- A Brief History: International Field Directors and Technologies (1993-Present)
- Field Technologies (1989-1992), and Field Directors (1951-1992)*
In 1968, John Scott wrote a memo, A Suggestion for a Conference
on Field Problems in Survey Research (see the message board). As a result, a
conference held later that year began an annual tradition of meetings of survey
research personnel. The attendance page shows locations and organizers over the
years.
These meetings continued for 21 years, and were called just
"Field Directors." They were one and a half days long and very
informal. The procedures were maintained solely through oral tradition and
common agreement at each year’s conference. From the beginning, the membership
was limited to academic, government, and nonprofit organizations. By the
mid-1980s, the allowed number of persons attending per organization had grown
from two to four (two plus two more if they were on the conference program). The
focus has always been practical and problem solving; finished papers are not
required; works in progress are encouraged.
Attendance was in the 30s-60s, and through 1987 all sessions
were plenary—everyone sat around one table.
Before the mid-1980s, most of the conference discussions were
about interviewer and field administration concerns. Then the newly emerging
world of CATI began to dominate the conference program. The 1987 Raleigh and
1998 Toronto conferences were the turning points. In Raleigh, there were very
few discussions on traditional Field Directors concerns, and in Toronto there
were very few sessions on CATI. The following year, Bill Nicholls and seven
others organized a new conference called "Field Technologies."
Field Technologies’ first meeting was in St. Petersburg in
1989. From 1989 through 1992, Field Directors and Field Technologies had
separate programs, organizers, and registration. Field Technologies was held
right after Field Directors, with one overlap day on which joint sessions were
held. Participants could register for either or both programs. The Field
Technologies Charter, adopted at the first meeting, allowed for eight persons
from each organization (four plus another four if they were on the conference
program).
At the 1993 meeting in Chicago, the two conferences merged and
adopted a common charter. "International" had become part of the title
in the mid-1980s, in recognition of members from around the world. Thus, the
title of the merged organization, "International Field Directors and
Technologies Conference." The new charter allowed for 16 per organization
(four + four Directors, and four + four Technologies).
The first joint FD/FT meeting in 1989 had about 120 attending,
almost double the numbers from the previous few years. Growth has continued,
with a peak of 255 in 1999.
The proportion attending for 2000, 2001 and 2002 per
organization is below.
