Survey ID Number
NPL_1995_LSS-I_v01_M
Title
Living Standards Survey 1995-1996, First Round
Data Collection Notes
Household Listing Operation
After the random selection of the 275 wards, a complete enumeration of households in the sampled wards was conducted in order to select and identify the households to be interviewed. The household listing operation was carried out in two phases between July 1994 and December 1994. Information collected focused on: locality, name of the household head, nick-name of the household head (rural), block number of dwelling (urban), and household size. The cover page for the listing was designed to gather information on the mode of transport and time required to reach the ward; this facilitated the preparation of schedules for the field teams.
The pre-test and training periods provided excellent opportunities to simultaneously improve the structure of the questionnaire and the manual. Data were collected by 12 field teams, each responsible for a particular area of the country. Assignment of wards to the various teams had been done so as to balance the work load and travel time across teams. The teams were based in the appropriate district office of the CBS, and covered on average 23 wards. Each team consists of one supervisor, three interviewers, and a data entry operator. One of the interviewers was also trained as an anthropometrist, and was responsible for weighing and measuring children in all interviewed households.
Each team was provided with a computer, printer, and power system for data entry, as well as with scales and meters to measure children. All field teams surveyed households during a twelve month period. Three teams deputed in the Tarai region and one based in Kathmandu each were provided with a vehicle. Compared to the average workload of 22 wards, these four teams were allotted wards ranging from 33 to 36 wards. The reasons to provide these teams with a vehicle on top of the workload was also because of more accessibility in the region. All the teams were directed to strictly follow the process of on the spot electronic checking by observing the print out that can be obtained after the data is entered into the computer. A software package that would reveal immediately the errors and inconsistencies is installed to enable the team to revisit the household if the situation warrants. A detail interview schedule of all the selected wards were prepared in a systematic order and were supplied to the field teams to execute the interviews accordingly in order to control seasonal variation.
The entire field work is divided into four phases containing specific time tables showing dates for travel, date to start the interview and date to mail the diskettes to the center (CBS). However the first phase of the data collection work was intentionally minimized to 28 wards to evaluate quality and consistency of the data collected. All the supervisors after the first phase of data collection were assembled to the CBS for an in-depth evaluation of the quality of the data collected. A two week discussion session was conducted in order to maintain the desired quality of data through verification and cross-checks of data between inter-sections. Techniques to quickly check and verify through examples of empirical scanning was discussed at great length.
Field Work Organization
Field Teams: The data were collected by 12 field teams, each responsible for a particular area of the country. Assignment of wards to the various teams was done to balance the work load and travel time across teams. The teams were based in the appropriate district office of the CBS, and covered on average 23 wards. Each team consisted of one supervisor, three interviewers, and a data entry operator. One of the interviewer was also trained as an anthropometrist, and was responsible for weighing and measuring children in all interviewed households. Each team included at least one female interviewer.
Structure of the Interviews: Each ward was visited once. Within each ward, however, households to be interviewed were often visited several times, depending on how long it took to complete the questionnaire. In the first visit, the interviewer completed the listing of all the household members and made appointments to talk to each of them; in later visits, he/she interviewed the different members of the household. The amount of time taken to complete the questionnaire varied greatly from household to household, depending on the number of people there were in the household, how much land they owned, how many different kinds of economic activities they were undertaking, how many modern consumer goods they owned, and other such factors. In general, the larger the household, the more the people had to be interviewed, and hence the longer the interview in the household was likely to be. Usually it took at least two visits to complete the interview.
Data Entry and Management: A distinctive feature of the NLSS is the use of personal computers for data entry in the field. Instead of sending the completed questionnaires back to the central office for data entry, the data collected in the ward were entered while the team was still in the field. for this purpose, each team was provided with a computer, a printer, and a power system for data entry, in addition to scales and meters to measure children. A data entry program developed specifically for the survey was installed on each computer. The data entry program let the data operator and the supervisor know if there were mistakes or missing data in the interview, and checked whether information from one part of the interview matched information from other parts. When problems or errors were found, the interviewers returned to the households to correct the information. This process of entering, checking, and correcting the data in the field helped to ensure that the information collected was accurate. It also reduced the time lag between data collection and data analysis; diskettes containing the complete data for each ward were sent back to the central office as soon as work in the ward was completed, and the data were available for analysis shortly after the completion of the collection phase.
Data Collection: Data collection was planned over a full year to cover a complete cycle in agricultural activities and capture seasonal variations in other variables. Field work took place in four subsequent phases. During the first phase, which began on Ashad 15, 2052 (June 25, 1995), interviews were carried out in 28 wards. Then the supervisors and data entry operators were called back to the CBS for a two-week review of the data collected. Instructions were issued where errors and inconsistencies were found. The second phase of data collection work started from Bhadra (mid-August 1995) and continued till the first week of Kartik. During this phase, work on 66 wards was completed. The third phase data collection work continued from Kartik (after Dasain) onwards to Poush. During this phase work on 93 wards was completed. The fourth phase began in "Magh" and was completed by the end of "Jesth", 2052 (June 15, 1996), as planned.
Questionnaires
A preliminary draft of the questionnaire was first prepared with several discussions held between the core staff and the consultant to the project. Several documents both received from the world bank as well as from countries that had already conducted such surveys in the past were referred during this process. Subsequently the questionnaire was translated into NepalI.
After a suitable draft design of the questionnaire, a pre-test was conducted in five different places of the country. The places selected for the pre-test were Biratnagar, Rasuwa, Palpa, Nepalganj and Kathmandu Valley. The entire teams created for the pre-test were also represented by either a consultant or an expert from the bank. Feedback received from the field was utilized for necessary improvements in finalizing the seventy page questionnaire.
The content of each questionnaire is as follows:
HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONNAIRE
Section 1. HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION
This section served two main purposes: (i) identify every person who is a member of the household, and (ii) provide basic demographic data such as age, sex, and marital status of everyone presently living in the household. In addition, information collected also included data on all economic activities undertaken by household members and on unemployment.
Section 2. HOUSING
This section collected information on the type of dwelling occupied by the household, as well as on the household's expenditures on housing and amenities (rent, expenditure on water, garbage collection, electricity, etc.).
Section 3. ACCESS TO FACILITIES
This section collected information on the distance from the household's residence to various public facilities and services.
Section 4. MIGRATION
This section collected information from the household head on permanent migration for reasons of work or land availability.
Section 5. FOOD EXPENSES AND HOME PRODUCTION
This section collected information on all food expenditures of the household, as well as on consumption of food items that the household produced.
Section 6. NON-FOOD EXPENDITURES AND INVENTORY OF DURABLE GOODS
This section collected information on expenditure on non-food items (clothing, fuels, items for the house, etc.), as well as on the durable goods owned by the household.
Section 7. EDUCATION
This section collected information on literacy for all household members aged 5 years and above, on the level of education for those members who have attended school in the past, and on levelof education and expenditures on schooling for those currently attending an educational institution.
Section 8. HEALTH
This section collected information on illnesses, use of medical facilities, expenditure on health care, children's immunization, and diarrhea.
Section 9. ANTHROPOMETRICS
This section collected weight and height measurements for all children 3 years or under.
Section 10. MARRIAGE AND MATERNITY HISTORY
This section collected information on maternity history, pre/post-natal care, and knowledge/use of family planning methods.
Section 11. WAGE EMPLOYMENT
This section collected information on wage employment in agriculture and in non-agricultural activities, as well as on income earned through wage labor.
Section 12. FARMING AND LIVESTOCK
This section collected information on all agricultural activities -- land owned or operated, crops grown, use of crops, income from the sale of crops, ownership of livestock, and income from the sale of livestock.
Section 13. NON-FARM ENTERPRISES/ACTIVITIES
This section collected information on all non-agricultural enterprises and activities -- type of activity, revenue earned, expenditures, etc.
Section 14. CREDIT AND SAVINGS
This section collected information on loans made by the household to others, or loans taken from others by household members, as well as on land, property, or other fixed assets owned by the household.
Section 15. REMITTANCES AND TRANSFERS
This section collected information on remittances sent by members of the household to others and on transfers received by members of the household from others.
Section 16. OTHER ASSETS AND INCOME
This section collected information on income from all other sources not covered elsewhere in the questionnaire.
Section 17. ADEQUACY OF CONSUMPTION
This section collected information on whether the household perceives its level of consumption to be adequate or not.
RURAL COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE
Section 1. POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND INFRASTRUCTURES
This section collected information on the characteristics of the community, availability of electricity and its services and water supply and sewerage.
Section 2. ACCESS TO FACILITIES
Data on services and amenities, education status and health facilities was collected.
Section 3. AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
Information on the land situation, irrigation systems, crop cycles, wages paid to hired labor, rental rates for cattle and machinery and forestry use were asked in this section.
Section 4. MIGRATION
This section collected information on the main migratory movements in and out.
Section 5. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, USER GROUPS, etc.
In this section, information on development programs, existence user groups, and the quality of life in the community was collected.
Section 6. RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOL
This section collected information on enrollment, infrastructure, and supplies.
Section 7. RURAL HEALTH FACILITY
This section collected information on health facilities, equipment and services available, and health personnel in the community.
Section 8. MARKETS AND PRICES
This section collected information on local shops, Haat Bazaar, agricultural inputs, sale of crops and the conversion of local units into standard units.
URBAN COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE
Section 1. POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Information was collected on the characteristics of the community, availability of electricity, water supply and sewerage system in the ward.
Section 2. ACCESS TO FACILITIES
This section collected information on the distance from the community to the various places and public facilities and services.
Section 3. MARKETS AND PRICES
This section collected information on the availability and prices of different goods.
Section 4. QUALITY OF LIFE
Here the notion of the quality of life in the community was explored.