We have extended the property filter for *USELIST to manage OR as well as AND statements. In this NIPO Academy session we will go over how this can improve your scripts.

Keeping your valuable data safe is an absolute priority for us. It’s an obligation that guides everything we do when shaping and powering Nfield’s features. Every conceivable measure is taken to ensure both our team and our software solutions comply with the highest security standards.

Holistic operation

Keeping your data secure depends on a wide range of measures working harmoniously together. A good way to visualize this is to imagine Nfield as a physical office building, where all the different market research and security departments are based. As with all commercial buildings, it is itself protected and complemented with off-site operations. 

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Data security is underpinned by two core foundations  

Our Information Security Management System is ISO 27001:2013 certified. The same as followed by our platform provider, Microsoft.  

NIPO security

We maintain a strong security policy that ensures both your data and our products are safeguarded round the clock. Independent security experts (Paid Intruder) scrutinize our security procedures every year to evaluate our tools, processes and people. The measures to conform with ISO 27001:2013 for our Information Security Management System, as certified by an auditor (Auditor), are strictly followed in every wire connection and by every person in our company. As a matter of principle, the smallest possible number of NIPO specialists have access to Nfield’s infrastructure for carrying out deployments and maintenance.

Microsoft security

Nfield runs on Microsoft Azure, the highly-secured cloud known for its flawless, trusted performance, extensive data storage and reliability. Microsoft’s engineers work 24/7 to protect the cloud, scale its powers and administer other services which run on it, including Office365. 

Your security controls 

Nfield provides a number of different features that enable you to secure your domain to the highest level.  

Strong Authentication

Two-factor Authentication (2FA): Nfield accounts secured with two-factor authentication require users to enter a code (a token) generated by a standard authenticator app on a mobile phone. This has the effect of complementing something you know (your username and password) with a code obtained through something you have (your phone). It effectively blocks any unauthorized access to your Nfield account, even from those who have obtained your username and password, as these people (or their machines) are unable to retrieve the second factor code from the phone. Your valuable Nfield fieldwork and respondent data is thereby protected from prying eyes. Learn more in our article Protecting your Nfield login with two-factor authentication. 

Single-Sign-On (SSO): For enterprises, Nfield can be set up to use Office 365 accounts for Nfield login. Administration of your Nfield user accounts, for as many Nfield domains as you have, is centralized in your organization’s single-sign-on layer. In the case of an employee leaving the organization or other reason for revoking a person’s system access (e.g. because of a security breach), Nfield will automatically be included in the revoked permissions, with immediate effect from when the account in the single-sign-on layer is disabled or reset. With SSO, your password policy for accessing Nfield is automatically aligned with that of your organization.   

Strong password policy: Nfield can easily be configured to comply with strong password policies. Domain administrators can set rules for things such as password expiration period, old password re-use and strong password requirements (e.g. minimum number of characters and different character sets). You should also regularly revalidate your authorized users and ensure immediate removal of departing employees. 

GDPR compliance Toolkit 

Survey group access restriction 

Surveys contain valuable, and sometimes sensitive, information. It’s therefore essential to restrict access to certain parts of surveys to those who really need it to do their jobs. This is done by assigning users with specific roles which only allow access to designated areas and functionality. Find out more in our article Controlling access to survey rights. Setting the right access also limits the scope of risk in the case of data breach.

Our security management and facilities

The hypothetical building we’ve used to illustrate Nfield’s operation is managed by NIPO, who take care of its security and facilities to ensure compliance with the highest security and privacy standards. Our Information Security Management System is ISO 27001:2013 certified. We have procedures for everything, encrypt your data everywhere, limit access across the board and continuously test for potential security flaws.  

Private, individual domains 

Your projects are stored in your own individual domain, inaccessible to anyone else – even our employees – unless explicitly requested by you for customer support purposes. 

Access control and logging 

Nfield allows administrators to configure access on a user-by-user basis, defining the scope of activities every user is allowed to perform. Password requirements can also be set to enforce your chosen password policy, however strong you need it to be. All user actions are tracked and domain administrators can review them individually. The system automatically signs users out when inactive for more than 15 minutes. 

Data backup

Your collected data is stored in secure Microsoft SQL database servers and replicated in other data centers so it can be restored in the event of something going wrong. Microsoft security policies strictly regulate access to its data centers. 

Data encryption 

All your data is secured by SSL and encrypted to protect it from sniffing. 

Local data storage option 

Different countries and industries often have their own specific regulations when it comes to data storage. To comply with this, market research companies need to give careful consideration to where their respondent data is stored. To enable data storage compliance, we have developed the ability to separate survey deployment from storage of respondent data. This means it is now possible, for example, to deploy a survey from the Hong Kong SAR Microsoft Data Center and store the respondent data in the Singapore Microsoft Data Center. Find out more in our article Local Data Storage Compliance, around the World.  

Specific measures for Nfield CAPI 

Tablet devices are desirable prizes for thieves. Their thin, lightweight nature also makes them easy to forget about and accidentally leave behind. Nfield therefore also deploys additional measures to limit the extent of data exposure risk due to being locally stored on a mobile device.  

Minimal information 

Nfield ensures the minimum amount of information possible is present on any mobile device at any given moment. Each device is only sent the surveys and associated respondent information specifically assigned to its user(s). Data that no longer needs to be accessible is removed as soon as possible. 

• You control which surveys and respondent details are assigned to each interviewer, so can limit exposure. 
• Survey response data is transferred to a local, encrypted database and removed from the device as soon as possible after each interview is completed. (As soon as the interviewer connects to internet network.) 
• Upon completion of each interviewer’s involvement, all information relating to a project is deleted from their device as soon as you unassign them or close the project (once the interviewer has connected to the internet and synchronized their device with the Nfield system).  

Secure device sharing 

The same mobile device can be shared by multiple interviewers. Each survey and its collected data is only accessible to the relevant interviewer, via their login credentials. Interviewers cannot review, start or modify any surveys not specifically assigned to them. 

Encoded questionnaires 

Nfield questionnaires are stored in an encoded proprietary format. The original script is never displayed in an interviewer’s device, so interviewers cannot make changes.

We ❤ secure solutions

Fully compliant practices, means you can rest assured when it comes to data security. And with cloud-based operation delivering unbeatable cost-efficiency together with all the capacity you need, whenever you need it, Nfield is the ultimate solution for improving both your quality of work and your profit margins. 

Market research is all about helping organizations stay ahead of their competition. To be successful, market researchers themselves need to lead by example, using tools which leverage cutting-edge technology to produce thorough insights, in any given situation. 

NIPO’s Nfield platform does all this, at the same time as considering research companies’ own business needs. With unwavering commitment to security and compliance, robust architecture, user-friendly design, and seamless API integration, Nfield provides a game-changing package for even the most complex data collection and analysis projects.

Data security and compliance – fully assured

Data security is paramount in every business situation, and carries a whole new level of responsibility when data from a large number of third-parties is involved. Nfield is as prepared for this as it is possible to be. Certified to ISO27001, the international standard for information security management systems, Nfield guarantees all data is safeguarded against any unauthorized access, theft, or damage.

This highest-level certification is complemented with GDPR compliance, meaning Nfield adheres to the stringent General Data Protection Regulation set forth by the European Union (and CCPA).

For market researchers and their clients alike, this combination of data security and privacy compliance gives full peace of mind that everybody’s valuable and sensitive information is in safe hands. To learn more, visit the NIPO Data Security website.

Read More:
Faultless ISO 27001-2013 audit for Nfield
Keeping your Nfield domain clean for compliance, security and efficient working

Robust and scalable – for every situation

Market research clients come in many different forms and seek insights from all kind of places. That’s why Nfield has been designed to seamlessly accommodate every eventuality, without missing a beat.

Leveraging the power of the Microsoft Azure PaaS environment, Nfield scales automatically as and when necessary to provide the right capacity for every size of project. And, thanks to strategically positioned servers across Europe, Asia Pacific, China and America, offers the fastest possible response times for researchers and respondents alike, wherever they’re located.

Nfield’s dedicated operations team continually maintains the platform to ensure reliability and uninterrupted access. Making the most of Microsoft Azure’s features and capabilities, including high availability and disaster recovery, Nfield delivers consistent and reliable performance to every size of company, all around the world.

Read More:
Seamlessly Migrating a High Volume Online Survey
Nfield sets new activity record, with 104,758 interview completes in 24 hours

Perfectly-presented access via any device

Market research doesn’t all take place at a desk. That’s why Nfield is as mobile as the world we live in. The platform, complete with its responsive, user-friendly design, is effortlessly accessible via smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops. So there are no limitations to where and when responses can be gathered.

Read More:
Bringing True Mobility to your Surveys
Customer Satisfaction Surveys: Nfield brings you Closer to Impactful Outcomes
Employee Satisfaction Surveys: Superior Nfield Capabilities leave Clients more Satisfied too!

API Integration

Nfield’s API enables seamless connection with other software solutions of your choice, such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems and analytics platforms, to streamline workflows and enhance data accuracy. With endless possibilities for automation, data transfer and generation of custom reports, Nfield’s API integration can supercharge productivity while facilitating next-level customization.

Read More:
API – What researchers need to know

An empowering market research platform – for companies that really mean business

In our fiercely competitive world, speedy ability to leverage data-driven insights is key. Leaving no stone unturned in this highly complex task, Nfield is the ultimate industrial-strength survey platform for market research companies that really mean business. Nfield’s scalability and reach mean companies of every size, and in any location, can be empowered by fast, user-friendly processes that take our industry to the next level.

NIPO recently introduced a new subset of NIPO Academy sessions, called “Scripting problem of the month”. This session is about the use of randomizations.

NIPO is introducing a new subset of NIPO Academy sessions, called “Scripting problem of the month”. In this new series one of our scripting experts will take half an hour to discuss a scripting issue that we often see in NIPO ODIN scripts. The first topic we will discuss is: Optimizing loops; how to minimize the loops and the iterations.

We are happy to announce the release of the Survey blueprints feature. With survey blueprints we are introducing a new method in Nfield to create a survey based on a model. This will speed up the creation of surveys with common characteristics and reduce errors for creating standard surveys. In this series of NIPO Academy sessions we will take you through this new feature and if you like what you see we will activate this on your domain.

Nfield is a powerful cloud-based platform that’s specifically designed for conducting Online and CAPI surveys. Its ability to support high respondent numbers and complexity makes it an invaluable tool for professional market researchers in every field, whether working for businesses, authorities or in academia, to name just three examples.

Nfield functionality: what you can do

Nfield provides comprehensive, end-to-end solutions, all the way from survey design to data collection and review. It facilitates fast, efficient working, while being highly customizable to individual requirements. And, very importantly, it’s easy-to-use.

Let’s take a look at the range of functionality Nfield offers:

Survey design

Nfield’s user-friendly interface brings simplicity to designing complex surveys. It supports a wide range of question types to cater to every need, including multiple choice, rating scales, grids, and open-ended. Nfield also enables easy handling of complex survey logic by providing features such as skip patterns and branching.

Responsive design, which is all part of the Nfield experience, ensures surveys are displayed in the right way for every screen they’re viewed on, whether that’s a mobile phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.

With Nfield, you’ve therefore got everything you need to create surveys that are engaging, interactive, and tailored to each specific target audience. Which ultimately delivers better response rates and more comprehensive data to work with.

Survey distribution

Nfield Online surveys can be distributed via email invitations, web links, and social media, so you can choose the most suitable method(s) in every case.

Nfield CAPI surveys, which facilitate offline survey data collection from face-to-face interviews, can be distributed to field interviewers according to your chosen sampling method, whether that be address-based, free intercept or something else. Nfield CAPI enables surveys to be conducted even in remote areas without reliable internet access, while being flexible enough to collect data via various devices, including mobile phones and tablets. With all this, Nfield CAPI offers a truly efficient solution for fieldwork, in whatever location or form it takes place.

Interviewer management

For CAPI surveys, Nfield’s Interviewer Management feature enables management of interviewer workloads and monitoring of whether interviews are being conducted as specified. It has tools for assigning interviews to specific interviewers, monitoring progress, and tracking performance.

Data collection

Collecting survey data is, of course, as essential as getting well-designed surveys in front of the right respondents. Nfield runs in the highly reliable and scalable Microsoft Azure cloud, which robustly supports the handling of large volumes of data and smooth survey execution.

At the same time, Nfield security measures ensure participant data is protected at all times, so both you and your respondents can have peace of mind that their data is safe and secure.

Fieldwork monitoring

Nfield’s Fieldwork Monitoring features give researchers the ability to track and view survey progress in real-time. As well as monitoring response rates, completion rates, and interview durations, it’s also possible to view the collected data via filters which can be set to things such as demographics or response patterns.

Data reporting

Nfield’s Data Repository feature provides a centralized location for storing and managing survey data. This is very advantageous, as it means custom reports can be generated in real-time. By automating the reporting process and enabling fast creation of reports in a variety of formats, this feature saves researchers a lot of time and effort.

Nfield uses: types of surveys

Nfield’s versatility makes it ideal for all kinds of different sectors and purposes, where market research might cover anything from commercial insights to practical user studies, political leanings and employee satisfaction. Here are just a few examples of survey types that can be conducted using Nfield:

• Market research surveys: To gather target audience insights such as preferences, behaviors, and attitudes. These can be used to identify market trends, opportunities, and challenges, and make data-driven decisions for improving products or services. Surveys are easy to design and distribute, while collected data can be viewed and analyzed in real-time.

• Product testing studies: To get user feedback on specific products, with the aim of gaining understanding of how they are perceived, what users like or dislike about them, and how they can be improved. Surveys can be designed as appropriate for specific products and target audiences.

• Brand perception studies: To get insights into how consumers perceive a brand, so the information can be used to identify areas of strength and weakness. These kinds of surveys can incorporate questions relating to things such as brand awareness, brand loyalty, and brand associations.

• Political polls: To ascertain respondents’ political preferences or opinions. These polls can aid understanding of how voters feel about specific issues or candidates, and can provide valuable insights into the political landscape. Questions can be asked about things such as voting behavior, party affiliation, and policy preferences.

• Customer satisfaction surveys: To measure how satisfied customers are with specific products or services. These surveys typically ask respondents to rate their experience on a scale and provide feedback on areas for improvement. The collected data can help with identifying trends and making data-driven decisions for improving customer satisfaction.

• Brand awareness surveys: To measure a brand’s awareness and perception among a specific audience. These surveys typically ask respondents to compare the brand-in-question against a list of competitors and describe how they feel about it. The collected data can aid understanding of how a specific brand is perceived in the market and data-driven decisions for improving brand awareness.

• Employee satisfaction surveys: To measure employee satisfaction, engagement, and feedback. These surveys typically ask employees to describe how they feel about their work environment, job satisfaction, and overall experience with the company. The collected data can aid identification of areas for improvement and data-driven decisions for improving employee satisfaction and retention.

Want to know more?

You’re never on your own with Nfield, as we provide a wide variety of supporting materials and resources.

The NIPO Academy section offers a range of training videos and webinars that cover topics such as Academy #33 – Nfield Online introduction session, and Academy #25: CAPI in the new Nfield Manager II. These videos provide a great starting point for those who are new to Nfield or want to refresh their knowledge.

In the Nfield Manager, you’ll find a range of support materials, including user guides and technical documentation.

And for further personal assistance and guidance, you can always reach out to NIPO’s customer support team.

We noticed that most domains on Nfield have orphaned surveys. Surveys that have had no activity for a long time. To help managing these surveys, NIPO introduced a new Automatic clean-up feature for inactive surveys. In this series of NIPO Academy sessions we will take through all the details of the feature and explain how to exempt surveys from this process.

As a highly responsible SaaS provider to market research companies, NIPO, the company behind Nfield, fully understands the importance of protecting personal data and safeguarding against potential data breaches. Alongside our own comprehensive measures to prevent data breaches and swiftly lock down in the event of these being bypassed, we are also committed to helping our clients do all they can to protect their valuable data within the Nfield platform.

Prevention

NIPO has the following measures in place to prevent data breaches:

• Encryption – All sensitive data stored in our servers (in the Azure cloud) is encrypted via strong algorithms. This means that even if an attacker gains access to the data, they will not be able to read it without the encryption key.

• Access Controls – We have strict access controls which ensure only authorized personnel can get into our servers and databases. We also have regular reviews of access rights to make sure they are up-to-date and appropriate.

• Network Security – We have robust network security measures in place, including firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and other security tools. These help us to detect external threats and prevent malicious parties from gaining access to our network and systems. Nfield runs in the Microsoft Azure cloud, which is, itself, highly secure and monitored 24/7 by Microsoft’s own engineers.

• Security Measures for Programming Code – Like many other organizations, we use a variety of security tools to check our programming code and test it for security vulnerabilities. In addition to these, we also have security checks carried out by external third-parties, such as Secura, to ensure our code is thoroughly tested and secure.

• Employee Training – We provide our employees with regular training and awareness programs to ensure they are kept up-to-date on the latest security threats and how to prevent them. This includes training on topics such as phishing emails, social engineering attacks, and password security.

Data breach handling

In the unlikely event of a data breach, NIPO has a dedicated incident response team that follows a well-defined plan to mitigate the impact. This plan includes the following steps:

• Investigation – We immediately launch an investigation to determine the cause and extent of the breach.

• Containment – Once we have identified the source of the breach, we take immediate steps to contain it and prevent any further unauthorized access to our systems.

• Notification – We notify any affected clients and regulatory authorities as required by law or contractual obligations. We are committed to being transparent and open with our clients about any potential security incidents.

• Remediation – We take steps to remediate any damage caused by the breach, such as restoring backups or implementing new security measures. We also conduct a post-incident review to identify any lessons learned and make improvements to our security measures.

What you can do to protect your respondent data

It is also vitally important that market researchers implement all available measures to protect respondents’ personal data and adhere to GDPR, or other applicable local regulations. At NIPO, we provide resources to help our clients with this, including our GDPR and Nfield Toolkit.

Here are some other simple steps you can take, which include making use of tools and features included in our Nfield platform:

• Data Minimization – Collect only the minimum amount of personal data necessary for each research project. Once you have it, this data should only be kept for as long as absolutely necessary, and then securely disposed of.
  
  We also advise clients to store personal identifiers in the sample table, which will enable you to easily delete sample data from the survey by pseudonymizing or anonymizing it. You can do this for all the sample data, for only specific sample data fields, for all interviews, or for a selection of interviews. This allows you to maintain detailed management of which data you keep in Nfield.
  
  Recently, we also introduced a new automatic survey clean-up feature into Nfield, which deletes inactive surveys that have reached their expiration date. For information about this, see keeping Nfield domains clean helps clients ensure compliance, security, and efficient working.

• Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) – This gives accounts an extra layer of security, so that even if an attacker does obtain a password, they still won’t be able to gain access because they won’t have the second code necessary. Read Protecting your Nfield login with two-factor authentication.

• Use the latest Anti-Virus Software – Installing and keeping anti-virus software up-to-date can help protect against malware and other security threats.

• Be Security-Aware – Market researchers should be aware of the latest security threats, such as phishing emails, and take steps to avoid them. This includes not clicking on suspicious links or downloading attachments from unknown sources.

Committed to protecting data

At NIPO, we are committed to protecting personal data and safeguarding against potential data breaches. By implementing a comprehensive security strategy and incident response plan, we are prepared to handle any potential security incidents quickly and effectively. We also provide resources and guidance to help our customers protect themselves and adhere to GDPR regulations. With our commitment to data security, NIPO remains a trusted partner for market researchers looking to conduct research in a secure and compliant manner.

IMPORTANT: suspected data breach?

If you suspect a data breach or security incident related to your use of NIPO’s services, please report it immediately by contacting our Data Protection Officer at helpdesk@nipo.com. Reporting a suspected data breach promptly helps us to take swift action to contain and mitigate the impact of the incident. We take all reports of data breaches seriously and have a dedicated team in place to investigate and respond to incidents as quickly as possible.

Since the launch on 29 March 2013, Nfield has grown to a large scale platform used for data collection around the globe. Nfield is NIPO’s cloud-based Online and CAPI survey solution for market research professionals

Keeping your Nfield domain clean, as in removing all outdated surveys and corresponding data, is essential for maintaining compliancy with data regulations. But that’s not the only reason to stay on top of things. Limiting what you store to what’s absolutely necessary is also better for both data security and efficient working. Here’s why.

1. Regulatory compliance

Standards such as GDPR mean all kinds of businesses around the world need to ensure some form of data compliance. As these regulations typically include restrictions on how long you’re allowed to hold on to third-party data, having a regular clear-out is essential. This is especially the case for market research companies, whose business is all about third-party data!

2. Minimizing exposure to security breaches

The more data you have stored in your system, the more there is to steal. Which means any security breaches will have a bigger and further-reaching impact. Given the large amount of sensitive personal data that’s typically associated with market research, surveys are a highly prized target, as explained in our recent article about the value of Nfield logins on the Dark Web.

It therefore makes sense for your survey respondents and your business reputation to delete surveys, and all their corresponding data, as soon as you’re finished with them.

Good to know: Nfield upholds the highest security standards, adhering to the protocol established in ISO 27001:2013. Read more about Nfield security. However, users still need to take responsibility for protecting passwords, deploying 2-factor authentication and ensuring there are no unprotected “back doors” into their systems.

3. Improved internal collaboration

The less clutter there is within your system, the less likely it is that any of your team members will refer to the wrong information. Clearing out outdated surveys helps keep everybody on the same page, making it easier to work together on updating surveys and making decisions. A practice which can result in better teamwork, improved efficiency, and better outcomes for your business.

4. Compliance with Acceptable Use Policy and avoiding additional charges

Nfield’s acceptable use policy includes domain limits on storage and the number of active surveys for each license level. Keeping your survey system clean can help you avoid exceeding your limits and incurring additional charges.

Introducing an easy solution: automatic clean-up

As solid as the reasons for keeping your system clean are, actually doing it can be a cumbersome task, especially when dealing with outdated or expired surveys. This is why Nfield introduced a new automatic survey clean-up feature which deletes inactive surveys that have reached their expiration date.

Further details about Nfield’s automatic clean-up feature can be found in our Nfield update published recently. Or see the NIPO Academy #39 session recording on this topic.

As a creator of truly purposeful survey solutions, we want every user to be able to get the best out of them. That means ensuring our customers fully understand what our products are capable of and how to utilize that capability to their own advantage. 

Because our Nfield survey platform offers such a wide range of features, specifically designed to meet professional market researchers’ needs, there is a great deal to know. We therefore take a step-by-step approach to educating every individual customer, so the right knowledge is gained at the right time and nobody ever feels overwhelmed.

The Nfield learning process starts while you’re still considering whether we’re right for you. If you decide to come on board with us, we’ll get you fully up-to-speed using your product and continue providing guidance and, if required, access to external support services, for as long as you are an Nfield user.

1. While you’re deciding if Nfield is right for you

A member of the NIPO Sales Team in your region will discuss your specific needs and determine whether, and how, Nfield can meet them. We want to forge successful long-term partnerships which means making sure you’ll be delighted with our service, so we start by carefully assessing whether we are right for each other. 

While doing this, we’ll talk you through the various features Nfield offers for conducting online, face-to-face and (soon) telephone research, as necessary. We’ll point out the things you’ll need to consider, such as the possibility of needing additional training on some of our more advanced features or paid-for optional services (e.g. scripting, styling) delivered by an external partner. 

Of course you’ll be keen to see Nfield in action, so we are happy to oblige via a live demo. We’ll schedule an online session that demonstrates scenarios related to your own requirements. Upon request, we can record the session so you can then share it with others in your organization.

2. Getting you started

Once you’ve signed up to Nfield, the sales representative you dealt with will hand you over to a member of our support team, who’ll work with you to get you up and running. Because the NIPO sales and support teams are closely integrated, the information we’ve already shared will be readily available to every support team member. So you won’t have to explain yourself all over again and they will be fully prepared to set you up. 

We’ll start with a free 2-hour introductory training session, during which you’ll learn how to use the system and launch a survey, as well as other basics which are relevant to your specific needs. You’ll then be ready to start putting Nfield to work.

We’ll introduce you to our support website where you can access documentation, training and NIPO Academy videos, consult support cases and get useful tools.

3. Helpdesk support

You’ll have access to our Helpdesk support team who’ll be happy to help with any problem you might encounter. Our support policy is to respond within 24 hours, but in practice we usually address queries much sooner. Support is free and provided from 2 locations: Amsterdam and Mumbai.  In the event that your closest support center can’t respond fast enough, another center will handle the issue so you’re not kept waiting. There are no limitations to the number of support queries you can submit. If we feel the type of support requests indicate additional training is required, we’ll discuss this with you.

4. Ongoing Training

Via the NIPO Academy, we regularly present free webinars about new Nfield features, best practices and troubleshooting. You can see a recent session wherein we did the Nfield Online introduction training session.

5. Advanced Training

Once you’ve become comfortable with using Nfield, you might want to get trained in advanced skills such as scripting, effective fieldwork management, safeguarding email reputation and many more. ODIN scripting, which gives you the power to fully customize NIPO survey functionality, is a particularly popular course. A lot of Nfield users also like to bring us in to train their newcomers. Please note that Advanced Training and onboarding new personnel are paid-for services.

6. External Services

Because some of our customers prefer to focus on their core market research activities, rather than also getting involved with more technical matters, NIPO has teamed up with DataExpert to offer services for:

• Scripting: to customize questionnaire structure and logic.
• Theming: to develop custom look and feel (useful for branded surveys).
• Visualization: to advise on data processing and visualization of collected data.
• Hosting: to host and manage surveys in Nfield.

7. Become certified

Nfield users who have acquired sufficient knowledge to independently conduct research on the Nfield platform have the opportunity to get certified. NIPO provides a training and certification program with courses that teach you more about survey scripting, ODIN Developer capabilities, managing fieldwork and market research in general. More information.

Ensuring your success

Our onboarding process and follow-up support and services enable every customer to get the most out of Nfield. From feeling comfortable at the start to becoming an expert over time, with access to all the materials, information, tools and services you need to work in the most productive way.

If you’d like more information on how we can help you, please contact us at info@nipo.com.

See what Nfield can do for you, ask us for a live demo.

A Kish Grid is a mechanism for randomizing who to interview within a household when going door-to-door. Its purpose is to eliminate bias that can be created by just interviewing whoever happens to answer the door, because younger and older household members are less likely to do this.

How a Kish Grid is used

Knowing what a Kish Grid looks like, and how it’s read, is helpful for understanding how to script one. 

• The left-hand column shows the sequence of households being visited. There is no specific guideline for the order of assignment. This can be by house number, by the number of visits the interviewer has made or by the order in which addresses were added to the list.
• The top row shows the number of eligible people in a household.

The Kish Grid is read by cross-referencing the Household Sequence number (e.g. 7) against the Number of eligible people in that household (e.g. 4). In this example, the resulting answer is 3. This indicates the interviewer should interview the 3^rd youngest eligible person in the household.

How to create a Kish Grid script in Nfield

The complete Kish Grid script can be downloaded from a link at the end of this article. The extracts below are just a selection of examples to help you understand how the script and variables are constructed.

Setting up the randomization
This starts with creating arrays for each of the eight columns. Using a household size of 100 provides good scope for randomization.

*VARS EligablePeopleNum1[100], EligablePeopleNum2[100], EligablePeopleNum3[100],
EligablePeopleNum4[100], EligablePeopleNum5[100], EligablePeopleNum6[100],
EligablePeopleNum7[100], EligablePeopleNum8[100]

Specify an array of 8 counts. These counts will be used for looping in each column to populate its value. As we have 8 columns to represent a maximum of 8 eligible people in a household, 8 counts are needed.  

*VARS Count[8]

Set each of count value to 1 as initialization for counting.

*REPEAT 8
*PUT Count[?R][1]
*ENDREP

The script will now populate the table by repeating a simple loop 100 times to fill in each row, one after one. In each loop, it fills in each column.

*REPEAT 100
*PUT EligablePeopleNum1[?R] [1]
*IF [Count[2] <= 2] *PUT EligablePeopleNum2[?R] [Count[2]] *PUT Count[2] [Count[2]+1]
*IF [Count[2] >2] *PUT Count[2] [1]
*IF [Count[3] <= 3] *PUT EligablePeopleNum3[?R] [Count[3]] *PUT Count[3] [Count[3]+1]
*IF [Count[3] >3] *PUT Count[3] [1]
*IF [Count[4] <= 4] *PUT EligablePeopleNum4[?R] [Count[4]] *PUT Count[4] [Count[4]+1]
*IF [Count[4] >4] *PUT Count[4] [1]
*IF [Count[5] <= 5] *PUT EligablePeopleNum5[?R] [Count[5]] *PUT Count[5] [Count[5]+1]
*IF [Count[5] >5] *PUT Count[5] [1]
*IF [Count[6] <= 6] *PUT EligablePeopleNum6[?R] [Count[6]] *PUT Count[6] [Count[6]+1]
*IF [Count[6] >6] *PUT Count[6] [1]
*IF [Count[7] <= 7] *PUT EligablePeopleNum7[?R] [Count[7]] *PUT Count[7] [Count[7]+1]
*IF [Count[7] >7] *PUT Count[7] [1]
*IF [Count[8] <= 8] *PUT EligablePeopleNum8[?R] [Count[8]] *PUT Count[8] [Count[8]+1]
*IF [Count[8] >8] *PUT Count[8] [1]
*ENDREP

The script will generate a question in the CAPI survey asking how many eligible people the household consists of.

*QUESTION 10 *NUMBER 61L1 *SAVE FamilySize *MAX 8
How many people live in this household?

And ask for their names, in ascending age

*QUESTION 2 *FORM *CONTROL Q11 W
Name them in ascending age (youngest first)

1: 1-*ALPHA 71L30 *SAVE Name[1]
2: 2-*ALPHA 101L30 *SAVE Name[2]
3: 3-*ALPHA 131L30 *SAVE Name[3]
4: 4-*ALPHA 161L30 *SAVE Name[4]
5: 5-*ALPHA 191L30 *SAVE Name[5]
6: 6-*ALPHA 221L30 *SAVE Name[6]
7: 7-*ALPHA 251L30 *SAVE Name[7]
8: 8-*ALPHA 281L30 *SAVE Name[8]

Let’s look at an example where we’ve just used a random number as the household sequence number.

*PUT HouseHoldSeq [RAN(8)]
*PUT HouseHoldSeq [HouseHoldSeq + 1]

Or you can choose a Household Sequence number from your respondent table. In this case, make sure the array sizes are also adjusted in the script.

Next, we refer to this table to find which person should be interviewed.

*VARS ans
*IF [FamilySize = 1] *PUT ans [EligablePeopleNum1[HouseHoldSeq]]
*IF [FamilySize = 2] *PUT ans [EligablePeopleNum2[HouseHoldSeq]]
*IF [FamilySize = 3] *PUT ans [EligablePeopleNum3[HouseHoldSeq]]
*IF [FamilySize = 4] *PUT ans [EligablePeopleNum4[HouseHoldSeq]]
*IF [FamilySize = 5] *PUT ans [EligablePeopleNum5[HouseHoldSeq]]
*IF [FamilySize = 6] *PUT ans [EligablePeopleNum6[HouseHoldSeq]]
*IF [FamilySize = 7] *PUT ans [EligablePeopleNum7[HouseHoldSeq]]
*IF [FamilySize = 8] *PUT ans [EligablePeopleNum8[HouseHoldSeq]]

*PAGE
Family size: *?FamilySize
means to use array EligablePeopleNum*?FamilySize

Household Seq: *?HouseHoldSeq
means to use row *?HouseHoldSeq

So you should pick the family member *?Name[ans] in the *?ans (-th) position to interview

The following animation gives an idea how it looks from interviewer’s perspective.

We hope this helps you understand how to set up your own Kish Grid in Nfield CAPI, based on our Kish Grid script. If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Download Nfield CAPI Kish Grid script

NIPO has started a project migrating all the functionality of the classic “CAPI Manager” to the (online) “Nfield Manager”. We are doing this by migrating the different CAPI scenarios from the CAPI Manager to the Nfield Manager one by one. We are now ready to migrate the last remaining scenario (Sample Points with Addresses and Quota).

As Market Research requirements continue to evolve, we’ve recognized a need for sampling points which also incorporate addresses.

Quota sampling and address-based sampling are commonplace. Up till now, it has been a choice of one or the other. However, it would be beneficial to combine the two, for both practical and financial reasons.

Follow up: We’ve often heard about market researchers who’ve needed to follow up on incomplete visits (e.g. busy respondent) to complete a sample quota.

Avoid over-shoot: In address-based sampling, fieldwork projects can be made more cost-efficient by stopping interviewing when enough addresses have been completed.

When do you need to combine quota and address sampling?

You should choose to set up this survey type in Nfield if your project has the following characteristics

• 1. It has a quota specification.
  AND
• 2a. It includes a requirement to interview at specific addresses.
  OR
• 2b. Incomplete interviews must be followed up.

How-to

Setting up a combined quota-address survey in Nfield is similar to setting them up separately. 

Before you start, we recommend watching NIPO Academy 37 to learn how to set up a CAPI survey with sampling point with/without quota. You can also refer to our blog post Embedding Sampling Points in Quota Target surveys for deeper and more balanced insights. Then, you just need to add the addresses.

Setting up this survey type is easy.

If you have any questions or comments about setting up and using CAPI surveys with Sampling Points with addresses and quotas in Nfield Manager, please do not hesitate to contact us.