Collection of data by non-professionals in ecopathology surveys

In the course of the surveys carried out by the Centre d'Ecopathologie Animale, the collection of data is performed by interviewers who are specialists in cattle breeding (eg, technicians, veterinary surgeons, and inseminators). This practice improves the reliability of the collected data but gives rise to constraints. To get round these difficulties, a number of methods improving the feasability of surveys by numerous and various interviewers have been developed and adapted: setting up surveys by interdisciplinary groups; preliminary surveys and validation of survey procedures and aids; and training interviewers about the ecopathological approach and the constraints of data collection.