RESEARCH: ANTYODAYA ANNA YOJANA

[Introduction] [Survey Questionnaires] [Survey Guidelines] [Findings]

Survey Guidelines

1. General
   • Background: The main purpose of this survey is to evaluate the Antyodaya Ann Yojana programme. It is also an opportunity to learn about the economic and social circumstances of destitute households. This is not just an "academic" exercise: we are hoping that the results will help to make a case for a large programme of public support for the destitute, in the Supreme Court. This initial survey may also pave the way for a larger survey of destitution later on.
   • Ethical aspects: It is important to conduct the interviews in an ethical manner, and in particular to avoid taking advantage of the position of power in which you may find yourself. For instance, make sure to introduce yourself, to explain the purpose of the survey, and to be considerate in accepting any refreshments that may be offered. Also, do not press the respondent for answers, when he or she is reluctant.
   • Quality of the data: The success of this project depends crucially on the quality of the data. Your most important responsibility as investigators is to ensure that the data are as reliable and accurate as possible.
   • Personal observations: We would like to associate you not only with the field survey but also with some of the discussions that will lead to the report. This means that we don't simply expect you to fill the questionnaires mechanically; we also look forward to learning from your personal observations and experiences. Even in the questionnaires, space has been provided for "personal observations"; please make liberal use of this opportunity to share your observations.
   • Obtaining the Antyodaya list: This is crucial. We shall try to obtain the list in advance, but in many cases you will have to look for it in the field. Try the sarpanch first. Most likely, the sarpanch will have the list, though he/she may be reluctant to show it. If that fails, you can try the relevant government office (e.g. BDO’s office). Also, the local PDS dealer may have the list. You can use that if you feel that the list is genuine. If you are absolutely unable to get the list, try to find out the official number of Antyodaya cards in the village, and to reconstruct the list with the help of local residents. But this is very much a “last resort” option, to be avoided as much as possible.
   • What to do in a crisis: If there is a problem, you should call the Survey Coordinator and take action in consultation with him/her. Make sure not to interrupt the fieldwork, unless advised to do so by the Survey Coordinator.
2. The Questionnaires
   
   • There are six questionnaires:
     1. Village questionnaire
     2. Antyodaya list questionnaire
     3. PDS questionnaire
     4. Antyodaya households questionnaire
     5. Excluded households questionnaire
     6. Investigator's questionnaire
     They should be filled roughly in that order. In any case, you should start with the “village questionnaire” and “Antyodaya list”, and end with the “investigators’ comments”.
   • “Starred” questions are particularly important. This does not mean that other questions are unimportant!
   • The questions in quotation marks (mainly in the “household questionnaire”) are meant to be asked more or less as phrased on the questionnaire. In other cases you can elicit the information in your own words and note the relevant details. But please try to be as faithful as possible to the question as phrased in the questionnaire (the wording of a question often matters a great deal).
3. Basic principles of interview
   • Normally, two investigators should work together on each interview. One investigator should conduct the interview; the other should record the answers on the relevant questionnaires.
   • Introducing yourself: The first step is to introduce yourself and to explain the purpose of the survey. You should also seek the respondent's consent for the interview. If he or she is unwilling, do not insist.
   • If at all possible, avoid visiting households with the sarpanch or other local netas. If they follow you around, try to explain to them that you have strict instructions to visit the households without escort. There is no harm in getting help (e.g. for translation and related purposes) from local residents who don't have too much of a vested interest in this matter, e.g. a local teacher or social worker.
   • If the respondent is a woman, try your best to get the answers directly from her rather than from male relatives, neighbors, etc. In such cases, it may be helpful to be accompanied by a local woman, e.g. the anganwadi worker or a member of the local mahila mandal.
   • Probing: Some questions may not immediately elicit a response. In such cases the investigator will have to "probe" a bit. By this is meant that a few extra questions will have to be asked to make the question clearer to the respondent, or to get a more precise answer from the respondent. However the investigator must make sure that the meaning/sense of the question is not lost/altered in the process of probing.
   • Try to avoid "leading questions", i.e. asking a question in a manner that encourages the respondent to answer in a particular way. We have tried to avoid leading questions in the questionnaires, but you will have to be aware of this potential danger also. Example: it is better to ask, "Do you feel that the Antyodaya programme is helpful or unhelpful?" instead of "Do you feel that the Antyodaya programma is helpful?"
4. Filling the questionnaire
   • Clarity is paramount. In particular, make sure that your handwriting is legible, and that all numerals are clear. Illegible information is useless.
   • As far as possible, please do not leave any 'blanks' in the questionnaire (blanks tend to create problems at the "coding" stage). Instead, use a dash ('-') for 'not applicable' and 'NR' for 'no response'. The distinction between the two can be very important, please make sure to take it into account.
   • If you find that an answer does not "fit" into the pre-specified format, you can record the answer in "long hand", as long as the information is clear and complete. Example: Suppose that in response to the question “Is the PDS dealer helpful or unhelpful?”, where the options are “helpful” and “unhelpful”, the person responds “the dealer is helpful when I go to the shop, but unhelpful when my husband goes”. You can note that as the answer instead of just ticking “helpful” or “unhelpful”.
   • In places where there is space for “qualitative information”, please make an effort to note any interesting details that may be relevant to this study (instead of “doing the minimum”). If you run out of space to note any details, please write at the back of the same page. Some examples:
     1. In the “individual details” sheet (page 2), if you find that some household member suffers from any chronic illness or disability, it would be useful to note further details on the back of the page, e.g. the nature of the illness/disability, how the person copes with it, etc.
     2. In the “occupations” spaces (Household Questionnaire, page 1, and also individual details, page 1), aside from the summary answers, some detailed information on people’s income-earning activities would often be very helpful, especially in the case of child labourers, bonded labourers, widows, etc.
     3. In the Village Questionnaire, question 20 (“how were the Antyodaya households selected?”) is very important and detailed answers would be most useful.
     4. Your personal observations on issues like village politics, the functioning of the public distribution system, any evidence of favouritism or arbitrariness in the allocation of Antyodaya cards (e.g. in favour of the sarpanch’s own village or caste or political supporters), etc., would also be very valuable.
   • Try to avoid "bogus answers". If a response strikes you as non-credible, it's better to write "NR" than to record a bogus answer.
   • Use the relevant spaces to record the answer, especially the quantitative answers (there is a clearly demarcated "box" for each numerical answer). Try to avoid writing in margins, but if you do, use the left-hand margin, not the right-hand margin (using the right-hand margin may confuse the data-entry operator).
   • Please make sure that all questionnaires are safely stapled. Loose pages are a headache since one may not know which questionnaire they belong to.
   • Use Arabic numerals (1,2, etc.), not Roman (I, II,...), Hindi, etc.
   • In cases where you have to choose between different options, and each option has a "code" attached to it, please circle the relevant option, including the "code".

     Example: Qn 34. “How would you describe the quality of the grain you have been receiving? Poor, average or good?”
     Poor(1)/Average(2)/Good(3)/NR (4)

5. Question-wise clarifications and comments
   • Part 1: Village Questionnaire
     • At all steps, please remember that the focus in this questionnaire is on the sample “village”, not the panchayat, which may (or may not) be a larger unit. This is particularly important to bear in mind when you talk with the sarpanch, who is likely to think about the panchayat more easily than about the village.
     • Qns 1-3: Here we are trying to get an idea of the size of the village. The question is asked in three different ways (“population”, “households” and “voters”), because sometimes it will be easier for the respondents to think in terms of population, sometimes in terms of households, sometimes in terms of voters. Try to make sure that there is broad consistency between the three answers (e.g. “population” would usually be about five times the number of households, and “voters” would usually be a little more than half of the population). It is not crucial that each of the three questions should be answered; you can write “NR” in 1-2 cases, if the respondents are unable to answer. If one of the three answers strikes you as more accurate than the others, please mark it with an asterisk.
     • Qn 6 (occupation structure): Make sure to note percentages, not absolute numbers. If respondents give you absolute numbers (that will sometimes be easier for them), convert carefully, as appropriate. The percentages should add to 100% (here we are treating the answers as mutuall exclusive, with one “main occupation” for each household).
     • Qns 7-9 (land owned/cultivated): Note response in acres, after careful conversion of local units (e.g. “bighas”) if necessary. Here again, the percentages should add up to 100%.
     • Qn 10 (sarpanch details): A “proxy” sarpanch is someone who is being used as a “dummy” by someone else who is the de facto sarpanch (e.g. often a female sarpanch has been put up as a proxy candidate by her husband, or a SC sarpanch is being remote-controlled by a high-caste landlord.)
     • Qn 12 (gram sabha meetings): Please note that a gram sabha meeting is not the same as a gram panchayat meeting. The GS is supposed to be an assembly of all adults in the village, with a pre-specified “quorum”. The GP consists of a small number of elected panchs.
     • Section 2 (“Antyodaya Ann Yojana”): In this section, it is quite likely that the sarpanch is going to pretend that everything is being done as per official guidelines and that there is no problem. Try not to let him/her pull the wool over your eyes. Probe any vague or implausible answers.
     • Qn 20 (selection of Antyodaya households): This is a crucial question, please note the response in detail. Try to avoid “stock answers”, and to probe any implausible responses.
   • Part 2: Antyodaya List
     • See above on how to obtain the Antyodaya list. If at all possible, this questionnaire should be filled before you interview individual Antyodaya households. And in any case the information should be collected independently of the household responses. The idea of this questionnaire is partly to cross-check some of these household responses.
     • Do not leave any blank cells (in the relevant rows). Where information is not available, write “NR”.
   • Part 3: PDS Questionnaire
     • The PDS dealer may or may not be cooperative, and may or may not give truthful answers. Quite likely, he/she will try to persuade you that he/she is doing a fine job, and that any problem that may exist with the PDS are the fault of the sarpanch, or the FCI, or the cardholders. Try your best to get credible responses. Beware of bogus answers. Record any doubts you may have about the information in the space at the end, under “Investigators’ observations”.
     • Wherever relevant, ask to see the records. If the dealer is reluctant, insist gently. (To be discussed.)
     • Qn 6 (commissions): The kind of answer you may get is: “I get Rs 6/Ql as commission, and I’m also allowed to keep the boras (sacks), but my transport costs are not reimbursed.” Often there will be a different between what the dealers are supposed to get, and what they are actually getting. First record what they are supposed to get, then any complaints they may have in this respect.
     • Qn 7 (costs): As an illustration of the unofficial commissions that PDS dealers sometimes have to pay, here is how one dealer in UP described the relevant payments: Rs 10/quintal for the godown in-charge; Rs 3/Ql for weighing; Rs 10/Ql for the supply inspector; Rs 10/Ql for the “supply babu”; Rs 5/Ql for the SDM.
   • Part 4: Household Questionnaire
     • Qn 1 (hh head): Household “head” is not always a well-defined person, but this does not matter much for our purposes. It need not be the same person as the respondent, but the respondent should be one of the household members.
     • Qn 2 (no. of hh members): Roughly speaking, a “household” is a group of persons living and eating together. If in doubt, apply the chuhla criterion. The relevant household is the household of the Antyodaya beneficiary; in some cases it may be a larger unit than the persons listed on the Antyodaya card.
     • Qn 3: Make sure to fill both parts (“name” and “group”).
     • Qns 5 and 6 (land ownership): Note response in acres, after careful conversion of local units (e.g. bighas) if necessary.
     • Qn 21 (amount of grain obtained): This is a crucial question, please note the response as carefully as possible.
     • Qns 49 to 55 (“hunger”): Some of these questions may be difficult for the respondents to answer. They are important, so try to elicit an answer by asking the questions as clearly and sensitively as possible, and by probing if necessary. But if the respondent is reluctant or unable to answer, write “NR” where appropriate.
     • * “Individual details, page 2”: The information on disability and illness is bound to be difficult to record. Remember in particular that people who are used to disability or illness may not even mention the problem. Try your best to find out, without being insensitive.