Abstract

The Integrated Household Survey is one of the primary instruments implemented by the Government of Malawi through the National Statistical Office (NSO) roughly every 5 years to monitor and evaluate the changing conditions of Malawian households. The IHS data have, among other insights, provided benchmark poverty and vulnerability indicators to foster evidence-based policy formulation and monitor the progress of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the goals listed as part of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) and now the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

• Households
• Individuals
• Children under 5 years
• Consumption expenditure commodities/items
• Communities
• Agricultural household/ Holder/ Crop

Universe

Members of the following households are not eligible for inclusion in the survey: • All people who live outside the selected EAs, whether in urban or rural areas. • All residents of dwellings other than private dwellings, such as prisons, hospitals and army barracks. • Members of the Malawian armed forces who reside within a military base. (If such individuals reside in private dwellings off the base, however, they should be included among the households eligible for random selection for the survey.) • Non-Malawian diplomats, diplomatic staff, and members of their households. (However, note that non-Malawian residents who are not diplomats or diplomatic staff and are resident in private dwellings are eligible for inclusion in the survey. The survey is not restricted to Malawian citizens alone.) • Non-Malawian tourists and others on vacation in Malawi.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The IHS4 sampling frame is based on the listing information and cartography from the 2008 Malawi Population and Housing Census (PHC); includes the three major regions of Malawi, namely North, Center and South; and is stratified into rural and urban strata. The urban strata include the four major urban areas: Lilongwe City, Blantyre City, Mzuzu City, and the Municipality of Zomba. All other areas are considered as rural areas, and each of the 27 districts were considered as a separate sub-stratum as part of the main rural stratum. This is the first round of the survey to include the island district of Likoma in the sampling frame. The sampling frame further excludes the population living in institutions, such as hospitals, prisons and military barracks. Hence, the IHS4 strata are composed of 32 districts in Malawi.

A stratified two-stage sample design was used for the IHS4.

Note: Detailed sample design information is presented in the "Fourth Integrated Household Survey 2016-2017, Basic Information Document" document.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONNAIRE The Household Questionnaire is a multi-topic survey instrument and is near-identical to the content and organization of the IHS3. It encompasses economic activities, demographics, welfare and other sectoral information of households. It covers a wide range of topics, dealing with the dynamics of poverty (consumption, cash and non-cash income, savings, assets, food security, health and education, vulnerability and social protection). Although the IHS4 household questionnaire covers a wide variety of topics in detail it intentionally excludes in-depth information on topics covered in other surveys that are part of the NSO’s statistical plan (such as maternal and child health issues covered at length in the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey).

AGRICULTURE QUESTIONNAIRE All IHS4 households that are identified as being involved in agricultural or livestock activities were administered the agriculture questionnaire, which is primarily modelled after the IHS3 counterpart. The modules are expanding on the agricultural content of the IHS3, IHS2, AISS, and other regional agricultural surveys, while remaining consistent with the NACAL topical coverage and methodology. The development of the agriculture questionnaire was done with input from the aforementioned stakeholders who provided input on the household questionnaire as well as outside researchers involved in research and policy discussions pertaining to the Malawian agriculture. The agriculture questionnaire allows, among other things, for extensive agricultural productivity analysis through the diligent estimation of land areas, both owned and cultivated, labor and non-labor input use and expenditures, and production figures for main crops, and livestock. Although one of the major foci of the agriculture data collection effort was to produce smallholder production estimates for major crops, it is also possible to disaggregate the data by gender and main geographical regions. The IHS4 cross-sectional households supply information on the last completed rainy season (2014/2015 or 2015/2016) and the last completed dry season (2015 or 2016) depending on the timing of their interview.

FISHERIES QUESTIONNAIRE The design of the IHS4 fishery questionnaire is identical to the questionnaire designed for IHS3. The IHS3 fisheries questionnaire was informed by the design and piloting of a fishery questionnaire by the World Fish Center (WFC), which was supported by the LSMS-ISA project for the purpose of assembling a fishery questionnaire that could be integrated into multi-topic household-surveys. The WFC piloted the draft instrument in November 2009 in the Lower Shire region, and the NSO team considered the revised draft in designing the IHS4 fishery questionnaire.

COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE The content of the IHS4 Community Questionnaire follows the content of the IHS3 & IHPS Community Questionnaires. A “community” is defined as the village or urban location surrounding the enumeration area selected for inclusion in the sample and which most residents recognize as being their community. The IHS4 community questionnaire was administered to each community associated with the 780 cross-sectional EAs. Identical to the IHS3 approach, to a group of several knowledgeable residents such as the village headman, the headmaster of the local school, the agricultural field assistant, religious leaders, local merchants, health workers and long-term knowledgeable residents. The instrument gathers information on a range of community characteristics, including religious and ethnic background, physical infrastructure, access to public services, economic activities, communal resource management, organization and governance, investment projects, and local retail price information for essential goods and services.

Cleaning operations

DATA ENTRY PLATFORM To ensure data quality and timely availability of data, the IHS4 was implemented using the World Bank’s Survey Solutions CAPI software. To carry out IHS4, 1 laptop computer and a wireless internet router were assigned to each team supervisor, and each enumerator had an 8–inch GPS-enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet computer. The use of Survey Solutions allowed for the real-time availability of data as the completed data was completed, approved by the Supervisor and synced to the Headquarters server as frequently as possible. While administering the first module of the questionnaire the enumerator(s) also used their tablets to record the GPS coordinates of the dwelling units. In Survey Solutions, Headquarters can then see the location of the dwellings plotted on a map of Malawi to better enable supervision from afar – checking both the number of interviews performed and the fact that the sample households lie within EA boundaries. Geo-referenced household locations from that tablet complemented the GPS measurements taken by the Garmin eTrex 30 handheld devices and these were linked with publically available geospatial databases to enable the inclusion of a number of geospatial variables - extensive measures of distance (i.e. distance to the nearest market), climatology, soil and terrain, and other environmental factors - in the analysis.

DATA MANAGEMENT The IHS4 Survey Solutions CAPI based data entry application was designed to stream-line the data collection process from the field. IHS4 Interviews were collected in “sample” mode (assignments generated from headquarters) as opposed to “census” mode (new interviews created by interviewers from a template) for the NSO to have more control over the sample.

The range and consistency checks built into the application was informed by the LSMS-ISA experience in IHS3 and IHPS. Prior programming of the data entry application allowed for a wide variety of range and consistency checks to be conducted and reported and potential issues investigated and corrected before closing the assigned enumeration area. Headquarters (NSO management) assigned work to supervisors based on their regions of coverage. Supervisors then made assignments to the enumerators linked to their Supervisor account. The work assignments and syncing of completed interviews took place through a Wi-Fi connection to the IHS4 server. Because the data was available in real time it was monitored closely throughout the entire data collection period and upon receipt of the data at headquarters, data was exported to STATA for other consistency checks, data cleaning, and analysis.

DATA CLEANING The data cleaning process was done in several stages over the course of field work and through preliminary analysis. The first stage of data cleaning was conducted in the field by the field based field teams utilizing errors generated with the Survey Solutions application. For questions that

Brazil Average Real Wages: Usual Earnings: Central West: Government Sector: Military or Civil Servant data was reported at 5,619.000 BRL in Mar 2019. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,547.000 BRL for Dec 2018. Brazil Average Real Wages: Usual Earnings: Central West: Government Sector: Military or Civil Servant data is updated quarterly, averaging 5,390.000 BRL from Mar 2012 (Median) to Mar 2019, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,759.000 BRL in Dec 2013 and a record low of 5,046.000 BRL in Mar 2017. Brazil Average Real Wages: Usual Earnings: Central West: Government Sector: Military or Civil Servant data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Labour Market – Table BR.GBD003: Continuous National Household Sample Survey: Average Real Wages: Usual Earnings.

Abstract

The Victims of Crime Survey (VCS) is a countrywide household-based survey which collects data on the prevalence of particular kinds of crime within South Africa. The survey includes information on victimisation experienced by individuals and households and their perspectives on community responses to crime. Therefore, VCS data can be used for research in the development of policies and strategies for crime prevention and public safety and education programmes. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) conducted its first VCS in 1998. Following the VCS 1998, victims surveys were conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Since 2011, StatsSA began conducting an annual collection of the VCS as a source of information on crime in South Africa. The main objectives of the survey are to:

• Provide information about the dynamics of crime from the perspective of households and the victims of crime.

• Explore public perceptions of the activities of the police, prosecutors, courts and correctional services in the prevention of crime and victimisation.

• Provide complimentary data on the level of crime within South Africa in addition to the statistics published annually by the South African Police Service.

NOTE: The VCS 2017/18 is the eighth and final release in the collection and is comparable to the new Governance Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS). In April 2018, StatsSA launched the GPSJS in response to the need for standardised international reporting standards on governance and access to justice that are recommended by the SDGs, ShaSA and Agenda 2063. In compliance with these standards, Stats SA has discontinued separate publication of the VCS and rather incorporated it within the new GPSJS series. Therefore, VCS 2017/18 represents the final separate release of the series and all subsequent VCS series can be extracted from the GPSJS series (i.e. VCS 2018/19 is contained within GPSJS 2018/19).

Geographic coverage

The survey has national coverage.

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

The target population of the survey consists of all private households in all nine provinces of South Africa and residents in workers' hostels. The survey does not cover other collective living quarters such as students' hostels, old-age homes, hospitals, prisons and military barracks, and is therefore only representative of non-institutionalised and non-military persons or households in South Africa.

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

VCS 2017/2018 uses a Master Sample frame which has been developed as a general-purpose household survey frame that can be used by other Stats SA household-based surveys. VCS 2017/2018 collection was based on the Stats SA 2013 Master Sample. This Master Sample is based on information collected during the 2011 Census conducted by Stats SA. In preparation for Census 2011, the country was divided into 103 576 enumeration areas (EAs). The census EAs, together with the auxiliary information for the EAs, were used as the frame units or building blocks for the formation of primary sampling units (PSUs) for the Master Sample. There are 3 324 primary sampling units (PSUs) in the Master Sample with an expected sample of approximately 33 000 dwelling units (DUs).The number of PSUs in the current Master Sample (3 324) reflects an 8,0% increase in the size of the Master Sample compared to the previous Master Sample (based on the 2001 Census which had 3 080 PSUs). The updating of the Master Sample as compared to previous VCSs is expected to improve the precision of statistical estimates.

The Master Sample is designed to be representative at provincial level and within provinces at metro/non-metro levels. Within the metros, the sample is further distributed by geographical type. The three geography types are Urban, Tribal and Farms. This implies, for example, that within a metropolitan area, the sample is representative of the different geography types that may exist within that metro.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The VCS 2017/18 questionnaire was based on the questionnaires used in the International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) and previous VOCSs conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Statistics SA.

Sections 10 to 20 of the questionnaire relate to household crimes. A proxy respondent (preferably head of the household or acting head of household) answered on behalf of the household. Section 21 to 28 of the questionnaire about crimes on individuals were asked of a household member who was selected using the birthday section method. This methodology selects an individual who is 16 years or older, whose birthday is soonest after the survey date.

Data appraisal

Comparability:

Prior to 2014/2015, VOCS respondents were asked about their crime-related experiences in the previous calendar year, but since 2014/15 VCS changed to a Continuous Data Collection (CDC) method. In this data collection method, respondents were interviewed on a rolling basis over the course of a year and asked about crime experienced in the 12 months prior to the interview. As a result of this, the victimisation experiences reported by respondents interviewed in a period of 12 months relate to a broader span of 23 months.

The VCS 2017/18 is comparable to all previous VCSs iin that several questions have remained unchanged over time. Where possible, it was generally indicated in the report. Additionally, the VCS 2017/18 is the last before VCS became incorproated into a broader survey called the GPSJS. The change to the surveys will likely cause some comparability issues going forward beyond 2018.

Metadata: There is an error in the SSA published metadata, which incorrectly states that the survey was designed with 3080 PSUs. The survey was designed with 3324 PSUs.

Abstract

The GHS is an annual household survey which measures the living circumstances of South African households. The GHS collects data on education, health, and social development, housing, access to services and facilities, food security, and agriculture.

Geographic coverage

The General Household Survey has national coverage.

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

The survey covers all de jure household members (usual residents) of households in the nine provinces of South Africa, and residents in workers' hostels. The survey does not cover collective living quarters such as student hostels, old age homes, hospitals, prisons, and military barracks.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

From 2015 the General Household Survey (GHS) uses a Master Sample (MS) frame developed in 2013 as a general-purpose sampling frame to be used for all Stats SA household-based surveys. This MS has design requirements that are reasonably compatible with the GHS. The 2013 Master Sample is based on information collected during the 2011 Census conducted by Stats SA. In preparation for Census 2011, the country was divided into 103 576 enumeration areas (EAs). The census EAs, together with the auxiliary information for the EAs, were used as the frame units or building blocks for the formation of primary sampling units (PSUs) for the Master Sample, since they covered the entire country, and had other information that is crucial for stratification and creation of PSUs. There are 3 324 primary sampling units (PSUs) in the Master Sample, with an expected sample of approximately 33 000 dwelling units (DUs). The number of PSUs in the current Master Sample (3 324) reflect an 8,0% increase in the size of the Master Sample compared to the previous (2008) Master Sample (which had 3 080 PSUs). The larger Master Sample of PSUs was selected to improve the precision (smaller coefficients of variation, known as CVs) of the GHS estimates. The Master Sample is designed to be representative at provincial level and within provinces at metro/non-metro levels. Within the metros, the sample is further distributed by geographical type. The three geography types are Urban, Tribal and Farms. This implies, for example, that within a metropolitan area, the sample is representative of the different geography types that may exist within that metro.

The sample for the GHS is based on a stratified two-stage design with probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling of PSUs in the first stage, and sampling of dwelling units (DUs) with systematic sampling in the second stage.After allocating the sample to the provinces, the sample was further stratified by geography (primary stratification), and by population attributes using Census 2011 data (secondary stratification).

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Data was collected with a household questionnaire and a questionnaire administered to a household member to elicit information on household members.

Data appraisal

Please note that DataFirst provides versioning at dataset and file level. Revised files have new version numbers. Files that are not revised retain their original version numbers. Changes to any of the data files will result in the dataset having a new version number. Thus version numbers of files within a dataset may not match

Abstract

The VCS series is a countrywide household-based survey that has three main objectives: • Provide information about the dynamics of crime from the perspective of households and the victims of crime • Explore public perceptions of the activities of the police, prosecutors, courts and correctional services in the prevention of crime and victimization • Provide complimentary data on the level of crime within South Africa in addition to the statistics published annually by the South African Police Service.

Geographic coverage

National coverage.

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

The target population of the survey consists of all private households in all nine provinces of South Africa and residents in workers' hostels. The survey does not cover other collective living quarters such as students' hostels, old-age homes, hospitals, prisons and military barracks, and is therefore only representative of non-institutionalized and non-military persons or households in South Africa.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

VCS 2016/2017 uses a Master Sample frame which has been developed as a general-purpose household survey frame that can be used by other Stats SA household-based surveys. VCS 2016/2017 collection was based on the Stats SA 2013 Master Sample. This Master Sample is based on information collected during the 2011 Census conducted by Stats SA. In preparation for Census 2011, the country was divided into 103 576 enumeration areas (EAs). The census EAs, together with the auxiliary information for the EAs, were used as the frame units or building blocks for the formation of primary sampling units (PSUs) for the Master Sample. There are 3 324 primary sampling units (PSUs) in the Master Sample with an expected sample of approximately 33 000 dwelling units (DUs). The updating of the Master Sample as compared to previous VCSs is expected to improve the precision of statistical estimates.

The Master Sample is designed to be representative at provincial level and within provinces at metro/non-metro levels. Within the metros, the sample is further distributed by geographical type. The three geography types are Urban, Tribal and Farms. This implies, for example, that within a metropolitan area, the sample is representative of the different geography types that may exist within that metro.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaire was developed based on the questions used in the International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS), previous VOCSs (both conducted by ISS and Stats SA) with modifications in some instances. The Stats SA questionnaire design standard for household surveys was also used as a normative reference. In order to minimize fieldworker and capturing errors, the questionnaire was largely pre-coded. Sections 10 to 20 of the questionnaire represent household crimes for which a proxy respondent (preferably head of the household or acting head of household) answered on behalf of the household. All analysis done in this report that included demographic variables was done using the demographic characteristics of the household head or proxy. Section 21 to 28 of this questionnaire required that an individual be selected using the birthday section method to respond to questions classified as individual crimes. This methodology selects an individual who is 16 years or older, whose birthday was first to follow the survey date.

In the VOCS 2016/17 questionnaire, respondents were asked what they thought could be the motive for perpetrators committing crime. This question was asked differently in 2016/17 as compared to the previous years. Users are advised to use caution when these responses across the series.

Data appraisal

Comparability:

Prior to 2014/2015, VOCS respondents were asked about their crime-related experiences in the previous calendar year, but since 2014/15 VCS changed to a Continuous Data Collection (CDC) method. In this data collection method, respondents were interviewed on a rolling basis over the course of a year and asked about crime experienced in the 12 months prior to the interview. As a result of this, the victimization experiences reported by respondents interviewed in a period of 12 months relate to a broader span of 23 months.

Abstract

The Integrated Household Survey is one of the primary instruments implemented by the Government of Malawi through the National Statistical Office (NSO) roughly every 3-5 years to monitor and evaluate the changing conditions of Malawian households. The IHS data have, among other insights, provided benchmark poverty and vulnerability indicators to foster evidence-based policy formulation and monitor the progress of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the goals listed as part of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) and now the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

• Households
• Individuals
• Consumption expenditure commodities/items
• Communities
• Agricultural household/ Holder/ Crop
• Market

Universe

Members of the following households are not eligible for inclusion in the survey: • All people who live outside the selected EAs, whether in urban or rural areas. • All residents of dwellings other than private dwellings, such as prisons, hospitals and army barracks. • Members of the Malawian armed forces who reside within a military base. (If such individuals reside in private dwellings off the base, however, they should be included among the households eligible for random selection for the survey.) • Non-Malawian diplomats, diplomatic staff, and members of their households. (However, note that non-Malawian residents who are not diplomats or diplomatic staff and are resident in private dwellings are eligible for inclusion in the survey. The survey is not restricted to Malawian citizens alone.) • Non-Malawian tourists and others on vacation in Malawi.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The IHS5 sampling frame is based on the listing information and cartography from the 2018 Malawi Population and Housing Census (PHC); includes the three major regions of Malawi, namely North, Center and South; and is stratified into rural and urban strata. The urban strata include the four major urban areas: Lilongwe City, Blantyre City, Mzuzu City, and the Municipality of Zomba. All other areas are considered as rural areas, and each of the 27 districts were considered as a separate sub-stratum as part of the main rural stratum. The sampling frame further excludes the population living in institutions, such as hospitals, prisons and military barracks. Hence, the IHS5 strata are composed of 32 districts in Malawi.

A stratified two-stage sample design was used for the IHS5.

Note: Detailed sample design information is presented in the "Fifth Integrated Household Survey 2019-2020, Basic Information Document" document.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONNAIRE The Household Questionnaire is a multi-topic survey instrument and is near-identical to the content and organization of the IHS3 and IHS4 questionnaires. It encompasses economic activities, demographics, welfare and other sectoral information of households. It covers a wide range of topics, dealing with the dynamics of poverty (consumption, cash and non-cash income, savings, assets, food security, health and education, vulnerability and social protection). Although the IHS5 household questionnaire covers a wide variety of topics in detail it intentionally excludes in-depth information on topics covered in other surveys that are part of the NSO’s statistical plan (such as maternal and child health issues covered at length in the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey).

AGRICULTURE QUESTIONNAIRE All IHS5 households that are identified as being involved in agricultural or livestock activities were administered the agriculture questionnaire, which is primarily modelled after the IHS3 counterpart. The modules are expanding on the agricultural content of the IHS4, IHS3, IHS2, AISS, and other regional agricultural surveys, while remaining consistent with the NACAL topical coverage and methodology. The development of the agriculture questionnaire was done with input from the aforementioned stakeholders who provided input on the household questionnaire as well as outside researchers involved in research and policy discussions pertaining to the Malawian agriculture. The agriculture questionnaire allows, among other things, for extensive agricultural productivity analysis through the diligent estimation of land areas, both owned and cultivated, labor and non-labor input use and expenditures, and production figures for main crops, and livestock. Although one of the major foci of the agriculture data collection effort was to produce smallholder production estimates for major crops, it is also possible to disaggregate the data by gender and main geographical regions. The IHS5 cross-sectional households supply information on the last completed rainy season (2017/2018 or 2018/2019) and the last completed dry season (2018 or 2019) depending on the timing of their interview.

FISHERIES QUESTIONNAIRE The design of the IHS5 fishery questionnaire is identical to the questionnaire designed for IHS3. The IHS3 fisheries questionnaire was informed by the design and piloting of a fishery questionnaire by the World Fish Center (WFC), which was supported by the LSMS-ISA project for the purpose of assembling a fishery questionnaire that could be integrated into multi-topic household-surveys. The WFC piloted the draft instrument in November 2009 in the Lower Shire region, and the NSO team considered the revised draft in designing the IHS5 fishery questionnaire.

COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE The content of the IHS5 Community Questionnaire follows the content of the IHS3 & IHS4 Community Questionnaires. A “community” is defined as the village or urban location surrounding the enumeration area selected for inclusion in the sample and which most residents recognize as being their community. The IHS5 community questionnaire was administered to each community associated with the cross-sectional EAs interviewed. Identical to the IHS3 and IHS4 approach, to a group of several knowledgeable residents such as the village headman, the headmaster of the local school, the agricultural field assistant, religious leaders, local merchants, health workers and long-term knowledgeable residents. The instrument gathers information on a range of community characteristics, including religious and ethnic background, physical infrastructure, access to public services, economic activities, communal resource management, organization and governance, investment projects, and local retail price information for essential goods and services.

MARKET QUESTIONNAIRE The Market Survey consisted of one questionnaire which is composed of four modules. Module A: Market Identification, Module B: Seasonal Main Crops, Module C: Permanents Crops, and Module D: Food Consumption.

Cleaning operations

DATA ENTRY PLATFORM To ensure data quality and timely availability of data, the IHS5 was implemented using the World Bank’s Survey Solutions CAPI software. To carry out IHS5, 1 laptop computer and a wireless internet router were assigned to each team supervisor, and each enumerator had an 8–inch GPS-enabled Lenovo tablet computer. The use of Survey Solutions allowed for the real-time availability of data as the completed data was completed, approved by the Supervisor and synced to the Headquarters server as frequently as possible. While administering the first module of the questionnaire the enumerator(s) also used their tablets to record the GPS coordinates of the dwelling units. In Survey Solutions, Headquarters can then see the location of the dwellings plotted on a map of Malawi to better enable supervision from afar – checking both the number of interviews performed and the fact that the sample households lie within EA boundaries. Geo-referenced household locations from that tablet complemented the GPS measurements taken by the Garmin eTrex 30 handheld devices and these were linked with publically available geospatial databases to enable the inclusion of a number of geospatial variables - extensive measures of distance (i.e. distance to the nearest market), climatology, soil and terrain, and other environmental factors - in the analysis.

The range and consistency checks built into the application was informed by the LSMS-ISA experience in previous IHS waves. Prior programming of the data entry application allowed for a wide variety of range and consistency checks to be conducted and reported and potential issues investigated and corrected before closing the assigned enumeration area. Headquarters (NSO management) assigned work to supervisors based on their regions of coverage. Supervisors then made assignments to the enumerators linked to their Supervisor account. The work assignments and syncing of completed interviews took place through a Wi-Fi connection to the IHS5 server. Because the data was available in real time it was monitored closely throughout the entire data collection period and upon receipt of the data at headquarters, data was exported to STATA for other consistency checks, data cleaning, and analysis.

DATA MANAGEMENT The IHS5 Survey Solutions CAPI based data entry application was designed to stream-line the data collection process from the field. IHS5 Interviews were collected in “sample” mode (assignments generated from headquarters) as opposed to “census” mode (new interviews created by interviewers from a template) for the NSO to have more control over the sample.

The range and consistency checks built into the application was informed by the LSMS-ISA experience in previous IHS waves. Prior programming of the data

Abstract

The Victims of Crime Survey (VCS) is a countrywide household-based survey which collects data on the prevalence of particular kinds of crime within South Africa. The survey includes information on victimisation experienced by individuals and households and their perspectives on community responses to crime. Therefore, VCS data can be used for research in the development of policies and strategies for crime prevention and public safety and education programmes. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) conducted its first VCS in 1998. Following the VCS 1998, victims surveys were conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Since 2011, StatsSA began conducting an annual collection of the VCS as a source of information on crime in South Africa. The main objectives of the survey are to:

• Provide information about the dynamics of crime from the perspective of households and the victims of crime.

• Explore public perceptions of the activities of the police, prosecutors, courts and correctional services in the prevention of crime and victimisation.

• Provide complimentary data on the level of crime within South Africa in addition to the statistics published annually by the South African Police Service.

The VCS 2016/17 is the seventh release in the collection and is comparable to the new Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS). StatsSA launched the GPSJS in April 2018 in response to the need for standardised international reporting standards on governance and access to justice that are recommended by the SDGs, ShaSA and Agenda 2063. Therefore, the VCS 2016/17 (and all subsequent releases) can be used as a complementary dataset to the GPSJS releases.

Geographic coverage

The survey has national coverage.

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

The target population of the survey consists of all private households in all nine provinces of South Africa and residents in workers' hostels. The survey does not cover other collective living quarters such as students' hostels, old-age homes, hospitals, prisons and military barracks, and is therefore only representative of non-institutionalised and non-military persons or households in South Africa.

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

VCS 201/2017 uses a Master Sample frame which has been developed as a general-purpose household survey frame that can be used by other Stats SA household-based surveys. VCS 2016/2017 collection was based on the Stats SA 2013 Master Sample.This Master Sample is based on information collected during the 2011 Census conducted by Stats SA. In preparation for Census 2011, the country was divided into 103 576 enumeration areas (EAs). The census EAs, together with the auxiliary information for the EAs, were used as the frame units or building blocks for the formation of primary sampling units (PSUs) for the Master Sample. There are 3 324 primary sampling units (PSUs) in the Master Sample with an expected sample of approximately 33 000 dwelling units (DUs). The updating of the Master Sample as compared to previous VCSs is expected to improve the precision of statistical estimates.

The Master Sample is designed to be representative at provincial level and within provinces at metro/non-metro levels. Within the metros, the sample is further distributed by geographical type. The three geography types are Urban, Tribal and Farms. This implies, for example, that within a metropolitan area, the sample is representative of the different geography types that may exist within that metro.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The VOCS 2016/17 questionnaire was based on the questionnaires used in the International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) and previous VOCSs conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Statistics SA.

Sections 10 to 20 of the questionnaire relate to household crimes. A proxy respondent (preferably head of the household or acting head of household) answered on behalf of the household. Section 21 to 28 of the questionnaire about crimes on individuals were asked of a household member who was selected using the birthday section method. This methodology selects an individual who is 16 years or older, whose birthday is soonest after the survey date.

Data appraisal

Comparability:

Prior to 2014/2015, VOCS respondents were asked about their crime-related experiences in the previous calendar year, but since 2014/15 VCS changed to a Continuous Data Collection (CDC) method. In this data collection method, respondents were interviewed on a rolling basis over the course of a year and asked about crime experienced in the 12 months prior to the interview. As a result of this, the victimisation experiences reported by respondents interviewed in a period of 12 months relate to a broader span of 23 months.

The VCS 2016/17 is comparable to previous and subsequent VCSs in that several questions have remained unchanged over time. Where possible, it was generally indicated in the report.

Effect of media attributes on the sentiment of professions and SOC groups.