Field Director

In the survey research community, the title Field Director is commonly used to denote the person with overall responsibility for the data collection component of a survey that uses off-site interviewing personnel as data collectors. Not to be confused with the Principal Investigator or the Project Director, which may be positions held by other staff on the project, the Field Director role is commonly limited in functional scope to all aspects of collecting data in the field. The Field Director also may be called the Field Manager or Data Collection Task Leader. (The Field Director title is sometimes used to refer to the person in charge of data collection in a centralized telephone call center, although some consider this a less appropriate use of the term.) [Page 278]A Field Director typically has overall responsibility for the preparation, staffing, training, implementation, monitoring, and controlling of the field operation and ensures the task is completed on schedule, within budget, and in accordance with the project objectives and quality specifications. On large surveys, the Field Director often is supported by in-house survey specialists, who assist with data collection preparations before collection begins, as well as Regional Supervisors and Field Supervisors. In this organizational model, the Field Supervisors oversee the field data collectors and report to Regional Supervisors, who in turn report to the Field Director. The Field Director is a senior member of the project management team and typically reports directly to the Project Director or Principal Investigator.

An effective Field Director should be a functional expert in two areas: project management and field survey methodology. Given the breadth of responsibilities, a person must be experienced and skilled in both areas.

Project management skills are needed to develop and implement the data collection plan and to monitor and control the execution of the plan. The Field Director should be proficient in developing work plans, work schedules, staffing plans, communication plans, quality plans, and budgets. He or she must have managerial skills to oversee the implementation of the various plans and the leadership skills to establish and maintain an effective and committed team of support staff. Finally, the Field Director must be skilled at monitoring and controlling the technical work, the logistics, the schedule, and the project budget. These project management skills are necessary to bring the field operation to a successful conclusion on schedule and within budget.

Survey methodology expertise is needed to ensure that the data collection plan incorporates appropriate survey operational methods, procedures, and systems that will result in a successful data collection outcome that meets project specifications and expectations within budget and time constraints. Areas of required expertise include development of instrumentation and forms, training plans, data collection protocols, validation and quality assessment procedures, and post-data collection processing of the collected data.

The Field Director must be a skilled negotiator, problem solver, manager, and team player who is able to interact effectively with other members of the project team as both a peer and a supervisor. He or she must coordinate field data collection activity with other project task managers, such as those in charge of sample design, systems and programming, weighting and estimation, and analysis. As noted earlier, the Field Director will often be responsible for a task team consisting of survey specialists, Regional Supervisors, Field Supervisors, and data collectors. Depending on the size, duration, and complexity of the data collection operation, the Field Director may assign task leaders to specific field data collection components, such as development of field manuals and training programs, instrumentation, field supply logistics, field staff recruiting, validation and quality, and so on. Overall responsibility for the completion and coordination of all tasks on schedule and within budget, however, lies with the Field Director.

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