists all recommended fields used in the survey design, including special cases such as “Sensor_statistic” and “sensor_stream.”
Field Name
 Field names may contain long variable names. It’s important to keep them descriptive yet concise for clarity and ease of use. For example, “brand” is preferred over “brand name” to avoid excessive length.
Constraints
Choices
This area displays any missing labels for values in the choices sheet, which is critical for ensuring that respondents understand the options available to them.
Bench Testing
Verify all the questions are in the survey form. Cross check Bangla and English translations. Check if all the relevance calculations, appearances are working correctly. Go through all the survey questions and check if the submission can be done with the form.
Check dataflow
Review the dataflow to ensure all necessary data is being captured accurately, especially when using randomization, plug-ins, or new methods. It’s crucial to examine the dataset to confirm that no data is missing and that there are no anomalies. To verify, you can test the process by submitting dummy data to the form and checking if the data is recorded as expected.
Example with Randomization:Â
Suppose you have two groups of questions that should appear with equal probability (50% each). To implement this, you might use a calculated field to generate a random number using the formula
once(random()) which produces values between 0 and 1. Based on the generated random number:
- If the number is less than 0.5, the first group appears.
- If the number is 0.5 or greater, the second group appears.
Ensure the logic is functioning correctly by testing whether the groups are displayed in a 50-50 distribution. If this randomization does not work as intended, it could significantly impact the survey’s outcomes and reliability.
Starting actual benchtesting:
Begin bench testing in the office with team members to identify issues like logic errors, incorrect attachments, or missing translations.
After collecting all the issues by documenting in excel file, return to the office to make corrections. Ensure that logic, variable naming, relevance, and other form fields are correctly configured.
Translation:
The bench test should initially be conducted by the developer, using the main paper questionnaire as a reference. Engage multiple testers—one focusing on the Bangla translations and another on the English version. Alternatively, the developer can conduct two separate tests. Use the SurveyCTO Form Inspector to simulate and test all possible scenarios.
For translations, ensure the Bangla version aligns accurately with the original questionnaire. Avoid using Google Translate, as it often provides literal translations that may compromise readability. Instead, focus on creating translations that are clear and easily understood by both enumerators and respondents. Adapt the language to the local context while ensuring it conveys the intended meaning as specified by the Principal Investigators (PIs).
Ensuring Proper Linking of Attachments in Survey Forms:
Ensure that all plugins, images, audio, or other attachments used in the survey form design are properly attached and accessible.
The Crucial Role of Accurate Translations in Survey Data Integrity
Inaccurate translations in surveys can lead to significant misunderstandings among respondents. If a question is not clearly conveyed in the respondent’s language, it may result in answers that do not accurately reflect their true circumstances. This can skew data, leading to misrepresentations in key findings. Additionally, unclear translations can frustrate respondents, potentially decreasing their willingness to complete the survey. Ensuring accurate translations is essential for clear communication and maintaining the integrity of the data collected.
Impact of Incorrect Setup on Survey Data Quality
Incorrect setup of text types, variable names, relevance, constraints, or calculated fields can lead to invalid data, confusion for respondents, and flawed analysis. For example, if an age question is set as text instead of an integer, respondents might enter non-numeric values, causing errors. Improper relevance conditions could show irrelevant questions, and missing constraints might allow unrealistic answers. Calculated fields that aren’t set up properly could result in inaccurate derived metrics. Ensuring these are correctly configured is crucial for data quality and survey accuracy.
Check list names and values in the choices sheet
Double-checking that list names and values are input correctly is essential in SurveyCTO. If the list name is incorrect, SurveyCTO will generate errors, which can disrupt survey flow. Ensure that you have not missed any values from your list, as missing data can hinder your survey analysis for specific questions. Additionally, watch for values written in quotation marks, as they may cause complications during bench testing. Verifying these aspects helps maintain data integrity and ensures a smooth survey experience.
Ensuring Data Integrity with Required Fields in SurveyCTO
Required fields ensure that critical data is collected, preventing respondents from skipping essential questions. For example, in a health survey, if “What is your age?” is not marked as required, respondents might skip it, leading to missing demographic data. This can compromise the accuracy of your analysis, especially if age is a key variable. Ensuring required fields are properly set helps maintain data integrity, prevents incomplete submissions, and minimizes follow-up needs for missing information. Always bench test required fields to ensure they are functioning correctly
These checkpoints ensure the smooth functioning of your survey and help avoid potential issues during fieldwork.
Conduct benchtesting with multiple people multiple times. Which will make your time efficient, enhance possibilities to find out errors regarding your form.
Shared the form with field manager and PIs’ to receive reviews from them
Collaboration with others is invaluable for cross-checking, as it helps identify additional changes needed in the survey form. This process ensures that smaller but critical details, such as specific requirements from PIs or overlooked elements of survey questions, are addressed. Sharing the form with PIs can provide valuable input to refine the survey further.
The field manager’s insights are crucial for understanding whether enumerators or others can comprehend the survey questions and programming. Their feedback can highlight areas that need to be made more readable or simplified. Identifying sections that are difficult for others to understand enables proactive adjustments, ideally after consulting with the PIs.
Once these reviews are incorporated, provide the updated form to the field manager for additional feedback. Ideally, share the form with PIs for bench testing as well and collect their feedback. Compile a detailed report of all the issues and recommended changes. Implement the necessary updates and meticulously review the form to ensure all changes have been correctly applied.
đź’ˇTip: Sometimes, in form checker data might be submitted but it might go missing in the main dataset. Check the form in the computer and in the tab.
Create a template for bench testing
Tracking all the issues during bench testing is crucial because it is not a one-time task. Bench testing often involves multiple steps, iterations, and corrections, which can take days depending on the survey’s complexity. It is essential to maintain clear communication within the team, ensuring everyone knows:
Variable name of the issue that has been identified.Â
↓
What issues have been identified and whom?
↓
Which issues are currently being worked on.
↓
Which problems have been resolved and whom?
Having a structured system to document these stages will help maintain clarity, avoid duplicating efforts, and keep the bench testing process organized. From checker report and bench-testing report should be kept in the instruments folder .
PI negotiations
provide PI with a proper timeline and deadline to provide feedback or changes. Even if changes need to be made, make sure to tell them all the pros and cons of making the changes.
Sudden and abrupt changes do need to be made, make sure to do the full bench test and not just sections of th
Conclusion
In summary, effective bench testing of SurveyCTO forms is critical for ensuring data integrity and the overall success of the survey process. By meticulously evaluating various aspects—such as logic validation, accurate translations, and proper attachment linking—we can identify and resolve potential issues before deployment. This proactive approach not only enhances the quality of the data collected but also streamlines enumerator training and data analysis. Ultimately, a well-designed survey form is vital for reliable findings and informed decision-making. Consider user-friendliness in bench-testing, identify if any section is hard for the enumerator to understand or if formatting or restructuring is needed.
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