Type of Research Instrument
The Questionnaire is filled in by the interviewer during the least five visits to households per month. During face-to-face interviews with the household head or another knowledgeable adult member, the interviewer collects information on the composition and housing conditions of the household, the employment status, educational level and health condition of the members, availability and use of land, livestock, and agricultural machinery, monetary and commodity flows between households, and other information.
The 2008 survey questionnaire had the following sections: (1) "List of Household Members", (2) "Migration", (3) "Housing and Dwelling Conditions", (4) "Employment", (5) "Education", (6) "Agriculture", (7) "Food Production", (8) "Monetary and Commodity Flows between Households", (9) "Health (General) and Healthcare", (10) "Debts", (11) "Subjective Assessment of Living Conditions", (12) "Provision of Services", (13) "Social Assistance", (14) "Households as Employers for Service Personnel", and (15) "Household Monthly Consumption of Energy Resources".
The Diary is completed directly by the household for one month. Every day the household would record all its expenditures on food, non-food products and services, also giving a detailed description of such purchases; e.g. for food products the name, quantity, cost, and place of purchase of the product is recorded. Besides, the household records its consumption of food products received and used from its own land and livestock, as well as from other sources (e.g. gifts, humanitarian aid). Non-food products and services purchased or received for free are also recorded in the diary. Then, the household records its income received during the month. At the end of the month, information on rarely used food products, durable goods and ceremonies is recorded, as well. The records in the diary are verified by the interviewer in the course of 5 mandatory visits to the household during the survey month.
The Survey Diary has the following sections: (1) food purchased during the day, (2) food consumed at home during the day, (3) expenditures on food consumed away from home, (4) non-food products purchased and services obtained, (5) non-food products and services received free of charge, (6) household income and monetary inflows, (7) food products, which are usually consumed in small quantities during the day, (8) list of real estate, durable goods, and ceremonies. The interviewer’s manual provides detailed instructions for completing the questionnaire and the diary.
The Questionnaire, the Diary and the Interviewer's Manual are revised and adjusted, as appropriate, prior to the launch of the survey. Starting from 2012, data are codified under the "Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose" (COICOP) classifier.