Alternative Approaches for Collecting Census and Survey Data in Urban High-Income Areas
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The success of every survey or census undertaking depends heavily on the extent of participation given by the respondents. One way of measuring this participation is through the response rate obtained after the survey/census operation. Unfortunately, refusals or the non-participation of households during enumeration remain to be the most common problem during data collection especially in urban high-income areas. In the Philippines, the non-response rates in urban high-income areas during censuses and sample surveys are generally higher compared to other areas in the country. In the July 2000 Labor Force Survey, the response rate for the National Capital Region (NCR) was 91.4 percent compared to the national-level response rate of 94.0 percent. The response rates in the urban high-income areas were much lower, ranging from 17 percent to 62 percent. The very low response rate during a census or survey poses several problems. First, it entails a huge amount of resources. It also causes delays in census and sample surveys results. Furthermore, it may complicate data processing, and distort the profile of certain population groups. It was therefore the aim of this study to develop and pilot alternative approaches for the collection of census and survey data in urban high-income households, specifically in the National Capital Region (NCR) and CALABARZON. Survey instruments that will improve the response rate in urban high-income areas during censuses and sample surveys were developed in this project through the conduct of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), field testing and Information Technology development.
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