The use of computer tablets in sociodemographic surveys under unfavorable field conditions – an application in land use and cover change studies in the Amazon

ABSTRACT

We describe the use of tablet computers with ESRI Survey123 for data collection in sociodemographic surveys applied to land use and cover change studies. Based on the administration of 716 questionnaires during the expedition carried out in 2022 in 64 rural communities along the Rio Negro River, in the Brazilian Amazon, we evaluate the advantages of computer-aided personal interviewing (CAPI) instead of paper-and-pencil interviewing (PAPI). The results point to reduced research time and costs, including for training, fieldwork supervision, and data processing. The unit cost of the questionnaire was reduced by an estimated 10%. We observed positive impacts on data quality, contact with communities, and dissemination of geocoded results. We conclude that the approach adopted by us was sufficient for the success of the survey, which indicates that CAPI can be used under unfavorable field conditions (lack of electricity and poor internet connection).

KEYWORDS:

• Applied social sciences
• survey
• computer-aided personal interviewing
• Brazilian Amazon

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), grant 2020/08242-7; and the Foundation of the State of Amazonas (FAPEAM), grant 01.02.016301.00266/2021

Notes on contributors

Álvaro de Oliveira D’Antona

Álvaro de Oliveira D’Antona Broad training in Applied Human and Social Sciences, including Economics (undergraduate), Anthropology (master’s) and Social Sciences (PhD). Professor at the University of Campinas (Unicamp) – at the School of Applied Sciences, at the Graduate Program in Demography and at the Interdisciplinary Master’s Degree in Humanities and Social Applied Sciences. Researcher at the Center for Population Studies. Participation in research projects on Population and Environment, with field experience in conservation units and colonization projects in the Amazon and Northeast Brazil.

José Diego Gobbo Alves

José Diego Gobbo Alves Environment and Society PhD candidate at Center for Environmental Studies and Research, University of Campinas. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography and a Master’s in Applied Human and Social Sciences. Currently researching urban expansion; mobility and spatial distribution of the population; deforestation and forest fragmentation in the Brazilian Amazon – – research topic for his doctoral thesis.