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Careers
Westat’s Field Data Collector Team
Looking for a field data collection job? Westat provides a great opportunity for you, with flexible work schedules, interesting projects, travel opportunities, and work that is meaningful and impactful. Because Westat conducts so many surveys, both large and small, there’s always an opportunity to create a work schedule that fits your calendar.
As a Westat field data collector, you have the opportunity to meet interesting study respondents and learn about issues that affect their lives. The data you collect help inform policymakers with what’s really important to people and what is happening in communities where you live and around the nation. It’s a great opportunity to earn income while making a difference!
Featured Field Positions
Westat has a large portfolio of ongoing projects that allow you to work flexible hours; you can stay busy with the schedule you want. Check out the projects we regularly recruit for below and click on the button above (Search for Positions and Apply Now) to find our current opportunities and apply.
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APEC IV
The Fourth Access, Participation, Eligibility, and Certification Study (APEC IV) will provide the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) with key information on annual error rates and erroneous payments for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Project staff will visit school districts and schools to collect data by reviewing and obtaining copies of student applications for free or reduced-cost breakfast and lunch as well as meal counting and claiming data. Data collectors will also visit schools to conduct meal service observations.
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The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) collects health care use and costs nationwide for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Field interviewers conduct in-person, computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI), or computer-assisted video interviews (CAVI) with selected households that are interviewed 5 times over the course of 2.5 years.
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The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provides important information about student academic achievement and learning experiences in various subjects. Also known as The Nation’s Report Card, NAEP has provided meaningful results to improve education policy and practice since 1969.
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The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) is a nationally representative sample of adults age 65 and older, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The study focuses on efforts to reduce disability and maximize health and independent functioning, and enhance the quality of life as people get older. In-person interviews are conducted annually and include questions about health conditions, accommodations, home environments, mobility, self-care, household activities, economic well-being, and quality of life. The interviewer also administers assessments of physical performance, cognitive capacity, hearing, vision, and movement.
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NOPUS
The National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) is sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Roadside data are collected through staff observations and used as a means of measuring the rate of seat belt restraint and motorcycle helmet usage in the U.S. The data also help safety groups and regulators better understand whether their regulatory and outreach programs are working. In addition, the data identify subgroups within the U.S. population that should be targeted for intervention (educational and enforcement campaigns) to help increase their use of safety devices.
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The Population Assessment of Tabacco and Health Study (PATH Study) is a longitudinal study that collects information on health, tobacco use and awareness of tobacco regulations, product warning labels, advertising, and the short- and long-term health effects of tobacco use for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Interviewers locate sampled addresses, interview sampled adults and youth in their homes, and ask some respondents for biological samples.
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Perspective
Integrating IT into Survey Data CollectionMay 2021
Westat continually looks for ways to bridge IT capabilities into survey research to enhance projects’ efficiencies and cost effectiveness. When carefully crafted, this framework can…
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Expert Interview
Being a Westat Field Data Collector Changed Breanne Beals’ LifeFebruary 2023
How many people can say that their job changed their life? Probably not many, but Breanne Beals, who was a field data collector at Westat…
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Perspective
Westat Field Data Collectors: Collecting Data to Improve LivesDecember 2022
Field data collectors are a vital part of research. They gather data from study respondents or make observations that, ultimately, help inform policymakers about what…
What is the job of a field data collector?
Westat data collectors are the critical front line, obtaining the data at the source. Depending on the survey, positions and assignments vary. Select a position title shown below to find out more.
Westat Data Collectors
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Field interviewers conduct interviews with selected respondents in person. These interviews will be conducted using either computer-assisted or paper questionnaires, depending on study requirements. Field interviewers are responsible for contacting respondents at homes, businesses, or schools to conduct the interviews.
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Listers may record addresses for household surveys at residential structures such as houses, apartment buildings, and mobile homes, or they may record addresses and short descriptions for commercial structures such as shopping centers, office buildings, restaurants, and other nonresidential buildings.
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Assessors administer standardized tests, most frequently to children in schools, though other settings and respondents may be included.
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Medical abstractors usually conduct their work at hospitals and doctor’s offices. Abstractors review medical records and record information from the files as specified by the study protocol.
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These positions range from performing clerical work, to observing behavior (e.g., observing seat belt use), to health professionals conducting medical examinations.
There is so much that I enjoy with my job. I like the freedom of working my own hours. I like weekly paychecks. I like my participants so much I can say they are family.
Debra Powell[People] participate because they realize that what they have to say will make a difference in our nation and, ultimately, in the world.
Heidi SchlusingWhat I most enjoy about my job is the fact that every day is different and every scenario is unique. This keeps things interesting and makes every day feels like a brand new experience.
Dwayne WrightWhen a [person] understands the value of their participation in the study and sees the data already in use, their perception changes—for the positive!
Mary Ann St. JohnI love getting to know the participants and their families. They share their lives with me, the good, the bad, and the ugly. The connection to them and their lives makes my life richer.
Helene StoakI enjoy being part of a study that is helpful to improving health of all age groups, that provides a scientific foundation to many topics in the news, and that people genuinely see as valuable.
Steve Moss