Abstract
ObjectiveStandardized face-to-face interviews are widely used in low and middle-income countries to collect data for social science and health research. Such interviews can be long and tedious. In an attempt to improve the respondents’ experience of interviews, we developed a concept of gamified interview format by including a game element. Gamification is reported to increase engagement in tasks, but results from rigorously developed research are equivocal, and a theory of gamification is still needed.Materials & methodsWe evaluated the proposed gamification with a randomized controlled trial based on self-determination theory, specifically on the basic psychological needs theory. In total, 1266 respondents were interviewed. Single and multiple mediation analyses were used to understand the effects of the gamified interview format.ResultsOur evaluation showed that the gamification we had developed did not improve the outcome, the experience of the interview reported by respondent. The effect of the gamified interview format depended on the ability of respondents: gamification can be counterproductive if it overburdens the respondents. However, the basic psychological needs theory explained the mechanisms of action of gamification well: feeling competent and related to others improved the reported experience of the interview.ConclusionWe emphasize the need to develop context-specific gamification and invite researchers to conduct equivalently rigorous evaluations of gamification in future studies.
Highlights
IntroductionStandardized face-to-face interviews are one of the tools commonly used to collect data in both social science and health research [1]
research questions (RQs) 1: Do respondents evaluate the experience of the gamified interview format more positively than when it is not gamified? RQ 2: Is the effect of gamification mediated through the variables of the basic psychological needs theory? RQ 3: Does the ability of respondents to complete the puzzle moderate the effect of the Gamifying quantitative face-to-face interviews gamified interview format on the perceived experience and its mediators? To answer these questions, we conducted a randomized controlled trial with a large sample size, thereby contributing to gamification research [7, 18]
These results suggest that the basic psychological needs theory (BPNT) explains the mechanisms of perceiving the experience of the interview well
Summary
Standardized face-to-face interviews are one of the tools commonly used to collect data in both social science and health research [1]. In low- and middle-income countries, face-to-face interviews are the most common mode of data collection [2] because they sidestep sometimes low literacy rates, lack of reliable population data, and technological constraints. Depending on the complexity and length of the questionnaire, the skills of the data collectors, and the respondents’ abilities, respondents can become distracted, bored, and tired. This threatens the quality of data collected and may reduce the respondents’ willingness to participate in future surveys, which jeopardizes monitoring study results
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