DDI Controlled Vocabulary for Mode of Collection

Code List
Value of the Code	Descriptive Term of the Code	Definition of the Code
Interview	Interview	A pre-planned communication between two (or more) people - the interviewer(s) and the interviewee(s) - in which information is obtained by the interviewer(s) from the interviewee(s). If group interaction is part of the method, use “Focus group”.
Interview.FaceToFace	Face-to-face interview	Data collection method in which a live interviewer conducts a personal interview, presenting questions and entering the responses. Use this broader term if not CAPI or PAPI, or if not known whether CAPI /PAPI or not.
Interview.FaceToFace.CAPI	Face-to-face interview: CAPI	Computer-assisted personal interviewing. Data collection method in which the interviewer reads questions to the respondents from a computer's screen and keys in the answers. The administration of the interview is managed by a specifically designed program.
Interview.FaceToFace.PAPI	Face-to-face interview: PAPI	Paper-and-pencil interviewing. The interviewer uses a traditional paper questionnaire to read the questions and enter the answers.
Interview.Telephone	Telephone interview	Interview administered on the telephone. Use this broader term if not CATI, or if not known whether CATI or not.
Interview.Telephone.CATI	Telephone interview: CATI	Computer-assisted telephone interviewing. The interviewer asks questions as directed by a computer, responses are keyed directly into the computer and the administration of the interview is managed by a specifically designed program.
Interview.Email	E-mail interview	Interviews conducted via e-mail, usually consisting of several e-mail messages that allow the discussion to continue beyond the first set of questions and answers, or the first e-mail exchange.
Interview.WebBased	Web-based interview	An interview conducted via the Internet. Examples include interviews conducted within online forums or using web-based audio-visual technology enabling the interviewer(s) and interviewee(s) to communicate in real time.
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire	Self-administered questionnaire	Data collection method in which the respondent reads, or listens to the questions, and enters the responses by him/herself; no live interviewer is present, or participates in the questionnaire administration. If possible, use a narrower term.
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire.FixedForm	Fixed form self-administered questionnaire	The questionnaire is not interactive and remains the same regardless of the responses given to prior questions. Use the broader term if the method is not described by any of the narrower terms. For example, for PDF and diskette questionnaires.
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire.FixedForm.Email	Fixed form self-administered questionnaire: E-mail	Questions are presented to the respondent in the text body of an e-mail, not as an attached electronic questionnaire or as a link to a web-based questionnaire.
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire.FixedForm.Paper	Fixed form self-administered questionnaire: Paper	Self-administered survey using a traditional paper questionnaire delivered and/or collected by mail (postal services), by fax, or in person by either interviewer, or respondent.
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire.FixedForm.SMSorMMS	Fixed form self-administered questionnaire: SMS/MMS	The questions and answers are incorporated in SMS (text messages) or MMS (messages including multimedia content) sent to, and from mobile phones.
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire.FixedForm.WebBased	Fixed form self-administered questionnaire: Web-based	Data are collected using a Web questionnaire that is fixed (not interactive).
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire.Interactive	Interactive self-administered questionnaire	Self-administered questionnaire in which the question sequence is not fixed, being managed by computer software. Some of the questions, as well as the order in which they are asked, are contingent to responses given to previous questions.
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire.Interactive.CASI	Interactive self-administered questionnaire: CASI	Computer-assisted self-interview. Data collection method in which the respondents enter their own answers directly into a computer (desktop, laptop, Palm/PDA, etc.). The administration of the questionnaire is managed by a specifically designed program, but there is no real-time data transfer, as in the case of CAWI: the answers are stored on the computer used for the interview. Use CASI if not known whether VCASI, ACASI, or TACASI.
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire.Interactive.CASI.VCASI	Interactive self-administered questionnaire: CASI: VCASI	Video computer-assisted self-interview. Earliest method of computer-assisted self-interviewing, in which respondents view the questions on a computer screen and typically enter answers using the computer keyboard, mouse, or touchscreen. (Thomas Harmon, et al. “Impact of T-ACASI on Survey Measurements of Subjective Phenomena”. Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 73, issue 2, pp. 255-280)
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire.Interactive.CASI.ACASI	Interactive self-administered questionnaire: CASI: ACASI	Audio computer-assisted self-interview. Data are collected by using a recorded voice into a computer-assisted self-interview. The text of each question and its answer alternatives are displayed on the computer screen, while a pre-recorded interviewer’s voice reads these to the respondent, who listens privately through headphones. Respondents answer by selecting the appropriate response on the keyboard or directly on the computer screen. Sometimes referred to as audio-visual CASI (AVCASI). (adapted from https://syrp.org/images/ACASI_Insert_Singles.pdf)
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire.Interactive.CASI.TACASI	Interactive self-administered questionnaire: CASI: TACASI	Telephone audio computer-assisted self-interview. TACASI adds telephone capabilities to a standard audio-CASI system, thereby allowing ACASI interviews to be conducted over the telephone, with the telephone’s touchtone keypad serving as the input device. (Thomas Harmon, et al. “Impact of TACASI on Survey Measurements of Subjective Phenomena”. Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 73, issue 2, pp. 255-280).
SelfAdministeredQuestionnaire.Interactive.CAWI	Interactive self-administered questionnaire: CAWI	Computer-assisted Web interview. The administration of the questionnaire completion is managed by a specifically designed program. Questions can be tailored to previous question responses, enabling routing plans. Answers are stored directly on the main database which is accessible through the Web, using a password-secured webpage.
FocusGroup	Focus group	A group discussion on a particular topic, organized for research purposes. The individuals are selected with relevance to the topic, and interaction among the participants is used as part of the method.
FocusGroup.FaceToFace	Face-to-face focus group	The focus group participants meet in person to conduct the discussion.
FocusGroup.Telephone	Telephone focus group	The focus group discussion is conducted over the telephone.
FocusGroup.Online	Online focus group	The focus group discussion is conducted over the Internet in an interactive manner.
SelfAdministeredWritingsAndDiaries	Self-administered writings and/or diaries	Narratives, stories, diaries and other personal written texts.
SelfAdministeredWritingsAndDiaries.Email	Self-administered writings and/or diaries: E-mail	Narratives, stories, diaries and other written texts submitted by e-mail messages.
SelfAdministeredWritingsAndDiaries.Paper	Self-administered writings and/or diaries: Paper	Narratives, stories, diaries and other written texts created and collected in paper form.
SelfAdministeredWritingsAndDiaries.WebBased	Self-administered writings and/or diaries: Web-based	Narratives, stories, diaries and other written texts gathered from Internet sources, e.g. websites, blogs, discussion forums.
Observation	Observation	Research method that involves collecting data as they occur (for example, observing behaviors, events, etc.), without attempting to manipulate any of the independent variables.
Observation.Field	Field observation	Observation that is conducted in a natural environment.
Observation.Field.Participant	Participant field observation	Type of field observation in which the researcher interacts with the subjects and often plays a role in the social situation under observation.
Observation.Field.Nonparticipant	Non-participant field observation	Observation that is conducted in a natural, non-controlled setting without any interaction between the researcher and his/her subjects.
Observation.Laboratory	Laboratory observation	Observation that is conducted in a controlled, artificially created setting. Example: Observation of children’s play in a laboratory playroom.
Observation.Laboratory.Participant	Participant laboratory observation	Type of laboratory observation in which the researcher interacts with the subjects and often plays a role in the social situation under observation. Example: Observation of children’s play in a laboratory playroom with the researcher taking part in the play.
Observation.Laboratory.Nonparticipant	Non-participant laboratory observation	Type of laboratory observation that is conducted without any interaction between the researcher and his/her subjects.
Observation.ComputerBased	Computer-based observation	Type of observation in which data regarding computer usage are being collected by software (like cookies, etc.) that is built into, or applied to local, or online computer programs. Information may be collected about the ways in which users interact with the programs, how much time they spend on a page, how they use specific sections of applications, how they navigate from page to page or from one application to another, etc.
Experiment	Experiment	Research method involving the manipulation of some or all of the independent variables included in the hypotheses.
Experiment.Laboratory	Laboratory experiment	An experiment conducted in a controlled, artificially created physical setting, in which a researcher manipulates one or several independent variables and measures its/their effect on the dependent variable.
Experiment.FieldIntervention	Field/Intervention experiment	An experiment conducted in a natural, uncontrolled setting, in which the researcher manipulates one or several independent variables. Intervention/clinical studies are one example of field experiments.
Experiment.WebBased	Web-based experiment	An experiment conducted in the virtual setting of the World Wide Web, in which experimental materials are programmed to implement artificial situations or events to be investigated in a distributed environment.(Reips, U.-D.(2002). Theory and techniques of Web experimenting. In B. Batinic, U.-D. Reips, and M. Bosnjak (Eds.), Online Social Sciences. Seattle: Hogrefe and Huber. Available: http://www.websm.org/uploadi/editor/Reips_2002_Theory_and_techniques.pdf [07 June 2013])
Recording	Recording	Registering by mechanical or electronic means, in a form that allows the information to be retrieved and/or reproduced. For example, images or sounds on disc or magnetic tape.
ContentCoding	Content coding	As a mode of secondary data collection, content coding applies coding techniques to transform qualitative data (textual, video, audio or still-image) originally produced for other purposes into quantitative data (expressed in unit-by-variable matrices) in accordance with pre-defined categorization schemes. Example: coded party manifesto data like the "European Parliament Election Study 2009, Manifesto Study" (doi:10.4232/1.10204)"
Transcription	Transcription	Capturing information in writing from a different source, or from a different medium, alphabet, or form of notation, like scientific formulae, or musical notes. For transcribed interviews or observations, it is recommended to document the primary mode of collection, using one of the interview or observation terms.
CompilationSynthesis	Compilation/Synthesis	Collecting and assembling data from multiple, often heterogeneous sources that have one or more reference points in common, and at least one of the sources was originally produced for other purposes. The data are incorporated in a new entity. For example, providing data on the number of universities in the last 150 years using a variety of available sources (e.g. finance documents, official statistics, university registers), combining survey data with information about geographical areas from official statistics (e.g. population density, doctors per capita, etc.), or using RSS to collect blog posts or tweets, etc.
Summary	Summary	Presentation of information in a condensed form, by reducing it to its main points. Example: Abstracts of interviews or reports are published and used as data rather than the full-length interviews or reports.
Aggregation	Aggregation	Statistics that relate to broad classes, groups, or categories. The data are averaged, totaled, or otherwise derived from individual-level data, and it is no longer possible to distinguish the characteristics of individuals within those classes, groups, or categories. For example, the number and age group of the unemployed in specific geographic regions, or national level statistics on the occurrence of specific offences, originally derived from the statistics of individual police districts.
Simulation	Simulation	Modeling or imitative representation of real-world processes, events, or systems, often using computer programs. For example, a program modeling household consumption responses to indirect tax changes; or a dataset on hypothetical patients and their drug exposure, background conditions, and known adverse events.
MeasurementsAndTests	Measurements and tests	Assessing specific properties (or characteristics) of beings, things, phenomena, (and/ or processes) by applying pre-established standards and/or specialized instruments or techniques.
MeasurementsAndTests.Educational	Educational measurements and tests	Assessment of knowledge, skills, aptitude, or educational achievement by means of specialized measures or tests.
MeasurementsAndTests.Physical	Physical measurements and tests	Assessment of physical properties of living beings, objects, materials, or natural phenomena. For example, blood pressure, heart rate, body weight and height, as well as time, distance, mass, temperature, force, power, speed, GPS data on physical movement and other physical parameters or variables, like geospatial data.
MeasurementsAndTests.Psychological	Psychological measurements and tests	Assessment of personality traits or psychological/behavioral responses by means of specialized measures or tests. For example, objective tests like self-report measures with a restricted response format, or projective methods allowing free responses, including word association, sentence or story completion, vignettes, cartoon test, thematic apperception tests, role play, drawing tests, inkblot tests, choice ordering exercises, etc.
Other	Other	Use if the mode of data collection is known, but not found in the list.

DDI Controlled Vocabulary for Mode of Collection

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