A "Prototypical" LSMS Questionnaire: A Summary of the Questionnaire Design for Ghana

The following information, taken from Table 4 of the Guide, describes the household, community and price questionnaires of Ghana's LSMS survey. While there is no formal prototype for the LSMS, the questionnaires used in Ghana come as close as any to being a prototype. They are described in this annex with that purpose. The Ghana LSMS was first conducted in 1987-88. This nationwide survey gathered individual and household level data using a multi-purpose household questionnaire. Community level data were collected using a community questionnaire in rural areas and a price questionnaire was used in both urban and rural areas.

Household Questionnaire

The household survey contains modules (sections) to collect data on household demographic structure, housing conditions, schooling, health, employment, migration, expenditure and income, household non-agricultural businesses, agricultural activities, fertility and contraceptive use, savings and credit, and anthropometric (height and weight) measures.

The individual designated by the household members as the household head provided responses to questions on general household information, or indicated which member would know the answer. If the household head was not available, a member of the household who was able to provide information on household affairs was selected. In most sections of the questionnaire, each member of the household was asked to respond for himself or herself, except that parents were allowed to respond for younger children.

The household questionnaire was completed in two interviews two weeks apart: Sections 0-8, 16A, 17A and 17C were conducted in the first interview. Sections 9-15, 16B and 17B were conducted in the second interview. The survey was designed so that more sensitive issues such as fertility and savings were discussed near the end. The content of each module is briefly described below.

I. FIRST INTERVIEW

Section 0 SURVEY INFORMATION

0A HOUSEHOLD HEAD AND RESPONDENT INFORMATION
0B SUMMARY OF SURVEY RESULTS
0C OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS

The date of the interview, the religion and language of the household head, the language used by the respondent and other technical information related to the interview are noted.

Section 1 HOUSEHOLD MEMBERSHIP

1A HOUSEHOLD ROSTER
1B INFORMATION ON PARENTS OF HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS
1C CHILDREN RESIDING ELSEWHERE

The roster in Section 1A lists the age, sex, marital status and relation to household head of all people who spent the previous night in that household and for other household members. The household head is listed first and receives personal id # 1. Household members were defined to include "all the people who normally live and eat their meals together in this dwelling." Those who were absent more than nine of the last twelve months were excluded, except for the head of the household and infants less than three months old. An historical calendar prepared for the 1984 population census was used to help respondents accurately date births and other long-ago events for which documentation could not be produced.

Information on schooling and occupation for non-resident (including deceased) parents of household members and on the age, sex, and schooling of (currently living) non-resident children of household members were collected in Sections 1B and 1C, respectively.

Section 2 HOUSING

2A TYPE OF DWELLING
2B HOUSING EXPENSES

Section 2A contains the type of dwelling and years at current residence. Household expenses, including rent and utilities, source of water, cooking fuel and light, and type of toilet are in Section 2B.

Section 3 SCHOOLING

3I ATTENDANCE
3II EXPENSES

In Section 3I, data were collected for each household member 5 years or older on self-reported literacy and numeracy, school attendance, completion and current enrollment. For all individuals who attended school during the past 12 months, data were collected on expenses, scholarships, and distance and travel time to school in Section 3II. The translation of the highest grade completed into the number of years of schooling is provided in Appendix F.

Section 4 HEALTH

Individual members and parents of children were asked to respond to the health questions in Section 4. The respondent reported on at most one illness or injury, if any, sustained in the last four weeks, the type, location and cost of any care sought, and the amount spent in the last twelve months on vaccinations, Maternal and Child Health or other health consultations. Women age 15 and older were asked how many live births they have had.

Section 5 ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

5A TIME USE AND JOB SEARCH
5B MAIN JOB DURING THE PAST SEVEN DAYS
5C SECONDARY JOB DURING THE PAST SEVEN DAYS
5D SEARCH FOR ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT
5E MAIN JOB DURING THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS
5F EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
5G SECONDARY JOB DURING THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS
5H OTHER ACTIVITIES

All individuals age seven and older were asked to respond to the economic activity questions in Section 5, beginning with the questions on the nature of their work in the last seven days. For persons that did not work in last seven days, data were collected on job search, reservation wage, and reason for not seeking employment. For work in last seven days, information was collected on hours, length of employment, type of employer, taxes, distance and travel time to work, money and in kind compensation, and benefits. Similar questions were asked on the secondary job in the last seven days. Questions were asked on search for additional employment, including the kind of work sought and the lowest acceptable wage. If main work in the last twelve months was different from the main or secondary job in the last seven days, the complete set of questions was answered for that work as well. Type of work and years of experience at any work prior to that of the main job in the last twelve months were collected. Again, if there was a secondary job in the last twelve months different from the other jobs, data on work conditions and compensation were collected. Days and hours spent doing household chores were collected for each household member age seven and older.

Section 6 MIGRATION

All household members age seven or older also responded to the questions on migration in Section 6: If not born at current residence, was place of birth a village, town, city, or other? How old were the individuals when they left? What was the main reason for leaving? What was the main reason for coming to the current place of residence? From what region did the person come to the current place, was it a village, town or city? In how many places has the person lived for periods of more than three months in his or her life?

Section 7 RESPONDENTS CHOSEN FOR ROUND TWO (the second interview)

In Section 7, the principal respondent was asked to identify 1) the household member who knows the most about all the agricultural and livestock activities of the household, 2) the household member who shops for food and 3) the household member who knows the most about the other household expenses, income and savings of household members. The respondent was also asked to identify the three most important businesses and trades belonging to the household. Finally, a woman was selected at random from among the women in the household between the ages of 15 and 50 to respond to the fertility module. All these women would then be interviewed in the second round (interview) of the survey.

Section 8 CHARACTERISTICS OF HOUSING

Section 8 notes the construction material of the household's dwelling's walls, flooring, roof and windows, and the floor area in square meters.

II. SECOND INTERVIEW

Section 9 AGRO-PASTORAL ACTIVITIES

9A LAND
9B CROPS
9C AGE OF TREE CROPS
9D FARM INPUTS
9E SALES OF FOOD PRODUCTS MADE FROM HOMEGROWN CROPS
9F LIVESTOCK
9G ANIMAL PRODUCTS
9H EXTENSION CONTACTS FOR LIVESTOCK
9I LIVESTOCK EXPENDITURES
9J HAND TOOLS
9K FARMING EQUIPMENT

In Section 9 the respondent was the household member identified in Section 7 as the one most knowledgeable about the household's agricultural and pastoral activities. Most questions refer to the past twelve months. Because interviews were conducted throughout the year, the prior twelve months differs among households. This also means that crop production (harvest) over that time period may be from the previous agricultural cycle while the inputs correspond to the current agricultural cycle. Section 9A covers land owned, rented and cultivated by the household, land sales, gifts and trades, and land sharecropped in and out. Section 9B collects information on acreage, production, distribution, loss to pests and market value of 32 crops. Section 9C notes the proportion of tree crops in each of the three categories: 1) too young to produce, 2) in full production, and 3) near the end of productive life. Section 9D surveys farm inputs, including seeds, young plants, fertilizer, manure, herbicides and insecticides, and twine and sacks. Information was collected on the amounts used, costs, and source of credit for purchase. Information on expenses for transport, storage, paid labor, rented animals, fuel, and machinery rental and repair was also collected. Sharecropping in and out, including the proportion of harvest exchanged, were also noted, as was contact with an extension agent.

Section 9E contains information on processing of homegrown crops for sale. Who did the processing? For how many months of the year? How often was it sold? How much was it sold for? How much was spent on tools, transport and labor? Section 9F contains data on the value, sale, consumption and purchase of livestock in the last twelve months. Section 9G asks about the processing for sale of animal products produced by the household, including the value of the amount sold. Contact with animal husbandry or veterinary extension workers in the past twelve months is covered in section 9H. Expenditures on, and source of, supplies and services for livestock are noted in Section 9I. Ownership of hand tools is surveyed in Section 9J. Section 9K surveys ownership, value, sale and purchase of heavier farm machinery including tractors, ploughs, cart, vehicles and draft bullocks.

Section 10 NON-FARM SELF-EMPLOYMENT

10A WORKING CONDITIONS
10B EXPENDITURES
10C REVENUES
10D BUSINESS ASSETS

Section 10 gathers data on Non-Farm Self-Employment for the three most important enterprises operated by the household. The respondent for each enterprise is the household member most familiar with its operation (as identified in Section 7). Data are gathered on the ownership, number of employees, and type of employee compensation for each enterprise. For each business, expenditures over the last twelve months on wages, raw materials, and taxes are collected. The respondent was asked how much, in money and goods, was received from sales and how much of the enterprise's product was consumed by the household since the first interview. Information on ownership, sales and purchases of assets--buildings, land, vehicles, tools and durable goods-- in the last twelve months is also collected.

Section 11 NON-FOOD EXPENDITURES & INVENTORY OF DURABLE GOODS

11A DAILY EXPENSES
11B ANNUAL EXPENSES
11C INVENTORY OF DURABLE GOODS
11D EXPENSES FOR REMITTANCES

Section 11 collects information on household expenditures from the household member identified in Section 7 as the one most able to answer non-food expenditure questions. Respondents were asked to recall the amount spent since the first interview (approximately two weeks) on daily expenses such as lottery tickets, cigarettes, soap, personal care products, cooking fuel, matches and candles, and gasoline. Expenditures on other goods, both in the last two weeks and the last twelve months, were collected for shoes, cloth, clothing repairs, public transport, paper supplies, furniture, kitchen equipment, medical services, domestic servants, jewelry, entertainment and other goods (see household questionnaire). Purchase price, length of ownership and resale value of durable goods owned were collected in Section 11C. Relation and location of the recipients of remittances sent out of the household were noted in Section 11D (remittances received by the household are recorded in Section 14A). Susu contributions are recorded in this section as an expense. ("Susu" is a rotating savings scheme in which participants contribute a fixed sum regularly. The total is then allocated among the participants in turn.) Income from susu is recorded in Section 14.

Section 12 FOOD EXPENSES AND HOME PRODUCTION

12A FOOD EXPENSES
12B CONSUMPTION OF HOME PRODUCTION

In Section 12A the amounts spent since the first interview (about two weeks) on 60 food items were collected. In addition, questions were asked on the number of months the item was purchased during the past twelve months, the frequency of purchases within a month, and the amount spent each time were collected for the same 60 food items. This allows for a rough calculation of annual expenditure. Section 12B asks the amount consumed and market value of foods grown or raised by the household in the last twelve months.

Section 13 FERTILITY

13A FERTILITY HISTORY
13B FAMILY PLANNING

In each household on woman, randomly selected as explained in Section 7, responded to the questions in Section 13. The woman was asked if she had been pregnant and, if so, had she given birth. Women who respond that they have are asked the birth date and sex of all children they have given birth to, including those who did not survive. If the child is not alive the woman is asked how long it survived. The woman is asked about the birth and breastfeeding of her last child, the age at which she started cohabiting, and the number of miscarriages she has had. Section 13B gathers information on knowledge, use, source and cost of six modern and six traditional methods of family planning.

Section 14 OTHER INCOME

14A INCOME FROM REMITTANCES
14B MISCELLANEOUS INCOME

Section 14 collects data on money and goods that come into the household as remittances or from other sources such as employee welfare funds, dowries or susu.

Section 15 CREDIT AND SAVING

15A MONEY AND GOODS LENT AND BORROWED
15B LOANS CONTRACTED
15C SAVINGS

Section 15 collects information on the amount of indebtedness of household members to people or institutions outside the household. If money or goods have been borrowed and repaid by any household member in the last twelve months then the details of those loans are collected. Information includes the source and amount of loan, interest, side payments, collateral, repayment schedule, reason for borrowing, and number of loans from the same source. The household is asked to list the location of its savings, if any, including bank, housing saving bank, rural savings bank, foreign currency account, other bank accounts, bonds, stocks and home. The total value of all savings accounts is noted.

Section 16 ANTHROPOMETRICS

16A ROUND ONE
16B ROUND TWO

Anthropometric measurements are done for each household member. Section 16A measurements were taken in the Round One interview and Section 16B measurements were taken in the Round Two interview. Data were collected on the household member's sex, date of measurement, weight and height. It was also noted if female respondents were pregnant or breastfeeding. The survey was designed so that 20% of the respondents, including those whose measurements deviated substantially from the norm, would be re-measured and re-weighed in Round Two. Due do a data-entry program error not connected with the accuracy of the data, the majority of respondents were re-weighed and re-measured in the first three months of the first year. The error was subsequently corrected.

Community Questionnaire

A Community questionnaire was administered by the team supervisor and completed with the help of village chiefs, teachers, government officials and health care workers. Supervisors were instructed to conduct interviews for all rural areas and in other areas where agricultural pursuits were followed. The questionnaires were completed for almost all rural, most semi-urban clusters and one urban cluster. (Cluster refers to a group of 16, 32 or 48 households within one geographic area that were surveyed. Cluster is explained in Section 3 of this document.) Where the households in one cluster were located in more than one distinct community, questionnaires were completed for each community. In those cases, each community questionnaire contains a list indicating which of the households in that cluster belong to that community. Data were collected on a variety of topics as discussed below.

Section 1 (Demographic Information) includes the population of the community, a list of principal ethnic groups and religions, the length of time the community has existed and whether or not it has grown. Section 2 (Economy and Infrastructure) questions include a list of principal economic activities, access to a motorable road, electricity, pipe-borne water, restaurant or food stall, post office, bank, daily market and public transport. There are also questions on employment, migration for jobs, and the existence of community development projects. Section 3 (Education) asks distance to primary and middle schools. For up to three primary schools, the nearest middle school and the nearest secondary school, information is obtained on whether it is public or private, whether it is for boys or girls, or both, how many classes there are, and when it was built. Enrollment rates and reasons why children do not attend school are also collected.

Section 4 (Health) collects data on distance and travel time to the nearest of each of several types of health workers (doctor, nurse, pharmacist, midwife, family planning worker, community health worker, traditional birth attendant and traditional healer) and each type of several types of health facilities (hospital, dispensary, pharmacy, maternity home, health post and family planning clinic). The questions in Section 5 (Agriculture) include the type of crops grown in the community, how often and when they are planted and harvested, and how the harvest is generally sold. This section also includes questions on the availability of an extension center, agricultural cooperatives, and machinery, and questions on the use of pesticides and irrigation. Qualitative data on the last year's rainfall, the local land market, the prevalence of sharecropping, and agricultural wages in the community are also gathered.

In several sections respondents were asked to list the problems experienced by the community. The responses were noted and codes were assigned after all the questionnaires had been entered. These codes are provided in Section 3 of Appendix G. In clusters that were surveyed in both years of the GLSS (1987-88 and 1988-89), the community questionnaire was not administered in the second year.

Price Questionnaire

A Price questionnaire was to be completed for each cluster. Prices from up to three vendors are collected for 28 food, 6 pharmaceutical and 13 other non-food items. The items were selected because they are important in most household budgets and because they are usually available in most areas of the country. Weighing scales were used to determine the exact weight of food items.

In clusters that contained more than one locality, a questionnaire was completed for the market closest to each locality. The price questionnaire was administered in both years to half of the clusters that were surveyed in both 1987-88 and 1988-89.