Working in a research agency seems sometimes to be an exercise reserved to those who are initiate. However, any person with intellectual training should be able to adapt to this job, with training on basic principles.

Martial BUDUILE is a Research Specialist within Target. His tasks are to prepare studies, pretest of questionnaires, encoding, codification and analysis of results and writing reports of studies as well as articles to be published.

Within his powers, he gives prerequisites to surveyors in order to make their work easier in the field. 

He reveals here the boundaries of this job of which secret is holds by Target.

• Within your tasks in Target, you are in charge of instructing surveyors about their tasks, please explain us of what consisted your job?
• As in any market research agency, surveyors must be instructed on procedure to be followed for successfully achieving a project and my responsibility is to develop directives of supervisors and surveyors. The objective of these documents is a guideline for successfully achieving a research, directives reveal the research objectives. Talking about surveyors’ instructions, it is all about explaining them their portion of job with related responsibilities, tasks and methodologies that go with it. 

• How do you deal with a surveyor that has difficulty to follow your instructions?
• We are also aiming at participating in capacity building of our consultants. That is why we are first of all organizing a training for surveyors before sending them to perform a study. It is up to surveyors to ask questions to have more clarifications. During that said training session, we do a simulation amongst surveyors to check if they understood how to administrate questionnaire. We finally organize, at least 2 pilot studies. That training can take one or several days. The surveyor that has difficulty to follow instructions due to lack of understanding is monitored with more attention during a period of time.      
• How is working day with surveyors? (Can you describe a day of working with surveyors?)
• A day with surveyors can have several descriptions and it all depends on your position within the company. A Supervisor or Field Manager would spend his day monitoring surveyors in the field, providing them with advises and encouragements. For a Research Officer, myself for that matter, a day with surveyors would consist in training them in line with current project. 

• What prerequisites, what training and/or experience is necessary to control codification of questionnaires?
• There is not special training. Codification consists in giving code (figures) to a statement that represents a group of ideas. A good aptitude to summarize things could be enough to make codification. A good knowledge of French language is also required, for instance, to be able to correct some misprints. These are significant tools in general.

• Amongst tools you are using in your work are interview questionnaires, data processing forms and quotas forms. What are differences between these forms?
• Questionnaire is a set of questions to ask to respondents during a quantitative study. It can be composed of both open and closed questions. While data processing form shows dispatching of surveyors within the research area. This form allows surveyors locating their addresses on the field. Each one is working in a specific area. The quota form on the other side provides a profile of respondents which is required in study according to age brackets, social classes, genders, occupation and place of residence.
• Data processing forms indicates dispatching of surveyors in study areas allowing surveyors locating their addresses on the field showing them specific areas where they must individually work. Quota forms indicates respondents’ profile in line with age brackets, social classes, genders, etc… 

• What are essential stages when writing reports of studies?
• Writing report depends on type of studies that is conducted. Herein, we will more talk about quantitative studies. Generally speaking, a planning of report is established then templates must be developed based on questionnaire. Then, there will be a meeting with editors and IT team, in order to review different sections of questionnaire. After field job, our colleagues of IT department, will first of all make processing and cleaning of collected data. In the event that there are open questions, these questions must be codified. Then they proceed with printing of graphics and significance test before giving us figured results. Finally there will be the writing of report by inserting texts, pictures together with texts, special comments, etc…

• While achieving your tasks, what is the necessary documentation that you need?
• We belong to a research agency, we have got procedure manuals that have been internally developed, but also any kind of documentation to appropriately carry out a study. It is sometimes difficult to tell in advance what document to privilege to the detriment of another. I think that a Research Officer have to be well educated, informed and open – minded. Since, we conduct studies in various fields. We are conducting studies that vary sometimes only in terms of size and volume. Both content and form remaining the same, necessary documentation is the record (archives). We often need to use former reports, former methodologies, etc…

• You have surely participate in performance of several works since your arrival into Target agency, what is the best memory do you have and why?
• In October and November 2016, while I was still an external consultant, I participated into D LIGHT Project with especially supervision of data collection as well as writing of report. After presentation of results, the client was satisfied. I was encouraged by the General Manager. I think that is my best memory since I was satisfied as well and thankful for that well done job.