Harmonised households : the implications of standardised data tools for understanding intergenerational relations
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Anthropology
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Publications
Kriel A
(2014)
From Design to Practice: How can large-scale household surveys better represent the complexities of the social units under investigation?
in African Population Studies
Randall SC
(2017)
Visibilité et invisibilité statistique dans les données démographiques en Afrique Adapter les méthodes de collecte de données aux populations ciblées
in Afrique Contemporaine
Randall S
(2017)
Visibilité et invisibilité statistique en Afrique Adapter les méthodes de collecte de données aux populations ciblées
in Afrique contemporaine
Randall S
(2013)
The power of the interviewer A qualitative perspective on African survey data collection
in Demographic Research
Randall S
(2016)
The quality of demographic data on older Africans
in Demographic Research
Coast E
(2016)
Counting the Population or Describing Society? A Comparison of English and Welsh and French Censuses.
in European journal of population = Revue europeenne de demographie
Randall S
(2015)
Where have all the nomads gone? Fifty years of statistical and demographic invisibilities of African mobile pastoralists
in Pastoralism
Randall S
(2011)
Cultural constructions of the concept of household in sample surveys.
in Population studies
Randall S
(2015)
UN Census "Households" and Local Interpretations in Africa Since Independence
in SAGE Open
Randall S
(2014)
Poverty in African Households: the Limits of Survey and Census Representations
in The Journal of Development Studies
Brockington D
(2019)
Assets and domestic units: methodological challenges for longitudinal studies of poverty dynamics
in The Journal of Peasant Studies
Alexandra Fanghanel (Author)
(2012)
Ties that bind : transnationality, intergenerationality and obligation
Philippe Antoine (Author)
Revisiter le concept de chef de ménage : le cas du Sénégal
Sara Randall (Author)
Poverty in African households : the limits of survey representations
Ernestina Coast (Co-Author)
Counting the population or describing society? A comparison of British and French censuses
Ernestina Coast (Author)
Problematic polygamy : implications of changing typologies and definitions of polygamy
Ernestina Coast (Author)
Sofa surfers and shed dwellers : new living arrangements and household surveys in the UK and France
Description | In national data collection exercises such as censuses and sample surveys there is an international expectation that the unit of data collection - the household - has the same definition and meaning across both space and time. We have shown that (a) despite advocating harmonisation there are subtle or not so subtle differences in the definitions used in our study countries (England & Wales, France, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Uganda (b) in African contexts the idea of household is often seen as an alien unit imposed from outside that has little meaning as a local social unit (c) the way the unit is defined means that indicators such as poverty indices or proportions of female headed household may be misleading and not comparable between countries. Data users are often not aware of the nuances of the definitions or the biases they may generate |
Exploitation Route | Reports should reflect openly on the implications of definitions for their findings Data collectors should begin to think of more creative and inclusive ways of recording household membership that allows comparability but are also better at reflecting people's lived realities |
Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Government Democracy and Justice |
URL | http://www.householdsurvey.info |
Description | Family Demography and Health in Low- and Middle-income Countries: A Cyberseminar Series Exploring Family Change and Intergenerational Relationships |
Amount | £14,034 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/J021881/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2013 |
End | 05/2015 |
Description | Meetings and collaboration with Help Age International |
Organisation | Help Age International |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | A series of meeting have taken place over the course of the project to discuss common themes of interest to both Help Age International (HAI) and researchers on this project (UCL/LSE). We are discussing future outputs, have had a number of meetings about research we can present to HAI which falls in line with our research interests and which will enable them to inform their own means of lobbying policy makers in East and West Africa, where our work is taking place. |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | Understanding the implications for data production and use of a specific definition of the household as applied in a South African household finanical well-being survey conducted by the PFRU, UNISA |
Organisation | UNISA |
Department | Bureau of Market Research |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | A survey of households in South Africa was conducted to determine the wealth status of a representative sample of South African households. The survey asked questions about household income and expenditure as well as assets and liabilities. A working definition of the household as unit of analysis was used which should have allowed an accurate picture of the South African household as a wealth-creation unit to be constructed. The problematic nature of using ?the household? as unit of analysis was acknowledged and the need for greater awareness of how this impacts the PFRU?s efforts to understand the South African household as a wealth-creation unit recognised. With specific reference to the PFRU's household financial well-being survey, the following research questions will be explored: What methodological lessons can be learnt from the way in which fieldworkers and respondents applied the survey's definition of the household? a) how well is the survey definition able to deal with and represent different types of social units in the South African context [operationalised: which types of households did fieldworkers have difficulty with in terms of who to include/exclude and why; who did respondents include/exclude and why?] ie are there certain types of people / household / living arrangement which are poorly represented by the definition used - either because their poverty / wealth is not well captured or because interviewers didn't know who to speak to / couldn't speak to the right people or were unable to collect appropriate data? b) what are the implications (limitations) of the definition used for understanding the South African household as a wealth-creating unit? [operationalised: which parts of the survey did respondents find difficult to answer and why?] i.e. what situations are (or are likely to be) particularly poorly dealt with using this definition (or in a household survey in general that tries to identify these unique units)? |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | Blog: The power of the interviewer |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A blog post on the basis of the journal article: Randall, S., E. Coast, N. Compaore, P. Antoine (2013) "The power of the interviewer: a qualitative perspective on African survey data" Demographic Research 28(27) pp.763-792. Surveys are the main source of information about poverty, health, demography and many other indicators in Africa, making them vital for evidence-based policy design and planning. But have social scientists been ignoring the potential impact of interviewers on the data they collect? A new study[1], whose researchers include LSE's Ernestina Coast, highlights just how much influence interviewers have over the data they produce. None |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2013/06/10/the-power-of-the-interviewer/ |
Description | Boundaries and composition of households/ménages in the last census round in France and the UK and implications for household surveys |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Organized by 2 ANR-ESRC sponsored teams LiLi des Lieux aux Liens, l'espace comme révélateur des fonctionnements familiaux http://lili-efl2011.site.ined.fr/en/ HH-MM Harmonised households: the implications of standardised data tools for understanding intergenerational relations http://www.householdsurvey.info/ AIMS of the workshop: 1. Bring together two research teams (HH-MM and LiLi) and ONS researchers to discuss emerging issues around households in UK and France (HH-MM works on France & UK, LiLi on France, ONS on UK) 2. Identify differences and similarities in the ways that terms ménage /household are both used and operationalised in UK and France and the ways the concepts can accommodate 'difficult' populations 3. Identify the extent to which the ways these 'difficult' populations are treated are harmonized and comparable between the two countries 4. Identify gaps in knowledge and understanding future research directions and brain-storm research projects and collaborations to follow on from HH_MM and LiLi EAch presentation generated a set of questions they would like to put to the workshop - (for example) • How are these issues dealt with in the other country? • What is people's knowledge about how these are dealt with elsewhere (either from experience or literature)? • Are the implications the same for censuses and surveys? • What are the GAPS in our knowledge? all to foster creative discussions contacts with other researchers and requests to read our publications |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Household surveys in development research: methodological reflections from sub-Saharan Africa |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Invited presentation at the London International Development Centre (LIDC) research seminar more downloads of our papers |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Households in administrative data - definition and estimation: workshop, The Census Transformation Programme ONS |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The Census Transformation Programme ONS is running has identified household statistics as one of the types of outputs they are working on in their annual progress report. At the event in July, they showed an initial algorithm to classify households based on very simple demographics at an address. They will be presenting an update, as well as their understanding of user needs, so far. Eva Lelievre (INED) will present about the comparative definitions used by France and UK nations for households in census. This work comes from the ESRC funded Harmonised Households project and extends to other cultures. m |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Pauvreté et ménages en Afrique: les limites des enquêtes et de leurs représentations statistiques |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | stimulated discussion with other researchers contacts with other researchers |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://fasopo.org/backup/index.htm |