The COVID-19 pandemic presented a major challenge for household survey programmes. Traditional face-to-face survey operations have become difficult to implement in many countries due to social distancing requirements and other restriction measures as a result of the pandemic. According to a survey conducted by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the World Bank in May 2020, 96 percent of national statistical offices (NSOs) partially or fully stopped face-to-face data collection.

In response to the government requirement on social distancing, many national statistical offices (NSOs) quickly turned to telephone or web interviews as an alternative data collection mode to maintain continuity in the production of key indicators and monitor the health and socio-economic impact of the pandemic.

In the fourth round of UNSD and the World Bank survey of national statistical offices in May-June 2021, a marked increase was observed in the number of countries declaring a full resumption of face-to-face data collection activities. Globally 44 percent of the surveyed countries resumed full face-to-face data collection, compared to just four percent a year earlier.

While the adaptation of national household survey operations indicated the resilience of NSOs, such adaptation also raised challenges for countries on survey data quality. Change of survey data collection mode from face-to-face to telephone or web may impact on sample coverage, response rate and measurement error. Shortening survey questionnaires and changing question flows will also impact on the quality and comparability of survey data.

In close consultation with the Task Force on COVID-19, established by the Inter-Secretariat Working Group on Household Surveys (ISWGHS), UNSD is hiring a consultant to develop a Guidance Note on Assessing and Minimizing the COVID Impact on Survey Quality.