About This Course

Given that data quality directly influences policy analysis and decision-making, public officers benefit from knowing what to look out for when commissioning research projects. Understanding both the design of the research and the quality controls adopted by MR firms helps ensure that the findings are robust, credible, and fit for policy use.

This training workshop focuses on the whats and hows when engaging a research company, through case study discussions and sharing from research audit practitioners.

The following are some topics to be covered:

1. Dos and don’ts when designing a research project
2. Tips on what public officers should take notes of when commissioning research
3. Strategies to manage quality controls effectively
4. Tips to detect interviewers’ misbehaviours through dataset checks

This workshop consolidates the two previous half‑day workshops in the “How to Be a Smart Social Research Consumer” series: R301 (now discontinued) and R302 (last run in March 2026).

What You'll Learn

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. UNDERSTAND the processes that affect face‑to‑face door‑to‑door survey data collection and manage quality control procedures effectively
2. RECOGNISE the considerations behind interviewing tools (e.g., CAPI, showcards) and interviewer effects that influence data quality
3. IDENTIFY action points that public officers can take to mitigate data quality issues and prevent fraudulent data collection
4. APPRECIATE data quality risks arising from varying fieldwork practices and
5. EQUIP yourself with best practices to ensure data integrity

Trainers

Kelly Tan, Senior Audit Expert

Kelly Tan

Senior Audit Expert
RS Audit

Kelly is a Senior Manager in RS Audit arm and concurrently an Expert (Research Assurance) with 13 years of experience in the MR industry. For the past 6 years, she has honed her skills as an auditor at RS Audit, where she developed a keen eye on data quality in data collection processes. Prior to her auditing role, Kelly gained comprehensive experience in the market research landscape, starting as a survey interviewer and progressing to project management, overseeing both quantitative and qualitative research initiatives.

Ng Lay Ling, Associate Audit Expert

Ng Lay Ling

Associate Audit Expert
RS Audit

Lay Ling is an Associate Audit Expert in RS Audit with 7 years of experience supporting government agencies in their survey projects. Prior to joining RS Audit, she was exposed to the MR industry as a survey interviewer and involved herself in managing field operations during her internship as a research executive. Lay Ling graduated from NTU with a Bachelor of Communication Studies.

Edrea Teo, Audit Expert

Edrea Teo

Associate Audit Expert
RS Audit

Edrea is an Associate Audit Expert from the RS Audit team. She has been in the market research industry for more than 15 years, with extensive experience in managing both small- and large-scale qualitative and quantitative studies. During her market research stint, she was also the project lead for large-scale online research studies spanning across multinational markets. The knowledge and skills acquired are vital for her role as an auditor at RS Audit.

Treniece Lee, Associate Audit Expert

Treniece Lee

Associate Audit Expert
RS Audit

Treniece has more than 15 years of market research experience across multiple sectors, with expertise in fieldwork management, data quality, and operational excellence. Over the past year, she has applied these skills as an auditor at RS Audit, supporting public sector agencies on field projects. Prior to her auditing role, she led research teams and managed data operations for both large-scale and longitudinal studies.

Relevant and engaging, littered with helpful tips. Highly recommendable.

- Senior Assistant Director, Ministry of Home Affairs

Content could be covered in reading material just as well! Value add is in the sharing of on the ground experiences. Appreciate the candid sharing of audit experiences!

- Assistant Director, National Council of Social Service

Generally well-conducted and well-paced. Smooth learning experience.

- Assistant Director, Ministry of Defence

Knowledgeable and willing to share industry standards.

- Senior Manager, Ministry of Manpower

Insightful. Have learnt a few good tips on fieldwork observations.

- Assistant Director, People’s Association

The workshop was useful to understand the operational aspects of running a survey. This helps to be aware of issues to prep for, especially to better equip interviewers and get the data we need.

- Assistant Director, Ministry of Defence

Insightful and informative with good sharing of real-life examples of fieldwork dos and don’ts. Useful workshop, recommend to attend!

- Manager, Ministry of Home Affairs

Rigorous audit and good observations. This short course provides a comprehensive overview on the basic issues to look out for in field surveys.

- Deputy Director, Early Childhood Development Agency

Great insights which are valuable to the data collection & survey design process. Appreciate an auditor’s perspective!

- Assistant Director, Ministry of Education

The course is well-paced with sufficient learning materials. Trainers are knowledgeable and illustrate the key takeaways with good use cases.

- Assistant Director, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth

Professional (relevant insights) for successful management even for newcomers.

- Senior Assistant Director, Ministry of Home Affairs

An engaging, enjoyable workshop that is a value-add to our work. Thanks team!

- Senior Analyst, Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura

Useful in my field of work as we commission vendors to conduct large scale F2F surveys. Good to learn what we need to look out for with limited resources we have. Thanks 😊

- Senior Manager, Ministry of Manpower

Engaging and structured course that is perfect for individuals who work with vendors for face-to-face polls.

- Psychologist, Ministry of Defence

Easy to digest and succinct! Convenient as well.

- Audience Analytics Assistant Manager, Ministry of Defence

Good introduction to how audit is done and what to look out for after survey completion. Always a new discovery.

- Manager, Early Childhood Development Agency

The course was amazing and informative. Learnt a lot to better QC my data from vendors. Lively and enthusiastic facilitators that makes data enjoyable!

- Manager, Early Childhood Development Agency

Content is comprehensive and interesting, with a lot of hands-on activities. Very interesting! It will be helpful if we do field work in the future :)

- Manager, Early Childhood Development Agency

Succinct! Enjoyed how key issues are elaborated on with clear suggested interventions. Insightful and actionable learning points.

- Analyst, Prime Minister's Office (Strategy Group)