Household Survey 1996

The Household Listing Form and Selection of the Sample
Listing of households is the first job to be done after the team has settled in and completed the introductions to the community. Listing is best done by the whole team working together. This way they all get to know the community and its lay-out. However, if the census unit is too large this wastes too much time. So before beginning asks how many households there are, very roughly, in the census unit (noting that teams are supplied with the number of households that were there in the 1990 census). If the answer is 80 or more, divide the team into two and have each half-team work on one sector of the community/village. See the section below on what to do when the listing work is divided up.

If the census unit is a "line-up point" that does not correspond to any single village or community the number of households will often exceed 200 and frequently they are also quite dispersed. In this case it is not practical to attempt to list the whole census unit, so a decision is made in advance to split the census unit into smaller areas (perhaps groupings of clans). First, a local informant must communicate the boundaries of the census unit and for natural or administrative sub-units with the larger census unit (such as hamlets; or canyons/valleys). The sub-units should be big enough to allow for the selection of a set of households (about 30 or more), but should not be so large that excessive transport time will be needed each day just to find the household. Once the subunit is defined, its boundaries should be clearly described. Then one of the smaller units is randomly selected and the procedures outlined above are then followed to complete the listing. Note: only one of the sub-units are listed, sample chosen, and interviews undertaken.

The most important thing in the listing is to be sure that you list all the households and only the households belonging to the named village or census unit (or subset of the census unit if it is a line-up point). In rural areas, explain to village leaders at the beginning: "We have to write down all the households belonging to (Name) village." In case of doubt, always ask: "Does this household belong to (Name) village?" In the towns, the selected area is shown on a map. Check that the address where you are listing is within the same area shown.

Also explain: "We only write down the name of the head of household. When we have the list of all the households, we will select 12 by chance, for interview."

Procedure for Listing
The listing team walks around in every part of the village, accompanied by a guide who is a member of the village. If possible, find a person who conducted the 1990 Census in this community or someone with similar knowledge of the community and ask them to be your guide. Make sure you go to all parts of the village, including outlying hamlets. In hamlets, on in any place far from the centre, always check: "Do these people belong to (Name) village?"

In every part of the village, ask the guide about every house: "Who lives in this house? What is the name of the household head?" Note that you do not have to visit every household. At best, you just need to see each house but you do not need to go inside it or talk to anyone who lives there. Even the rule of seeing each house may be relaxed if there are far away household for which good information can be provided by the guide.

Enter the names of household heads in the lines of the listing form. One line is used for each household. As the lines are numbered, the procedure gives a number to each household. When you come to the last house, check with the guide: "Are you sure we have seen all the houses in the village?"

NOTE: It does not matter in what order you list the households as long as they are all listed.
After the listing is complete, check that all lines are numbered consecutively with no gaps, from start to finish. The number on the last line should be exactly the number of households listed.

Note: If the list is long (say more than 30 households) interviewer may encounter difficulties when looking for their selected household. One useful way to avoid this is to show the approximately the place in the list here certain landmarks come. This can be done by writing in the margin, CHURCH or STORE or whatever. You can also indicate where the lister started in a hamlet, for example.

Sample Selection
The sampling work is done by the supervisor. The first steps are done at the foot of the first page of the listing form. The steps to be taken are as follows:

1. Fill in the numbers asked for at the foot of the last listing page, as follows:

• M: enter the total number of households listed (same as last household number shown).
• Interval L: calculate (M / 15) to the nearest whole number.
• R: This is a random number with 3-digit decimals between 0.000 and 0.999.
• MR: multiply M by R and round to the nearest whole number. (If decimal 0.5, round up).

2. MR gives the 1st selection. (Exception: If MR=0, L gives the first selection.) Enter S against this line in the selection column of the list.

3. Count down the list, beginning after the 1st selection, a distance of L lines to get the 2nd selection, then another L to get the 3rd, etc. When you come to the bottom of the list, jump back to the top as if the list were circular. Stop after the 15th selection. Mark the 13th, 14th, and 15th selections "RES" (for reserve). Mark the 1st - 12th selection "S" (for selection).