Interviewer instructions
1-3 PART C OF THE HOUSING FORM: Births and Deaths
This section is devoted to events of the previous 12 months. It is related to births and all deaths in the household over the course of the 12 months preceding the date of the census.
These events should be recorded very faithfully and exactly to avoid omissions which could negatively affect the quality of the data. In addition, the accuracy of the results obtained is dependent upon rigorously respecting the period of the 12 months which are used as a period of reference. The date of the enumerator's visit to the household will be a point of reference in determining this period.
Thus, since the date of the enumerator's visit to the household is April 6, 1987, only those events having taken place between April 6, 1986 and that date will be recorded.
A birth or a death which took place before April 6, 1986 will not be recorded. To help in this, a seasonal calendar has been created to help illiterate people better situate the period of the 12 months preceding the census. This seasonal calendar establishes the correspondence between the dates on the French calendar and those of the Muslim calendar with those of the names of the month in Bambara. The National Council, which took place the 29, 30 and 31 of March, 1986, can be a useful reference point to help situate those events in time.
General Principal in Recording Births and Deaths
When you are ready to record these events, proceed as follows: write the date of your visit to the household on a piece of scratch paper. Let's imagine that the date is April 6, 1987. In that case, only record events which took place between April 6 1986 and that date.
For illiterate heads of household, look for the date corresponding to April 6, 1986 on the seasonal calendar in the annex to determine the reference period.
1.3.2 Table 2: Deaths during the past 12 months
This table relates to all deaths occurring in the household in the past 12 months: children, adults and old people.
The deaths will also be recorded according to the general principal indicated above. Proceed as follows: write the date of your visit to the household on a piece of scratch paper.
For example: April 6, 1987. Then ask the head of household the following question: "Have there been any deaths in the household since April 6, 1986?" For illiterate heads of household this will be the lunar month corresponding to the month of April 1986 on the Muslim calendar (annex).
- If the answer to the question is NO, cross out table 2.
- If the answer to the question is YES, fill out table 2. But before you fill out the table, first make sure that the deaths did indeed occur during the 12-month period preceding your visit to the household. Then fill out table 2 according to the order of the columns.
1. Rank
Give a rank of 1, 2, etc. to each death and write it in this column.
2. First name and last name
Write the first and last names of the deceased.
3. Sex
Write M for masculine and F for feminine.
4. Age at death
Ask the head of household the age of the person when he/she died. For persons aged more than one year, write the age in completed years. For children aged less than one year, write the age in completed months.
Comments: Record the death of those children who died before the age of one very carefully. These children should be included on the table of births. Don't forget to ask the question about deaths in all households, even if no [deaths] were reported in the last several households questioned.
