Presentation Title Goes Here

presentation subtitle.
Household Survey Goes
Green
Pie F. Moya and Esther B. Marciano
Technology is growing rapidly. And with the
boom of Information technology, the staff at
the International Rice Research Institute
Social Sciences Division was able to catch
up in adapting new technologies with the use
of tablets as tools for data gathering. This
contributed to huge cost-saving and time
e f f i c i e n c y f o r t h e d i v i s i o n
Traditional datasets consume a lot of office space and
data archives since the 60s
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Data Management
Quality Checking
Encoding
Traditional SSD Research Process Flow
Paper vs. electronic
Development
In September 2011
The database management team
of SSD assessed the viability of
using various devices (Android and
i OS t abl et s) and Web-based
applications (Google Forms and
Survey Monkey) in conducting the
d i g i t a l h o u s e h o l d s u r v e y .

Number of variables
Number of respondents
Frequency of data collection
The Electronic questionnaire was
developed using MS Access based
application such that there is no
need to buy additional commercial
software .

The Esurvey Tablet was first
tested on the Central Luzon
loop survey project. A 23 page
questionnaire targeting 108
respondents was tailored fit to
the tablet.
Training of the researchers in using the
tablet
It took only a day or 2 to understand
the use of the Esurvey tablet.
the researchers together with the
programmer tried it in the field for one
day




Esurvey tablet Trial
.
It took two researchers the same amount
of time to collect data using a paper
questionnaire but with a minimum error,
but the data are already encoded and
ready to export and integrate to SSDs
statistical analysis software such SPSS
and STATA.
IRRI SSD staff doing HH interview
with the use of tablet
Wi t h t he use of t he t abl et ;
the encoding process was eliminated
gives the research team more time to
allocate in data analysis rather than
rekeying the data sets gathered using the
traditional printed questionnaire.
Quality of data is more reliable since the
inputs are direct from the household.
The occasional error in encoding will now
be a thing of the past.



SSD Research Process Flow
Data
Collection
Data Management
Quality Checking
Data
Analysis
The advantage of implementing
the electronic Q using the tablet

Huge savings on cost of :
- Printing
- Encoding
- Handling of questionnaires

Only cost would be preventive
maintenance


So far 3 projects have adopted the
use of the Esurvey tablet that I have
described earlier:
Central Luzon Loop survey-
Survey on volumetric water pricing
project in Cagayan and Isabela
Rice industry project in 6 countries in
Asia
EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS IN
USING E-TABLET IN ACTUAL FARM
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
Acer Iconia W510





Technical Specs

Operating System Windows 8
Screen Size 25.7 cm
(10.1")
Screen Resolution 1366 x 768
Max Video Battery Time 9 Hour
Weight (Approximate) 1.26 kg
Intel Atom Z2760 Clover trail

Field experiences in using the e-
questionnaire with the tablet

Initially, I am a little bit scared that the tablet
will not function as expected and that the
interview will not be completed as projected
Panic about the lost of the data/items
already inputted
Upset that the datasets are not properly
secured/stored regular back up is very
essential
Worried on the reaction of the farmer in
using the tablet during the interview
The farmers were also enthusiastic
about the new method., Farmers
usuall y frown when they see a
researcher carrying a thick bunch of
questionnaires. With a tablet PC, an
interview becomes amusing and
enj oyabl e f or bot h farmer and
i n t e r v i e w e r .

Constraints

Some minor constraints for the use
of tablet are:
Power consumption (needs regular
charging),
The visibility of the tablet on brightly
lit areas is affected,




Brown out during interview
Visibility under bright condition
Concerns and issues
Extra careful ensure habitual back-
up of database
Requires a good database program
pilot tested, revised and reviewed
Interviewers must be well instructed
concepts on the use of tablet
Tablet should at least be scratch
proof






Conclusion

Overall the use of the Information
Technology equipment/gadget (tablet)
as a tool for data collection especially
for farm household survey that involves
a lot of quantitative data - is an
affirmative step towards improving
research procedures and methodology



A
Pleasant Good afternoon
to all