STEP Skills Measurement Household Survey 2013 (Wave 2) - Armenia

Abstract
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The STEP (Skills Toward Employment and Productivity) Measurement program is the first ever initiative to generate internationally comparable data on skills available in developing countries. The program implements standardized surveys to gather information on the supply and distribution of skills and the demand for skills in labor market of low-income countries.

The uniquely-designed Household Survey includes modules that measure the cognitive skills (reading, writing and numeracy), socio-emotional skills (personality, behavior and preferences) and job-specific skills (subset of transversal skills with direct job relevance) of a representative sample of adults aged 15 to 64 living in urban areas, whether they work or not. The cognitive skills module also incorporates a direct assessment of reading literacy based on the Survey of Adults Skills instruments. Modules also gather information about family, health and language.

Geographic coverage
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The STEP target population is the urban population aged 15 to 64 (inclusive).
Areas are classified as urban based on Armenia's official definition.

Analysis unit
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The units of analysis are the individual respondents and households. A household roster is undertaken at the start of the survey and the individual respondent is randomly selected among all household members aged 15 to 64 included. The random selection process was designed by the STEP team and compliance with the procedure is carefully monitored during fieldwork.

Universe
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The target population for the Armenia STEP survey comprises all non-institutionalized persons 15 to 64 years of age (inclusive) living in private dwellings in urban areas of the country at the time of data collection. This includes all residents except foreign diplomats and non-nationals working for international organizations.

The following are excluded from the sample:
- Residents of institutions (prisons, hospitals, etc)
- Residents of senior homes and hospices
- Residents of other group dwellings such as college dormitories, halfway homes, workers' quarters, etc
- Persons living outside the country at the time of data collection

In some countries, extremely remote villages or conflict-ridden regions could not be surveyed.

Kind of data
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Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure
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The Armenia sample design is a 3 stage sample design. There was no explicit stratification but the sample is implicitly stratified by Region. Implicit stratification was achieved by sorting the PSUs by Region and selecting a systematic sample of PSUs.

First Stage Sample
The primary sample unit (PSU) is a cluster of households that are users of Electricity Networks of Armenia (ENA). The first stage units were selected by the World Bank Survey Methodologist.
Each PSU is uniquely defined by the sample frame variable 'Cluster_ID'. The sampling objective was to conduct interviews in 200 PSUs. In addition, 25 extra PSUs were selected for use in case it was impossible to conduct any interviews in one or more initially selected PSUs. (N.B. None of the 25 extra PSUs were required to be activated.)

Second Stage Sample
The second stage sample unit (SSU) is a household. The sampling objective was to obtain interviews at 15 households within each selected PSU. The households were selected in each PSU using a systematic random method. There was an expectation of high non-response for the Armenia STEP. Therefore, it was decided to select 60 households in each PSU; in each PSU, 2 replicates of 30 households each were selected. The sample of 60 households was divided randomly into an initial sample of 15 households and a reserve sample of 45 households which was activated as necessary in the order in which the sample was selected. During the data collection operation, one PSU (i.e., PSU #183) required additional sample due to exceptionally high non-response. A 3rd replicate of 30 households was selected to accommodate this requirement. Thus, a sample of 90 households was selected in this PSU.

Third Stage Sample
The third stage sample unit was an individual aged 15-64 (inclusive). The sampling objective was to select one individual with equal probability from each selected household.

Mode of data collection
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Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument
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The STEP survey instruments include:
- The background questionnaire developed by the WB STEP team
- Reading Literacy Assessment developed by Educational Testing Services (ETS).

All countries adapted and translated both instruments following the STEP Technical Standards: 2 independent translators adapted and translated the Background Questionnaire and Reading Literacy Assessment, while reconciliation was carried out by a third translator.

The WB STEP team and ETS collaborated closely with the Armenian survey firm during the process and reviewed the adaptation and translation to Armenian (using a back translation).

The survey instruments were both piloted as part of the survey pretest.

The adapted Background Questionnaires are provided in English as external resources. The Reading Literacy Assessment is protected by copyright and will not be published.

Cleaning operations
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STEP Data Management Process:

1) Raw data is sent by the survey firm
2) The WB STEP team runs data checks on the Background Questionnaire data.
- ETS runs data checks on the Reading Literacy Assessment data.
- Comments and questions are sent back to the survey firm.
3) The survey firm reviews comments and questions. When a data entry error is identified, the survey firm corrects the data.
4) The WB STEP team and ETS check the data files are clean. This might require additional iterations with the survey firm.
5) Once the data has been checked and cleaned, the WB STEP team computes the weights. Weights are computed by the STEP team to ensure consistency across sampling methodologies.
6) ETS scales the Reading Literacy Assessment data.
7) The WB STEP team merges the Background Questionnaire data with the Reading Literacy Assessment data and computes derived variables.

Detailed information data processing in STEP surveys is provided in the 'Guidelines for STEP Data Entry Programs' document provided as an external resource. The template do-file used by the STEP team to check the raw background questionnaire data is provided as an external resource.

Response rate
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An overall response rate of 50.3% was achieved in the Armenia STEP Survey. Table 18 of the STEP Survey Weighting Procedures Summary provides the detailed percentage distribution by final status code.

Sampling error estimates
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A weighting documentation was prepared for each participating country and provides some information on sampling errors. Please refer to the STEP Survey Weighting Procedures Summary provided as an external resource.