Survey enumerator

A survey enumerator in Indonesia

Description

Survey enumerators perform interviews and fill in forms in order to collect the data provided by interviewees. They can collect information by phone, mail, personal visits or on the street. They conduct and help the interviewees administer the information that the interviewer is interested in having, usually related to demographic information for governmental statistical purposes.

Survey enumerators typically do the following:

  • Explain the objectives of surveys and their procedures to people who are to be interviewed
  • Interpret interview questions to assist people in understanding them and providing eloquent answers
  • Assist people in filling out survey forms and explain items on survey forms
  • Double-check information on survey forms or information pads to ensure the accuracy of information
  • Identify and report any issues that may arise while attempting to obtain valid data
  • Compile, record, and code information derived from specified forms into a predefined database
  • Ensure that the supervisor is kept informed of completed assignments and progress
  • Analyze the authenticity of the information provided by ensuring direct contact with each family member within a family

Other titles

The following job titles also refer to survey enumerator:

commercial census taker
census official
census interviewer
census worker
enumerator
street surveyor
census clerk
census takers
census taker

Working conditions

Survey enumerators work in a variety of settings, including office buildings, private homes, and public places such as shopping malls and airports. They may work indoors or outdoors, depending on their assignment. They may work full time or part time, and their hours may vary depending on the needs of the Census Bureau and the particular census they are working on. For example, survey enumerators may work longer hours during the day to reach people who are not home during the day, or they may work evenings and weekends to reach people who are not home during the week.

Some survey enumerators work on temporary assignments, while others work on permanent assignments.

Minimum qualifications

Survey enumerators are typically required to have a high school diploma or equivalent. Some employers may prefer an associate or bachelor’s degree in a related field. Relevant coursework includes statistics, research methods, data collection and analysis.

Most survey enumerators receive on-the-job training when they start a new position. This training may last a few days to a few weeks and may include instruction on how to use the company’s survey forms and how to enter data into the company’s database.

ISCO skill level

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

  • the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
  • the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
  • the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Survey enumerator is a Skill level 2 occupation.

Survey enumerator career path

Similar occupations

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to survey enumerator.

market research interviewer
secretary
billing clerk
file clerk
auditing clerk

Long term prospects

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of survey enumerator. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of survey enumerator with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

field survey manager
statistical assistant
employment agent
call centre quality auditor
passport officer

Essential knowledge and skills

Essential knowledge

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of survey enumerator.

  • Communication: Exchanging and conveying information, ideas, concepts, thoughts, and feelings through the use of a shared system of words, signs, and semiotic rules via a medium.
  • Interview techniques: The techniques for getting information out of people by asking the right questions in the right way and to make them feel comfortable.
  • Survey techniques: Techniques on how to identify a target audience, choose the right survey method and analyse the data.
  • Information confidentiality: The mechanisms and regulations which allow for selective access control and guarantee that only authorised parties (people, processes, systems and devices) have access to data, the way to comply with confidential information and the risks of non-compliance.

Essential skills and competences

These skills are necessary for the role of survey enumerator.

  • Interview people: Interview people in a range of different circumstances.
  • Respond to enquiries: Respond to enquiries and requests for information from other organisations and members of the public.
  • Observe confidentiality: Observe the set of rules establishing the nondisclosure of information except to another authorised person.
  • Fill out forms: Fill out forms of a different nature with accurate information, legible calligraphy, and within a timely manner.
  • Capture people’s attention: Approach people and draw their attention to a subject presented to them or to get information from them.
  • Tabulate survey results: Collate and organise the answers gathered in interviews or polls in order to be analysed and draw conclusions from them.
  • Document interviews: Record, write, and capture answers and information collected during interviews for processing and analysis using shorthand or technical equipment.
  • Adhere to questionnaires: Follow and ask the questions laid out in questionnaires when interviewing somebody.
  • Prepare survey report: Gather the analysed data from the survey and write a detailed report on the outcome of the survey.

Optional knowledge and skills

Optional knowledge

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of survey enumerator. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

  • National population census: The official procedure of systematically collecting information of the population such as gender, employability, education levels, and other demographics in order have a clear understanding of the population for governmental development plans.
  • Visual presentation techniques: The visual representation and interaction techniques, such as histograms, scatter plots, surface plots, tree maps and parallel coordinate plots, that can be used to present abstract numerical and non-numerical data, in order to reinforce the human understanding of this information.
  • Politics: The method, process and study of influencing people, gaining control over a community or society, and the distribution of power within a community and between societies.
  • Statistics: The study of statistical theory, methods and practices such as collection, organisation, analysis, interpretation and presentation of data. It deals with all aspects of data including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments in order to forecast and plan work-related activities.
  • Market research: The processes, techniques, and purposes comprised in the first step for developing marketing strategies such as the collection of information about customers and the definition of segments and targets.
  • Opinion poll: The inquiry of the opinion of the public, or at least of a representative sample, about a determined subject.
  • Psychology: The human behaviour and performance with individual differences in ability, personality, interests, learning, and motivation.
  • Demography: The scientific field of study that deals with studying the size, structure, and distribution of the human population, and its geographical and temporal changes.
  • Data quality assessment: The process of revealing data issues using ​quality indicators, measures and metrics in order to plan data cleansing and data enrichment strategies according to data quality criteria.
  • Polling techniques: The different methods to approach targets and collect information from them for a variety of purposes. Polling techniques such as self-administered questionnaires, remote interviews, and personal Interviews.

Optional skills and competences

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of survey enumerator. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

  • Explain interview purposes: Explain the main purpose and objective of the interview in a manner that the recipient understands and responds to the questions accordingly.
  • Manage needs for stationery items: Watch, analyse, and provide sufficient and required stationery items for business facilities to run operations smoothly.
  • Perform data analysis: Collect data and statistics to test and evaluate in order to generate assertions and pattern predictions, with the aim of discovering useful information in a decision-making process.
  • Conduct public surveys: Conduct the procedures of a public survey from the initial formulation and compilation of the questions, identifying the target audience, managing the survey method and operations, managing the processing of acquired data, and analysing the results.
  • Use office systems: Make appropriate and timely use of office systems used in business facilities depending on the aim, whether for the collection of messages, client information storage, or agenda scheduling. It includes administration of systems such as customer relationship management, vendor management, storage, and voicemail systems.
  • Use shorthand: Apply shorthand as a method to capture spoken words into written form. Use shorthands in written texts to reflect acronyms and relevant information required to be expressed in such fashion.
  • Operate GPS systems: Use GPS Systems.
  • Evaluate interview reports: Assess the quality and plausibility of the interview results on the basis of the documentation while taking various factors into account such as the weighting scale.
  • Revise questionnaires: Read, analyse, and provide feedback on the accuracy and adequacy of questionnaires and their assessment fashion taking into account its purpose.
  • Present reports: Display results, statistics and conclusions to an audience in a transparent and straightforward way.
  • Communicate by telephone: Liaise via telephone by making and answering calls in a timely, professional and polite manner.
  • Use Microsoft Office: Possess the ability to work with the standard programs contained in Microsoft Office at a capable level. Create a document and do basic formatting, insert page breaks, create headers or footers, and insert graphics, create automatically generated tables of contents and merge form letters from a database of addresses (usually in Excel). Create auto-calculating spreadsheets, create images, and sort and filter data tables.
  • Design questionnaires: Study the objectives of the research and imprint those aims into the design and development of questionnaires.

ISCO group and title

4227 – Survey and market research interviewers


References
  1. Survey enumerator – ESCO
  2. Census Enumerator Job Description | Workable
  3. Enumerator Job Description: Salary, Duties, & More – Climb the Ladder
  4. Featured image: Photo by Muhammad Abdul Majid on Unsplash
Last updated on November 30, 2022

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