Practical considerations for developing and implementing a video mode for survey data collection

Video interviewing was uncommon in large-scale survey research until the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. During the pandemic, many organizations conducting inperson research needed to pivot quickly to other modes of data collection, and some began exploring the viability of video interviewing. In the absence of a foundational body of literature on how to implement video interviewing, researchers relied on small-scale exploratory research to develop the data collection methodology. This paper presents a case study of one organization's experience developing the methodology to deploy it on a large scale. We review practical considerations for incorporating video interviewing into an existing study, based on our experience adding a video mode to two mixed-mode surveys: the American National Election Survey Time Series (ANES) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey–Household Component (MEPS-HC).