Survey Field Work in Latin America

Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica is conducted annually in 19 countries of Latin America. This project would not be possible without the contribution of the numerous local people over the years. This page is a tribute to all these wonderful people: the field managers the supervisors and the interviewers. Of course, we must not forget the tens of thousands of respondents who have participated in this study.

• Photo 1: Guatemala City, Guatemala (photo by Nitzia Thomas) Everything begins in the home office, usually in the "war room" with the maps on the wall. "Where will we be going today? What will we do out there? ..." It should be remembered that we use probability sampling to draw the field sampling points.
• Photo 2: Caracas, Venezuela (photo by Monica LaMadrid) The field work is usually done on a concentrated scale by a team of interviewers, usually led by a supervisor. Here is a group picture taken before setting out.
• Photo 3: Quito, Ecuador (photo by Pablo Verdin) Notwithstanding the detailed maps, one often finds it necessary to ask for directions from local residents.
• Photo 4: La Paz, Bolivia (photo by Pablo Verdin) Sometimes, the houses may exist but the road has not been paved yet.
• Photo 5: Mexico City, Mexico (photo by Deborah Levy) So it is often important to make sure that you wear the right shoes, because you may have to walk over some unexpected terrain.
• Photo 6: Bogotá, Colombia (photo by Pablo Verdin) When there are questions about the field directions, the supervisor makes the determination.
• Photo 7: Lima, Peru (photo by Pablo Verdin) How about a pose for the photographer to commemorate the occasion before we start?
• Photo 8: Bogotá, Colombia (photo by Deborah Levy) Now for the real work ... "Hello, I am from a market research firm ..."
• Photo 9: Quito, Ecuador (photo by Pablo Verdin) The respondents may not be willing to invite a stranger into their homes, but they are willing to stand outside and speak at length.
• Photo 10: San Juan, Puerto Rico (unknown photographer) Here is every interviewer's dream --- a nice comfortable sofa and a cooperative respondent.
• Photo 11: Asunción, Paraguay (photo by Pablo Verdin) And now a photograph after the interview is done.
• Photo 12: Montevideo, Uruguay (photo by Pablo Verdin) But nothing is considered to be completed until the field supervisor finishes the quality control work.
• Photo 13: New York City, NY, USA (photo by Roland Soong) Not everything takes place in Latin America, either. In January 1999, Wendy Parodi from Lerner Associates (Peru) came to Audits & Surveys Worldwide to learn about our operations.

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