As early as the beginning of the 1990s, ag.ma considered the possible uses of laptop computers in conducting interviews within the MA print media segment. It was hoped that the MA interview could be simplified and shortened and that more timely data could be collected. In addition, the researchers pursued an approach in which the survey participants make their own entries at the computer after brief instructions by the interviewer, thereby eliminating the influence of the interviewer and the trademarks of the institute. As a result, a CASI (computer-aided self-interviewing) approach was pursued from the outset. By following this research philosophy, the researchers took an essential step beyond the CAPI approach where the PC is still operated by the interviewer:
• The researchers had to select a technique that is easy to handle and allows simple entries even by test subjects who are otherwise unskilled in the use of computers. Devices that allowed entries via a touchscreen and without a keyboard were already available. The display could be touched using either a finger or a pen.
• Some development work was required. To identify possible CASI applications for the Print MA, the influence factors were examined in numerous experiments.
Symposium: 2005: Prague, Session 5 - Technical Problems and Solutions
Authors: Hess, Eva-Maria, Ritter, Gabriele
Organisations: Media Markt Analysen, Media-Micro-Census GmbH
Topics: Data Collection, Passive Measurement