The midday sun hammered the tin roof of the Kibera community hall. Inside, twenty field supervisors sat in plastic chairs, their tablets glowing in the dim light. At the front, Naomi, GeoPoll’s lead trainer for Kenya, tapped a stopwatch on her phone.

For many Kenyan users accustomed to the leisurely pace of SMS chatting, the introduction of time limits on surveys can be a source of anxiety. But for GeoPoll and its clients, time limits are not arbitrary hurdles; they are scientific controls.

Carren tapped the screen. The timer reset for the next question. She exhaled.

: GeoPoll often conducts surveys in 4-hour time blocks (e.g., 10:00, 14:00, 18:00, and 22:00) to measure media consumption and activities in the preceding four hours. Top Survey Topics in Kenya

Simon hesitated. “That might bias the data. Fast answers aren’t always accurate.”