STEP Skills Measurement Household Survey 2013 (Wave 2)

Each component of the STEP Survey in Armenia was carried out by a personal visit using a Paper And Pencil Interview (PAPI) method.The implementation language was Armenian.

As the STEP program requires all surveys to be implemented in a standardized way, particular attention was provided to implementation processes:

1. Each participating country (survey firm) wrote up a National Survey Design Planning Report (NSDPR) detailing how it intended to implement the STEP survey while complying with the STEP Technical Standards. The NSDPRs were submitted to the WB STEP team for approval.

2. The WB STEP team and Educational Testing Services (ETS) provided 2 workshops to all survey firms. The first was a 2-day workshop provided via video conference and aimed at presenting the STEP Technical Standards. The second workshop was organized over 2 full weeks at the WB's
   Headquarters and consisted in a training course to project managers from each survey firm on the survey instruments - Background Questionnaire and Reading Literacy Assessment - as well as on implementation and data management procedures.

3. Based on the STEP Technical Standards, the survey firms adapted and translated the STEP survey instruments, the Interviewer Manual, and all training materials.

4. Once the instruments had been adapted and translated, survey firms carried out a pre-test, usually including 20-30 interviews. Findings from the pre-test were discussed with the WB STEP team and ETS to finalize the adaptation and translation of the STEP survey instruments.

5. Each survey firm provided a 2-week training course to its enumerators, using training materials developed by the WB STEP team (after translation and adaptation). The WB STEP team's Survey Consultant helped organize the training and was present in the country for the first few days at least of the training. In addition, the WB STEP team in Washington DC provided just-in-time technical assistance, answering questions sent by the survey firm during the training. The training included in-field mock interviews in addition to in-class courses. At the end of the training, survey firms only retained enumerators having demonstrated a good understanding of the instruments.

6. As per STEP Technical Standards, data collection started within a few days of the end of the enumerators' training course.The composition of each country's fieldwork teams is described in the NSDPR, as well as reporting procedures and quality control processes.Weekly reports were sent to the WB STEP team, which provided just-in-time technical assistance during fieldwork to answer questions or concerns. Regular calls or VCs were also held between survey firms and the WB STEP team to discuss progress. Matters discussed usually involved questions on how to deal with specific situations, strategies to reduce non-response, the activation of reserve households, and general pace of progress. Non-response rates were high in Bolivia and Colombia, in part due to difficult access to appartment buildings and gated communities, although survey firms worked hard to gain local community leaders' support. In a few instances - all documented in the weighting documentation - a couple of EAs were replaced due to security concerns or because an EA had been completely altered (e.g. construction site, dwellings converted into a large shopping center).

7. Interviews lasted between 120 and 150 minutes, depending on respondents' reading proficiency.

Detailed information on the survey processes is provided in the National Survey Design Planning Report (NSDPR) provided as an external resource. The document describes the project management structure, fieldwork teams and reporting processes.