Keywords: Methodological challenges and improvements, including in the areas of sampling, measurement, survey design and survey response or non-response

This study attempts to measure the effect of third-party presence during interviews with migrant workers in Qatar. Such investigation of this large and peculiar demographic subgroup is lacking in the GCC and MENA region, where establishing a private interview might be more challenging, and where conforming to social norms is expected.

The State of Qatar is in a dynamic construction boom in part fueled by the need to build and support the economic growth and development, and in preparation for the hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. To fulfil these infrastructure development needs, the country relies heavily on foreign workers, who make up the majority of the labor force. However, the government has been frequently criticized by international media and human rights organizations on a number of issues concerning the working and living conditions of these workers.

To better understand ways in which their conditions and welfare can be improved, Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) has conducted a first of its kind comprehensive study of workers’ wellbeing (Guest Workers Welfare Index) in 2017. Male migrant worker respondents were asked series of questions about their satisfaction, attitudes, perceptions and concerns regarding life in Qatar, as well as their living and working conditions, social capital, health, and human rights. One of the main challenges faced when conducting face-to-face interviews in labor camps has been achieving interview privacy; supervisors, roommates and other third parties impede workers’ ability to provide accurate and honest reports. This study anticipated that the effect of third-party presence would likely be manifested during data collection, as it covered various sensitive topics. Hence, upon competing each interview, the interviewers were instructed to record whether there was a third party present, and in what capacity.

This allowed us to investigate the rate of non-private interviews, whether they affected reporting of sensitive outcomes, and whether there was significant variation between interviewers in the level of interview privacy they achieved. We also examined who among migrant workers are more likely to be interviewed with the presence of a third party. By answering these research questions, the present project will have significant scholarly and practical contribution to the field of survey research.

Understanding interviewer and respondent characteristics and behaviors, as well as labor camp dynamics that affect interview privacy is important for designing culturally relevant training material and practice sessions. While such material will be culturally sensitive and will directly benefit surveys conducted in Qatar, other GCC countries and the MENA region, it could also serve as a model to develop similar material to be used in other cultures. Finally, due to the widespread nature of sensitive information across many disciplines, this project will benefit all methodologists, researchers, and practitioners who design, collect, or analyze sensitive survey data helping them to improve their data quality and achieve more accurate conclusions and effective policies.