The use of computer tablets in sociodemographic surveys under unfavorable field conditions - an application in land use and cover change studies in the Amazon

We describe the use of tablet computers with ESRI Survey123 for data collection in sociodemographic surveys applied to land use and cover change studies. Based on the administration of 716 questionnaires during the expedition carried out in 2022 in 64 rural communities along the Rio Negro River, in the Brazilian Amazon, we evaluate the advantages of computer-aided personal interviewing (CAPI) instead of paper-and-pencil interviewing (PAPI). The results point to reduced research time and costs, including for training, fieldwork supervision, and data processing. The unit cost of the questionnaire was reduced by an estimated 10%. We observed positive impacts on data quality, contact with communities, and dissemination of geocoded results. We conclude that the approach adopted by us was sufficient for the success of the survey, which indicates that CAPI can be used under unfavorable field conditions (lack of electricity and poor internet connection).