Sociological Survey Methodology: Interpreting Employment and Unemployment Data

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Caucasus Research Resource Centers -Armenia

Arsen Aslanyan

CRRC-Armenia Program Manager

March 19, 2008Yerevan, Armenia

Sociological Survey Methodology: Interpreting Employment and

Unemployment Data

A Program of Eurasia Partnership Foundation

[email protected]

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Surveys as Data Collection Tools

• How the respondents are selected?

• How and when are the data gathered?

• How the data are archived?

• How the data are analyzed and presented?

• Nuances of commenting survey data.

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Sampling: Strategies, Frames and Procedures

From whom and how you gather the data:

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What is a Sample?

A sample is a finite part of a population whose properties (knowledge, opinion, attitudes, behaviors, etc.) are studied to gain information about the whole.

Sampling Frame - A list of all the units (individuals, households, etc.) in the population from which the sample is taken.

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Samples and Sampling Strategy

The degree to which your sample mirrors the population from which it comes will depend to a

large extent on your sampling strategy.

Why is this important?

The sampling strategy is the way in which you select units from the population for inclusion into

your study.

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The CRRC Data Initiative (DI) Surveys

• The Data Initiative (DI) is a cross-border effort initiated by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) to collect data on a wide variety of social, political and economic indicators in the South Caucasus (SC).

• The DI survey has been conducted in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia annually since 2004.

• While the survey in 2004 was conducted in the capitals of the SC countries, the survey of 2005 encompassed also an internal region per country and, since 2006 it included all the regions of the mentioned countries.

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The DI 2004-2007 Survey Samples

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The CRRC Data Initiative (DI) Survey Methodology

The surveys in all countries have been implemented using a unified sampling methodology – multistage cluster sampling with preliminary stratification.

To be able to compare various geographic areas in the SC countries, the CRRC centers in 2007 introduced preliminary stratification of the sampling frames, which included 9 strata: North-East, North-West, South-East, South-West, each of them having both urban and rural areas, and the capital cities.

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The Preliminary Stratification in Armenia

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The CRRC Data Initiative (DI) Survey Methodology

Sampling Frame. While the CRRC centers in Georgia and Azerbaijan have been using Census data (addresses of surveyed households) as sampling frames, the CRRC-Armenia used the database of Armenian household electricity users as a frame to sample households for the interview.

Clusters of about 500 households were formed in each strata based on geographical proximity, and 50 households were randomly sampled in each selected cluster for interviewing.

Respondents: In parallel with/after the household interview, an individual interview was conducted with one adult member in the household, randomly selected using the last birthday method.

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The survey instrument – questionnaire was developed by the teams of researchers from three SC countries.

The survey gathers information about:

a) household characteristics (more than 80 questions on household size, socio-demographics of household members, economic status/conditions, as well information on current/past migrant members) and

b) individuals sampled within those households (about 160 questions on their employment, education, health, political views, social capital, etc.)

The average time for completing either household or individual interview was about 30 minutes.

The Survey Instrument

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The Fieldwork in Armenia

• Fieldwork period: September-October 2007

• Staff: 11 fieldwork supervisors, 100 interviewers

• Response rate: 78%

• Datasets (in SPSS format) and relevant documentation are available at: www.crrccenters.org

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Respondents (18+ years old) were asked the following question:

Armenian Labor ForceWho is there?

“Do you consider yourself to be employed (having a job)? This employment may be part-time or full-time, you may be officially employed, informally employed, or self-employed, but it brings you monetary income.”

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Those who did not have a job, were asked the following:

“Which of the following best describes your situation?”

[those who have a job]

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Those who are employed (have a job)

+Those who are unemployed and looking for a job (active job

seekers)

=

Economically Active Population

What comprises the Economically Active Population?

922 individuals in the sample

361 individuals in the sample

922+ 361= 1283 individuals in the sample

Unemployment level = 361/ (361+ 922) = 28%

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361 ? (According to their self reports)

OR

49 ? (those, who are registered at state and/or private agencies, including those who are “Unemployed and interested in a job, but currently NOT looking for a job”)

How many job seekers are in our sample?

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Always ask!How the unemployment level is

estimated?

If we estimate the unemployment level according to the respondents’ self reports on employment, then

Unemployment level = 361/ (361+ 922) = 28%

If we estimate the unemployment level using the number of job seekers registered at state and/or private agencies, then

Unemployment level = 49/ (49 + 922) = 5%

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The employed and unemployed by age groups (% within age groups)

Armenian Labor Force: Who is there?

36

27 26

18

31

49 47

15

18-30 31-45 46-60 61+

Unemployed and looking for a job Have job

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The employed and unemployed by sex (% within sex):

23

32

51

31

Male Female

Unemployed and looking for a job Have job

Armenian Labor Force: Who is there?

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The employed and unemployed by settlement types (% of total respondents):

20

39

28

42

31

37

rural other urban capital

Unemployed and looking for a job Have job

Armenian Labor Force: Who is there?

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The Employment and Unemployment by Educational Levels of Respondents

20

% 26

%

36

%

24

%

24

%

10

%

24

%

32

%

45

% 50

%

Primaryeducation

Incompletesecondaryeducation

Completedsecondaryeducation

Secondarytechnicaleducation

Completedhigher

education

Unemployment % within education groups have a job

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The Employment and Unemployment in the Capitals of the South Caucasus during 2004-2007

Always check the questionnaire!

40%

32%

38% 41%

38%

23%

38%

22%

44%

36% 39%

26%

39%

15%

52%

34%

35%

28%

36%

14%

48%

37%

32%

30%

Unemployedand looking

for a job

Have a job (%in total adult

popul.)

Unemployedand looking

for a job

Have a job (%in total adult

popul.)

Unemployedand looking

for a job

Have a job (%in total adult

popul.)

Yerevan Baku Tbilisi

2004 2005 2006 2007

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Unemployment: Closer Look at the Duration

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23

58

425

15

26 54

1010

124

23

34

43

11

11069

ruralurbancapital

Other

Employee in a local or international NGO

Employee in a small local family business

Run my own business, self-employed withemployees

Employee in a foreign/international organization

Run my own business, self-employed withoutemployees

Employee in a medium-size or big local privateorganization

Employee in a state organization, company orenterprise

Employment in Armenia by Sectors (% within community type)

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Employment in Armenia by Branches (% of respondents by strata)

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Migration: % of household members who have been abroad for more than 3 months during 1991-2007 and returned home

9.2%

6.9%

5.6%

1.9%

3.4%3.9%

3.3% 2.9% 2.7%

Yerevan Otherurban

Rural Baku Otherurban

Rural Tbilisi Otherurban

Rural

Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia

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Migration: Destination countries for those who have been abroad for more than 3 months during 1991-2007 and returned home

6985

49

18

4

25

4

7

8 918

Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia

Other foreign country/ Different region.

Western Europe.

Former SovietUnion, excludingRussia.

Russia.

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Migration: How did former migrants support their households back home? (% of returned migrants)

11

34

13

30

33

42

58

3344

Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia

No support

Monetarysupport only

Both monetaryand non-monetarysupport

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Migration: % of HHs having at least one member abroad as of October 2007

9%

15%

11%

3%

7% 6%

3%

7%

3%

Yerevan Otherurban

Rural Baku Otherurban

Rural Tbilisi Otherurban

Rural

Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia

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Migration: Number of Migrants Abroad per 100 Households (October 2007)

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79

34

8

14

23

86

Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia

Rural Urban Capital

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Migration: “How important are contributions received from the household members currently living abroad to your household’s well-being?”

55

222829

4044

9

30

115 3 7

Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia

Vital Important Moderately important Not very important

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Visit www.crrccenters.org - > Data Initiative Project to find:

• Survey datasets (in SPSS format)• Questionnaires and show cards (in 4

languages)• Survey methodology document• SPSS online crash course

Want to learn more?

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Want to learn SPSS?