Ghana - Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2006, MICS Round 1

Start	End	Cycle
2006-08-05	2006-11-25	N/A

Face-to-face [f2f]
1. A pilot survey was conducted to assess the quality and completeness of the survey instrument. The outcome of the pilot survey was used to review the survey methodology, questionnaire, maps, manuals, training strategy, qualification and skills of interviewers & supervisors and other survey instruments.
2. Two-week training was organized
3. 90 people participated in the survey training, to serve as supervisors, editors, interviewers, and data entry clerks.
§ Each team was made up of:
§ Supervisor 1
§ Editor 1
§ Interviewers 4
§ Driver 1
1) All trainees participated in comprehensive interviewer training, including taking measurements of height and weight.
2) Towards the end of training period, participants spent 3 days conducting interviews in 16 EAs ( 8 urban, 8 rural).
3) Nine teams were formed for data collection, each consisting of a supervisor, editor, four interviewers and a driver.
4) Fieldwork took place over three months between August and November 2006.

The principal objective was to train them to understand and equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and skills to undertake the survey work

A. Collecting Materials for Fieldwork
Before the teams left for the field, the supervisor collected adequate supplies of the materials the team needed in the field. These items are listed below:

Fieldwork documents:
§ Supervisor's and Editor's Instructions
§ Interviewer's Instructions
§ Maps and household listing forms for all clusters in the assigned area
§ Letters of introduction
§ Questionnaires
§ Supervisor's/Editors Control Sheets
§ Interviewer's Control Sheets
§ Interviewer's Progress Sheets
Supplies:
§ Blue pens for interviewers
§ Red pens for the editor and supervisor
§ Clipboards, briefcases
§ Paper clips, scissors, string, staplers and staples, cello tape, etc.
§ Envelopes to store completed questionnaires
B. Monetary Advances For Field Expenses

The supervisor ensured that each team had sufficient funds to cover expenses for the team. Funds were distributed according to the procedures established by the survey director, if these have not been included in the per diem that is given directly to the interviewers.

The supervisor arranged for a system to maintain regular contact with the central office staff they left for the field. Regular contact was needed for supervision of the team by central office staff, payment of team members, and the return of completed questionnaires for timely data processing.

C. Arranging Transportation And Accommodations

It is the supervisor's responsibility to make all necessary travel arrangements for his/her team, whenever possible, in consultation with the central office. The supervisor was responsible for the maintenance and security of the team vehicle. The vehicle was used exclusively for survey-related travel, and when not in use, it was kept in a safe place. The driver of the vehicle took instructions from the supervisor.

In addition to arranging transportation, the supervisor was charge of arranging for food and lodging for the team. At their wish, interviewers made their own arrangements, as long as these did not interfere with fieldwork activities.

D. Contacting Local Authorities

It was the supervisor's responsibility to contact the regional, district, local, and village officials before starting work in an area. Letters of introduction were provided, but tact and sensitivity in explaining the purpose of the survey will help win the cooperation needed to carry out the interviews.

E. Using Maps To Locate Clusters

A major responsibility of the field supervisor and of the editor was to assist interviewers in locating households in the sample. The field coordinator/Survey coordinator provided the supervisor with a copy of the household listing for the sample and/or maps of the clusters in which his/her team will be working. These documents enable the team to identify the cluster boundaries and to locate the households selected for the sample. The representatives of the sample depended on finding and visiting every sampled household.

Maps were generally needed during all stages of a survey, since they provide a picture of the areas in which interviews are to be carried out and, therefore, help to eliminate errors such as duplication or omission of areas. Moreover, maps helped the supervisor, editor, and interviewers to determine the location of sample areas, the distance to them, and how to reach selected households or dwellings.

Each team was given general cluster maps, household listing forms, and, for urban areas, sketch maps and written descriptions of the boundaries of selected areas. A cluster is the smallest working unit in any census or survey operation that can easily be covered by one enumerator. It has identifiable boundaries and lies wholly within an administrative or statistical area. The general cluster maps may show more than one cluster. Each cluster was identified by a number (e.g., EA-05). Symbols are used to indicate certain features on the map such as roads, footpaths, rivers, localities, boundaries, etc. If symbols are shown on the map, the supervisor and editor should know how to interpret them by using the legend.

In most clusters, the boundaries follow easily recognizable land features such as rivers, roads, railroads, swamps, etc. However, at times boundaries are invisible lines. The location and determination of invisible boundaries calls for some ingenuity, particularly in rural areas.

On reaching a locality-EA/cluster, the team visited the chiefs and opinion leaders to greet them and explain their mission/- the objectives of the survey and solicit their support.

Average time spent on completing one household was 3 hours and each team spent 3 days in one EA/cluster. English together with local languages was used to conduct the interview. In a situation where the respondent does not understand English and the Interviewer does not understand the native language, an interprator was used for free or fee.

Five field monitoring teams made up of three persons were formed to monitor and validated the work of the interviewers and supervisors with the sole aim at ensuring high quality work

The questionnaires were developed in English from the MICS3 Model Questionnaires, and were translated into the various languages where data were collected. After an initial review the questionnaires were translated back into English by an independent translator with no prior knowledge of the survey. The back translation from the local languages version was independently reviewed and compared to the English original. Differences in translation were reviewed and resolved in collaboration with the original translators. Among the local languages used were: Akan, Eve, Ga, Dagbani and Nzema

The English and local languages questionnaires were both piloted as part of the survey pretest

1. Household information: Individual members, head of household, sex, age, marital status, relation to head of household, education, water and sanitation, working children, child discipline, disability and salt iodization
2. Children under 5 years: breastfeeding, care of illness, malaria, immunization, and anthropology
3. Women 15-49 years: infant/child mortality, tetanus toxoid, maternal and newborn health, marriage/union, contraception, female genital mutilation, attitude towards domestic violence, sexual behavior, and HIV/AIDS
4. Men 15-49 years: reproduction, marriage, sexual behavior, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections and attitudes toward domestic violence

Name	Abbreviation	Affiliation
Ghana Statistical Service	GSS	Office of the President

A. Responsibilities of the Field Supervisor

The field supervisor was the senior member of the field team. He/she was responsible for the well-being and safety of team members, as well as the completion of the assigned workload and the maintenance of data quality. The field supervisor received his/her assignments from and reported to the field coordinator/Survey coordinator. The specific responsibilities of the field supervisor were to make the necessary preparations for the fieldwork, to organize and direct the fieldwork, and to spot-check the data collected in the Household Questionnaire.

Preparing for fieldwork required that the field supervisor:
(1) Obtained sample household lists and/or maps for each area in which his/her team were working and discuss any special problems;
(2) Became familiar with the area where the team was working and determine the best arrangements for travel and accommodations;
(3) Contacted local authorities to inform them about the survey and to gain their support and cooperation;
(4) Obtained all monetary advances, supplies, and equipment necessary for the team to complete its assigned interviews. Careful preparation by the supervisor was important for facilitating the work of the team in the field, for maintaining interviewer morale, and for ensuring contact with the central office throughout the fieldwork.

In organizing field work, organizing fieldwork requires that the field supervisor adhered to certain basic procedures:
(1) Assign work to interviewers, taking into account the linguistic competence of individual interviewers, and assure that there is an equitable distribution of the workload;
(2) Ensure that the correct households are selected for man's interviews;
(3) Maintain fieldwork control sheets, and make sure that assignments are carried out;
(4) Make spot checks of the Household Questionnaire by conducting household interviews according to the procedure on page 22;
(5) Regularly send completed questionnaires and progress reports to the field coordinator/Survey coordinator and keep headquarters informed of the team's location;
(6) Communicate any problems to the field coordinator/Survey coordinator;
(7) Take charge of the team vehicle, ensuring that it is kept in good repair and that it is used only for project work;
(8) Make an effort to develop a positive team spirit; a congenial work atmosphere, along with careful planning of field activities, contributes to the overall quality of a survey.
(9) Go through a sample of completed questionnaires checked by the editor to make sure they are complete and internally consistent;
(10) Sit in at least one interview per interviewer per week to ensure that the interviewers are asking the questions in the right manner and correctly recording the responses;
(11) Meet with team members at the end of each day's work to discuss problems encountered;
(12) Assist interviewers to solve difficult problems and revise concepts and procedures.

B. Responsibilities of the Editor

The specific duties of the editor were to monitor interviewer performance and to make anthropometric measurements of children under five years of age. Close supervision of interviewers and editing of completed interviews is essential to assure that accurate and complete data were collected. As the collection of high-quality data was crucial to the success of the survey, it is important that mature, responsible adults were recruited as editors to execute their duties with care and precision. This was especially important during the initial phases of fieldwork, when it is possible to eliminate interviewer error patterns before they become habit.

Monitoring interviewer performance requires that the editor:
Observe several interviews every day;
Edit all completed questionnaires in the field; editing must be completed prior to leaving the sample area. To the extent possible, the field supervisor should assist the editor in performing this task so that all interviews are field edited while still in the sample area;
(3) Conduct regular review sessions with interviewers and advise them of any problems found in their questionnaires;
(4) Put completed questionnaires from a sample area in order and pack them up to be sent to the central office.

In Ghana MICS 2006 survey, (a) the editor assumed the role of measurer, (b) interviewers identify children to be measured and arrange for the editor/measurer to come to the household with the equipment, and (c) the editor carries out the anthropometric measurements with the interview assisting. Making anthropometric measurements of children is the responsibility of the editor and requires that he/she follows the procedures for weighing and measuring specified in Appendix of this manual. Anthropometric measurements was carried out by editor and another person who were trained to perform these tasks, and special measuring board and scales, which were provided to each interviewing team, should be used.

II Preparing For Fieldwork


A. Collecting Materials For Fieldwork

Before leaving for the field, the supervisor was responsible for collecting adequate supplies of the materials the team needed in the field. These items were:

Fieldwork documents:
Supervisor's and Editor's Instructions
Interviewer's Instructions
Maps and household listing forms for all clusters in the assigned area
Letters of introduction
Questionnaires
Supervisor's/Editors Control Sheets
Interviewer's Control Sheets
Interviewer's Progress Sheets

Supplies:
Blue pens for interviewers
Red pens for the editor and supervisor
Clipboards, briefcases
Paper clips, scissors, string, staplers and staples, cello tape, etc.
Envelopes to store completed questionnaires
First aid kit

Monetary Advances for Field Expenses

The supervisor ensured that each team had sufficient funds to cover expenses for the team. Funds were distributed according to the procedures established by the survey director, if these have not been included in the per diem that is given directly to the interviewers.

The supervisor arranged for a system to maintain regular contact with the central office staff they left for the field. Regular contact was needed for supervision of the team by central office staff, payment of team members, and the return of completed questionnaires for timely data processing.

C. Arranging Transportation and Accommodations

It is the supervisor's responsibility to make all necessary travel arrangements for his/her team, whenever possible, in consultation with the central office. The supervisor was responsible for the maintenance and security of the team vehicle. The vehicle was used exclusively for survey-related travel, and when not in use, it was kept in a safe place. The driver of the vehicle took instructions from the supervisor.

In addition to arranging transportation, the supervisor was charge of arranging for food and lodging for the team. At their wish, interviewers made their own arrangements, as long as these did not interfere with fieldwork activities.

D. Contacting Local Authorities

It was the supervisor's responsibility to contact the regional, district, local, and village officials before starting work in an area. Letters of introduction were provided, but tact and sensitivity in explaining the purpose of the survey will help win the cooperation needed to carry out the interviews.

E. Using Maps to Locate Clusters

A major responsibility of the field supervisor and of the editor was to assist interviewers in locating households in the sample. The field coordinator/Survey coordinator provided the supervisor with a copy of the household listing for the sample and/or maps of the clusters in which his/her team will be working. These documents enable the team to identify the cluster boundaries and to locate the households selected for the sample. The representatives of the sample depended on finding and visiting every sampled household.

Maps were generally needed during all stages of a survey, since they provide a picture of the areas in which interviews are to be carried out and, therefore, help to eliminate errors such as duplication or omission of areas. Moreover, maps helped the supervisor, editor, and interviewers to determine the location of sample areas, the distance to them, and how to reach selected households or dwellings.

Each team was given general cluster maps, household listing forms, and, for urban areas, sketch maps and written descriptions of the boundaries of selected areas. A cluster is the smallest working unit in any census or survey operation that can easily be covered by one enumerator. It has identifiable boundaries and lies wholly within an administrative or statistical area. The general cluster maps may show more than one cluster. Each cluster was identified by a number (e.g., EA-05). Symbols were used to indicate certain features on the map such as roads, footpaths, rivers, localities, boundaries, etc. If symbols were shown on the map, the supervisor and editor knew how to interpret them by using the legend.

In most clusters, the boundaries follow easily recognizable land features such as rivers, roads, railroads, swamps, etc. However, at times boundaries were invisible lines. The location and determination of invisible boundaries calls for some ingenuity, particularly in rural areas.

Assigning Work To Interviewers

The following proved helpful to the supervisor in assigning work:

(1) Make daily work assignments. Made sure each interviewer has enough work to do for the day, taking into account the duration of an interview and the working conditions in the area. The field coordinator/Survey coordinator advised on how many interviews to assign per day.
(2) It was necessary to assign more interviews than an interviewer can actually do in one day because some households and/or women had not been available to interview at the time of the interviewer's visit. Sometimes there were as many as three or four of these cases a day for a particular interviewer. In general, Supervisors assigned fewer households at the beginning of fieldwork, to allow time for discussion of problems and for close supervision.
(3) Distributed work fairly among the interviewers. Work was assigned taking into account the capabilities and strengths of each interviewer, but never consistently assigning more difficult workloads to certain interviewers. Some interviewers were unlucky and consistently drew difficult assignments.
(4) Ensured that each interviewer had all the required information and materials for completing the work assignment.
(5) Maintained complete records each day using the control sheets. All assignments and work completed by each interviewer and for each work area were carefully monitored for completeness and accuracy.
(6) Ensured that all selected households and eligible women and children for that cluster had been interviewed before leaving an area.
(7) Finally, it was the responsibility of the supervisor to make sure that the interviewers fully understood the instructions given to them and that they adhered to the work schedule. The work schedule was prepared in advance by the central office and adherence to it is crucial to avoid overruns in the total amount of time and money allocated for the fieldwork. Supervisors also monitored the work of each interviewer to assess whether she was performing according to the standards set by the central office.