Household survey data are very useful for monitoring the living conditions of citizens of any country. In developing countries, a lot of this data are collected through traditional face-to-face household surveys. Owing to the remote and dispersed nature of many populations in developing countries, but also because of the complex nature of many survey questionnaires, collection of timely welfare data has often proved expensive and logistically challenging. Yet, there is a need for faster, cheaper, lighter, more nimble data collection methods to address data gaps between large household surveys. The recent proliferation of mobile phone networks has opened new possibilities in this regard. By combining baseline data from a traditional household survey with subsequent interviews of selected respondents using mobile phones, new collection methods facilitate welfare monitoring and opinion polling almost in real time. The purpose of this handbook is to contribute to the development of the new field of mobile phone data collection in developing countries, documenting how this innovative approach to data collection works, along with its advantages and challenges. Mobile Phone Panel Surveys in Developing Countries draws primarily from the authors first-hand experiences with mobile phone surveys in Africa, but it also benefits from experiences elsewhere. It is intended to serve a diverse audience including those involved in collecting representative data using mobile phones, and those using data collected through this approach. For those who will be implementing a mobile phone panel survey, the different chapters guide them through every stage of the implementation process. For potential users of the data collected via mobile phone technology, the book presents a new approach to data collection, which they can use for monitoring programs and to facilitate almost real-time decision making. A further purpose of this book is to contribute to the debate regarding the advantages of the mobile phone panel survey method as well as the challenges associated with it.

Mobile Phone Panel Surveys in Developing Countries: A Practical Guide for Microdata Collection (Directions in Development) (Directions in Development: Poverty)

Mobile Phone Panel Surveys in Developing Countries: A Practical Guide for Microdata Collection (Directions in Development) (Directions in Development: Poverty) PDF

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