3. Conducting a Pilot Test
Before any survey is ready to be called on, it must be pilot-tested. Piloting should ideally
be done by experienced interviewers or in-house staff who have a better-than-average
knowledge of survey structure and general procedures, a keen sense of judgment, and acute
attention to detail. The responsibilities of pilot-testing include: catching any problems with the
skip patterns (questions that should not be asked of certain respondents); reporting any problems
that respondents have with the survey, and pointing out any information that will need to be
included on the Answers to Potential Questions (APQ); mentioning things that will need to be
clarified on the training tape; making sure that the survey’s wording is both easily understood by
respondents and feasible for interviewers; and gauging the persuasiveness of the introduction and
making suggestions to improve it.