Geostat Implements Electronic Statistical Survey Method

Date: 24 January 2018

National Statistics Office of Georgia will start Sample Survey of Agricultural Holdings with a new method - Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) on January 21, 2018. Statistical data collection in electronic form is an approved, acknowledged and recommended method by the international organizations. 
CAPI method has a significant advantage regarding to the primary data quality, fieldwork timing and cost-efficiency. Old paper questionnaire of Sample Survey of Agricultural Holdings has been completely replaced by the questionnaire loaded in android system tablets. The data are entered during the interview. Controls in the questionnaire help interviewer to specify and correct logical incompatibility together with the respondent and to reduce the risk of missing data. The data no linger requires coding and the additional resources as well as time to record the questionnaire into the base after the interview. Once the fieldwork is finished, the data are ready for statistical processing and analyzing. 
Software for the Sample Survey of Agricultural Holdings has been created within the framework of the technical assistance program of the World Bank “Survey Solutions”. The program has been successfully implemented in over 80 countries around the world. Geostat’s Staff was introduced to the functions and capabilities of this program within the first mission of the World Bank, in March 2016. 
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has presented technical equipment necessary for the survey (365 android tablets and 2 servers). 
Due to the technical assistance, Geostat hosts the World Bank’s mission during 22 - 26 January. The representatives of the World Bank and the USDA as well as Geostat’s staff will directly monitor the fieldwork in Kakheti region on January 23. 
Implementation of electronic data collection method (CAPI) of Sample Survey of Agricultural Holdings is considered within the framework of “Strategic Plan for Agricultural, Environmental and Rural Statistics of Georgia 2016 – 2020” program worked out with the assistance of Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as well as is engagement of the II phase of the European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD II).