Case Study - Philippines Metagora Pilot Project

CHAPTER 5: THE FIELD OPERATIONS (page 3)

5.3 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED DURING FIELD ENUMERATION

A summary of problems reported by enumerators and supervisors during the enumeration is presented below:

1. Distances between households were far. Mobility of the interviewers affected the field operations as there were no regular means of transportation in some sample areas.

2. Some sample areas could only be reached by hiking (and travel time for walking/hiking from one site to another was six hours). Enumerators were forced to walk and sometimes hitched rides with private vehicles.

3. Most households worked early on their farms and they went home in the evening (their farms are far from their houses). Enumeration in these cases was done in the evening or early in the morning.

4. There were different versions of the dialect depending on the province. Some of the words used in the Kakanaey translation could not be understood by the respondents.

5. Some respondents claimed that they were not informed of the interview/survey. Hence, the enumerators had to explain the rationale of the survey and get their cooperation.

6. Replacement of sample households was unavoidable since some of the sample households had transferred to other places and some of the selected sample households were not the target IPs.

7. Eligible respondents were not available during the survey period.

8. The weather was not cooperative. During the field operations, there were heavy rains, making it difficult to reach the sample households.

1. Clear-cut delineation of functions among partner agencies is needed to avoid conflicts (i.e. recruitment, salaries, per diems, choice of speaker etc.).

2. Aside from allowances, a hazard pay should also be considered for special surveys.

3. Such surveys should not coincide with planting season because most of the households are only available during the night.

4. The provision of incentives for respondents should be explored.

5. Use of translated questionnaires for the interviews must be part of the regular survey procedures for better understanding of the respondents.

6. Listing of households should be undertaken prior to the survey so as to identify which of the households are IPs. Thus, no time will be wasted in looking for the target IPs. This will minimise the need for replacement households.