How to develop a realistic survey budget

July 5, 2009 in Development communication | Tags: , , | 2 comments

Lingui-Interview

Interviewing a farmer in Lingui County, Guangxi, China

Interviewer training, Jinua, Zhejiang, China

Interviewer training, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China

Interviewer training, Jinhua, Zhejiang province, China

Interviewer training, Jinhua, Zhejiang province, China

The first consultancy assignment I did was to conduct a farmer survey for an FAO Regional Programme.  The initial task was for me to estimate the survey cost. I came up with a rather conservative estimate and I even left my professional fee blank. When the programme coordinator asked, I replied:  “I leave it up to you to decide as I don’t know your rates and I might price myself out of the market.”

Being conservative in my budget estimate and not seemingly taking advantage of a UN organization, must have opened the door for me. I completed the survey in less than three months at a time when PCs weren’t around yet.  That led to many more FAO assignments and the rest is history.

Let’s segue to the present… In our ADB-funded project, one deliverable is baseline survey results for China, Thailand and Vietnam. To achieve this, we conducted a training-workshop o n “sociological tools and decision making in planthopper management” in which a key outputs were a survey work plan and budget.  The budgets submitted ranged from USD 11,000 to 15,000 for a survey of 300 rice farmers in their part of Asia.

To cut the survey cost, I developed this formula to come up with a realistic budget. Below are the key cost items in a survey and the way to calculate the costs.  The illustration is that of Vietnam so take note of the units — VND means Vietnam dong for currency, Cai Lai and Cai Be are districts in Tien Giang province where the survey will be conducted. Add wages of interviewers and supervisors,  supplies, transport and interviewer training and pretesting.

1)  Wages of interviewers
Sample size:  1,000 (Cai Be: 600, Cai Lay: 400)
No. of interviews that can be completed/day/person: 5 to 6
1,000/6 = 167 man-days

Option 1 (hire 10 interviewers):
167 man-days/10 interviewers = 18 days/interviewer
OR
Option 2 (hire 20 interviewers)
167 man-days/20 interviewers = 9 days/interviewer
Daily wage: _____ x 18 days x 10 interviewers = __________ VND
OR
Daily wage: _____ x 9 days x 20 interviewers = __________ VND

2) Wages of survey supervisors
Estimate wages, honorarium or overtime of staff directly supervising the enumerators

3) Supplies
Number of pages of the questionnaire x 1,000 respondents = ________ pages for reproduction
Cost of reproduction per page x total number of pages = __________ VND
Interviewing kit for enumerators (ballpen, plastic envelope, clipboard, raincoat, etc.)

4) Transport
Choose the most cost-effective transport arrangement appropriate to the survey area. You might want to consider giving a lump sum transport allowance to each interviewer to minimize the hassles of collecting small receipts. Or if the survey areas are near each other, perhaps a rented van can ferry the students to their survey site.

5)  Training of enumerators
No. of persons:  10 enumerators
5 staff, including driver
2 resource persons
Total:  17

Coffee break + lunch x 17 = ________ VND

Ask Devcompage

June 24, 2009 in Development communication | Leave a comment

Devcompage is expanding its pro bono service to readers through “Ask Devcompage” where readers can ask questions about communication topics, such as communication campaigns, scaling up, social marketing, social mobilization, building partnerships, local ownerships of projects, participatory approaches, training design, social networking tools, etc.

If you are a student, an NGO staff, field worker, extension staff, researcher or anyone who needs advice on the topics above or anything besides your thesis or communication research, click on Ask Devcompage just below the blog header.  I should be able to give you informed advice at no monetary cost to you.

I hope to hear from you soon.

From FGD results to baseline survey belief statements

June 19, 2009 in Communication research | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

FGD site, Lingui County, Guilin, China. Photo credit: Zhu Zeng Rong (Zhejiang University)

FGD site, Lingui County, Guilin, China. Photo credit: Zhu Zeng Rong (Zhejiang University)

FGD in Chadong County, Guilin. Photo credit: Zhu Zeng Rong/Zhejiang University

FGD in Chadong County, Guilin. Photo credit: Zhu Zeng Rong

Informal methods such as diagnostic surveys, focus group discussions (FGD), and key informant interviews have been employed in some of the more innovative and cost-effective farmer surveys.  In most cases, diagnostic surveys and key information interviews often precede a formal baseline survey (Fujisaka 1991).  These methods can be used to structure the formal survey and ensure that it is focused and appropriate to the local context.  Issues that may emerge during a key informant interview can be probed in the FGD.  The FGD can be used to clarify points raised and explore whether there is a consensus on the concerns voiced by key informants.  The research areas can be probed in focus groups to help generate ideas and develop hypotheses that will then be fully assessed in the formal study.

In planning the baseline survey for our ADB-IRRI planthopper project, our research partners in China, Thailand and Vietnam conducted separate FGDs to explore farmers’ understanding of the biology and  management of planthoppers and functions and maintenance of non-rice habitats.  At a workshop, participants first brainstormed on  what farmers needed to know about:  1)  planthoppers — their biology and management and 2) non-rice habitats – their role and maintenance.  From the list, they prioritized the themes or issues to discuss with farmers.   FGD results were then used as a basis for developing belief or attitude statements for the baseline survey instrument.

FGD-Guilin-2

Probing farmers' responses in FGD, Guilin, China. Photo credit: Zhu Zeng Rong

Consider the FGD observations and the resulting belief statements that were constructed below.  For entire list click here.

BPH – damage, biology, causes of outbreaks

FGD results Belief statements
- Farmers do not plant rice at the  same time.- Too much insecticide is used

- Many insecticides have  knockdown effect but they also kill natural enemies.

- Too much pesticide advertising and promotion

- Highly toxic insecticides are often cheap

- Traditional varieties are susceptible but farmers still plant them because they can sell these easily.

- Farmers’ belief in IPM is lost because natural enemies were unable to control BPH.

- Farmers believe that the BPH could cause total yield loss. When shown a picture of hopperburn, they said they have seen it where clusters of rice plants become yellow and look burned. They have also seen stunted rice plants but did not know its cause.
  1. he brown planthopper migrates from rice fields from far away.
  2. Brown plant hoppers are brought into my field by wind.
  3. Brown planthoppers lay eggs inside leaf sheath of rice plant so insecticides cannot reach them.
  4. Some natural enemies can feed on the eggs.
  5. Brown planthoppers can only live on rice and no other plant.
  6. Brown planthoppers multiply very fast because there are no natural enemies.
  7. Brown planthoppers attack can cause stunting of rice plants
  8. There is only one type of planthopper attacking rice.
  9. When a rice crop is attacked by plant hoppers I must spray immediately.
  10. Frequent insecticide use will cause planthopper outbreaks.
  11. Natural enemies can suppress planthopper populations.

How to develop attitude statements for a survey

June 2, 2009 in Communication research | Tags: | 2 comments

Preparing FGD refreshments, Lingui county, Guangxi, China

Preparing FGD refreshments, Lingui county, Guangxi, China

FGD-Guilin-3

Individual interview, Lingui county, Guangxi, China

An important section in our farmer surveys is  “beliefs and attitudes” of respondents.  To construct attitude questions, one has to determine what to ask.  The research literature suggests the following steps to help you determine what to ask and how to appropriately write attitude questions.

1. Determine the attitude objective of the survey. For example, if the survey is to encourage farmers’ participation in local farmers’ cooperatives, then the attitude objectives could be to determine farmers’ attitudes toward:

(a) the services provided by local farmers’ cooperative
(b) the management of the cooperative in fulfilling its responsibility.

2. Based on the objectives, the next step is to decide on the information that would be needed to assess the attitude. Make a list for each objective. In the example above, some of the information needed for objective (a) would be to assess farmers’ feelings toward the services of the cooperative. What are the services that they like? What are the services that they do not like? Do they find the services beneficial?

3. Once the required information has been identified, the next step is to prepare attitude questions or statements around each topic. For instance, on whether the services are beneficial, two possible questions that can be asked are:

The farmers’  cooperative  has been  responsive to farmers’ needs.
There ought to be more projects for small farmers.

4. Prepare a large number of questions or statements based on  the following guidelines:

(a) Attitude statements express a judgment.
(b) Avoid double-barreled statements.
(c) Avoid double negatives.
(d) Avoid long statements.
(e) Incorporate both positively and negatively worded items.

5.  As can be seen from the above examples, an attitude question includes a statement and a response scale. There are many types of scales. It may be a  3-point scale (Agree, Disagree, Uncertain), 5-point scale (Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Unsure, Agree, Strongly Agree) or even a 7-point scale.

Next post:  How to use FGD results to develop attitude statements for a survey.

Reference

Mohamed R, Khor YL, Escalada MM, Teoh CH.  1997.  KAP survey training module. FAO. Rome.

Taxes on imported books lifted

May 25, 2009 in Development communication | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

A college student's book collection

A college student's book collection

 

Here’s a piece of good news to start our week right.  The Philippine Star  reported that yesterday, the Philippine President ordered the Department of Finance to scrap the taxes imposed on imported books.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the directive was prompted by a torrent of criticism on the move of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which is under the supervision of the finance department, to impose the duties. 

The National Book Development Board, the Book Development Association of the Philippines, UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM), and concerned groups and citizens have expressed objection to the tariff on imported books stating that the imposition of taxes on books runs contrary to government efforts to promote reading among children and the youth. UNACOM said that taxing imported books is tantamount to taxing reading habits. At a time when parents and educators worldwide have expressed alarm on the continuing steep decline in the reading habits and practices especially among the young, the tax measure is counterproductive to current initiatives to rekindle a reading culture.

Ethnopathology: Local knowledge of plant health problems in Bangladesh, Uganda and Bolivia

May 22, 2009 in Communication research | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

 by Jeffery W. Bentley
Agricultural Anthropologist

Dr. Jeffery W. Bentley

Dr. Jeffery W. Bentley

About the author

Dr. Bentley is a pioneer in the use of ethnoscience to understand how farmers see “their world of pests and diseases” which determines their decisions. The concepts and tools he introduced to rice scientists have been very useful and practical in helping communication of science to farmers. In this post, Dr. Bentley describes the use of ethnoscience in phytopathology published in a recent paper.

I first met Dr. Bentley in 1997 at an international training course on “Ethnoscience” that he conducted  in Suphan Buri, Thailand for the Rice IPM Network. 

 

Doña Cipriana in Pairumani, Cochabamba Bolivia carefully tears apart a broad to show us a leaf miner that she has observed in her broad beans. Smallholder farmers are keenly interested in plant health, and often eager to talk about their plant problems.

Doña Cipriana in Pairumani, Cochabamba Bolivia carefully tears apart a broad to show us a leaf miner that she has observed in her broad beans. Smallholder farmers are keenly interested in plant health, and often eager to talk about their plant problems.

Abdul Kashim with a jackfruit problem in Amrul, near Bogra, Bangladesh. He calls it birbira rog (literally ‘slow disease’) The literal translation of a folk name often refers to the symptom

Abdul Kashim with a jackfruit problem in Amrul, near Bogra, Bangladesh. He calls it birbira rog (literally ‘slow disease’) The literal translation of a folk name often refers to the symptom.

All peoples have names for, and knowledge of plants, animals and other things in the real world. A study in Bangladesh, Uganda and Bolivia revealed that smallholder farmers label plant health problems with meaningful names. First, most local words for plant health problems have literal meanings. These are often symptoms rather than causes. e.g. Bengali pata dag rog (leaf spot disease) or jhora rog (dropping disease), to describe mango anthracnose. The Luganda word kubabuka comes from the verb ‘to scorch’ and refers to the damage caused by two genera of fungi (Phytophthora and Alternaria) in tomatoes. 

Second, a local term has a denotative meaning (what the word refers to in the real world), which must not be confused with the literal translation of the folk term. For example in the Quechua language of Bolivia, one name for late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is lluphi, which literally means scalded. Farmers know the leaves were not damaged by boiling water, but the wilt looks as though they had been. Similarly some farmers in Bangladesh call jackfruit borers birbira rog (literally ‘slow disease’), even though they know the problem is caused by an insect.
Like plant pathologists, farmers are an occupational group highly interested in plant health problems. When we asked smallholder farmers about plant health problems, they consistently responded thoughtfully, showing us diseased plants, explaining the names and discussing the symptoms. Sometimes they asked for advice on management, but they were always eager to discuss the topic. Learning their local meanings is a useful entry into dialog with the largest and most important occupation on Earth.
Adapted from:
Bentley, J.W., E.R. Boa, P. Kelly, M. Harun-Ar-Rashid, A.K.M. Rahman, F. Kabeere and J. Herbas 2009 “Ethnopathology: Local Knowledge of Plant Health Problems in Bangladesh, Uganda and Bolivia. Plant Pathology (in press).

Second, a local term has a denotative meaning (what the word refers to in the real world), which must not be confused with the literal translation of the folk term. For example in the Quechua language of Bolivia, one name for late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is lluphi, which literally means scalded. Farmers know the leaves were not damaged by boiling water, but the wilt looks as though they had been. Similarly some farmers in Bangladesh call jackfruit borers birbira rog (literally ‘slow disease’), even though they know the problem is caused by an insect.

Like plant pathologists, farmers are an occupational group highly interested in plant health problems. When we asked smallholder farmers about plant health problems, they consistently responded thoughtfully, showing us diseased plants, explaining the names and discussing the symptoms. Sometimes they asked for advice on management, but they were always eager to discuss the topic. Learning their local meanings is a useful entry into dialog with the largest and most important occupation on Earth.

Adapted from:

Bentley, J.W., E.R. Boa, P. Kelly, M. Harun-Ar-Rashid, A.K.M. Rahman, F. Kabeere and J. Herbas 2009 “Ethnopathology: Local Knowledge of Plant Health Problems in Bangladesh, Uganda and Bolivia. Plant Pathology (in press).

What the tariff on imported books means to teachers and students

May 18, 2009 in Educational communication | Tags: , , , | 2 comments

 

A college student's book collection

Some books of a college student

The Department of Finance earlier issued Department Order (DO) No. 17-09 which imposed a 1% duty on imported educational, technical, scientific, historical and cultural books and a 5% tariff on other book classifications to be used for profit. The issuance also imposes a 5% tariff on “books or raw materials not to be used for book publishing and its related activities.”

However, books and publications not for sale, barter or hire and those that do not exceed 10 copies of any work when imported by an institution and two copies when imported by an individual will remain duty-free. Importers must prove that the books to be imported would be used for non-profit purposes in order for these to be exempted from the payment of duties.

The National Book Development Board (NBDB) has issued a position paper expressing disagreement with DOF’s imposition of tariff on the basis of the following decrees, treaty and law which exempt from tariff all imported books:

  • Presidential Decree 1464 or the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP)
  • Florence Agreement or the “Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials ” (Florence Agreement)
  • Republic Act 8047 or “Book Industry Development Act” (RA 8047)

    • For a chronology of  events that led to this 2009 book blockade, read Manuel L. Quezon III’s blog.

    What it means to teachers and students

    The imposition of tariff means higher prices of books which will limit many teachers and students’ access to them.  Libraries of resource-poor state universities and colleges which operate on restricted budgets will have to make do with obsolete books.  And with obsolete books, many teachers and students alike will be denied access to cutting-edge information which will put them at a disadvantage in the job marketplace after graduation.

    Our university librarian has described to me its book acquisition procedure. She said that many universities and colleges do not  procure books directly from publishers overseas nor susbcribe to technical journals because  the banks would not sell them dollars due to the fluctuating exchange of US$ to local currency. In the Visayas and Mindanao, state and private universities and colleges acquire imported books through a cooperative acquistion network called Academic Libraries Book Acquisition Systems Association, Inc. (ALBASA) based in Cebu City.   Every year, ALBASA organizes a bookfair where about 30 book dealers from all over the country exhibit imported and locally published books. For some state colleges and universities, acquisition of imported books has been a problem because they are very expensive. Most  libraries would acquire locally published books and international student editions because they are cheaper.  Tariff on imported books will make books beyond the reach of  many state college and universities’ libraries.   

    What is the book acquisition scenario in your university? Do your college students ever read books? If they don’t, then the new taxes on imported books is a non-issue to them.

    Please post your comments.

    The power of online classified ads

    May 7, 2009 in New media-ICTs | Tags: | Leave a comment

    Volumes have been written about the role of ICTs in development — in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, disease prevention and health promotion,  crisis management and peace building,  education, income generation, employment, poverty reduction, environmental protection, gender equality, and a lot more.  Practically all the MDGs can be addressed through a systematic use of ICTs.

    In the individual income-generating front, many young entrepreneurs out there engage in lucrative trading through Multiply, an online social network.  In Multiply, you can buy and sell trinkets, dresses, leather and crochet bags, footwear, cosmetics, camera accessories, and even condo units! I have friends who had to open a Multiply account in order to buy some great stuff only available for sale in a Multiply account.

    So when my son’s condo unit was up for rent recently, I turned to online classifieds to advertise it. Online ads reach  a particular market segment  — yuppies, university students or new graduates, which is the intended market of a condo unit near the university belt.  Among an array of online classified portals in the web, I picked the following:

    88db.com
    sulit.com
    OLX
    PinoySG.com

    Developing the ad message

    The headline and the copy went this way:

    1-bedroom condo unit for rent

    1-br condo unit, fully furnished for rent, P15k/m. Espana Tower, 2203 Espana Blvd. Near UDMC, PLDT, UST, supermarkets. fastfood shops and hospital. Highly accessible to public transport. The unit has a new aircon, brand new electric fan, refrigerator, washing machine, electric hot plate, range hood, TV, dishwashing rack, kitchen garbage bin etc. It has narra parquet flooring in the bedroom, living room and dining area. The kitchen has ceramic tiles. Its two-layer drapes were made by Julie Habacon using German-made fabrics.

    Like a hotel suite, you only need to bring are your clothes and personal stuff.  Towels and beddings are not provided for hygienic reasons but I can arrange to provide those if requested.

    Photos

    Product photos, in this case, the condo unit, play a big selling role. I thought that if I were the interested party, I would want to see every nook and cranny of the unit so I posted photos of the main areas — living room, dining area, bedroom, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

    Bedroom window

    Bedroom window

    Response to ads

    Like the long defunct bullet theory, I got an immediate response to the ads. Perhaps it was the location of the unit or my claim that “all you need to bring are your clothes and personal stuff to move in…”  For this ad, I got email messages and text alerts on my cell phone even at midnight with these  abbreviated messages:

    gud pm. is condo avail for rent? we nid it badly. want to move in tomoro. will stay for 1month. der ar 3 of us reviewees for nursing boards.

    is d condo unit available? thanks. wat’s the address so we can visit tom. sori if dis txts ar super late but we’re desperate to find a place to stay.

    we’re interested in condo unit. ar u d owner?

    does the condo have a swimming pool and a gym?

    can 3 persons be accommodated?

    does the rent include electricity and water?

    Result

    The condo unit has just been rented by a young couple and I have just taken out my online ads.

    How to create a niche blog and build its readership

    May 2, 2009 in New media-ICTs, Social media | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

    52

    Web banner of Ricehoppers blog

    If you are a teacher, field worker or researcher with some useful or exciting ideas to share, perhaps it’s time to blog. Besides its impact, blogs could be low-maintenance in time and cost. In our university, the president has repeatedly appealed to faculty members to use online resources for teaching and research. Still, there are a few takers. To many, the idea of using social media  for teaching or research may seem daunting but as young people will attest, it is a breeze.

    Simone Staiger, Leader of the Institutional Knowledge Sharing Project ICT-KM Program of the  CGIAR, has listed some compelling arguments  on why researchers should use social media.  Among these are:

    1) Our donors are blogging. Example:  DFID Bloggers, World Bank blogs
    2) Our partners are twittering. Example:  khaosanlao, moni_e
    3) Policy makers talk about us.
    4) Some farmers get online.

    To start on a blog, here are some easy steps:

    1) Think about the focus of your blog  — your own area of expertise, an institutional blog,  a project blog?

    2) Visit other blogs for nonprofits to see what themes they used and how their pages are structured:

    Ricehoppers
    Webtastings
    Blog World Hunger
    Embracing change
    CIMMYT’s Blog

    3) Choose your blogging platform — WordPress, Blogger, MySpace, Typepad, and others.

    4) Think of a unique and memorable blog name. Make your blog url easier to remember by buying a domain name for your blog. In WordPress  (Automattic) a domain name only costs  USD15/year.

    5) Start blogging – As pictures “paint a thousand words”, strive to post a picture along with your text. If you use others’ pictures, acknowledge your sources by indicating a photo credit. Example:  Photo credit: Juan de la
    Cruz.

    6) Encourage readers to post comments on specific issues to encourage discussion, instead of asking them to send you an email if they have concerns. A blog is a dynamic website so that comments to posts make it interactive.

    7) Build your blog readership by:

    • writing an email to relevant people in your email directory or your Yahoo groups about your new blog
    • writing a news release for your organization’s newsletter
    • posting meaningful comments on other blogs or websites  for nonprofits as it will drive readers to your blog. Whenever you post a comment on another blog, you will be asked to write your name, email address and website.  On this box, write your blog url which readers of that other blog can click if they find your comment intriguing or relevant.
    • providing a unique service in your area of expertise through a functional advisory or links to online resources. Examples: Devcompage offers a Thesis/research coach which gives advice to readers on communication research questions.  Ricehoppers provides links to publications on planthopper research which can be downloaded.

    Read up on Creative Commons and insert its code in the text widget.

    9) If you don’t know the next step, don’t hesitate to contact the technical support of your blogging platform. If you’re at a deadend, write a comment to this post and I will gladly help you fix your blogging problem.

    More  blogging considerations in the next post.

    Devcompage on Twitter

    April 26, 2009 in New media-ICTs | Tags: | 4 comments

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    Our Devcompage blog is now on Twitter, the hottest social networking tool at the moment.   Follow what’s going on in Devcompage as I tweet you with what I have been up to professionally in the field of development communication.

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    • 340 rice farmers in Jinhua, Zhejiang province interviewed by trained student enumerators. Data entry will start shortly. 9 hours ago
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