Data collection - METHODOLOGY AND DATA - Current and Future Household Livelihood Adaptation to

4. METHODOLOGY AND DATA

4.5. Data collection

As this study aims at collecting and analysing the primary data to understand the adaptation dynamics through its details at an individual level, an intensive household survey with a sample of 850 households almost evenly distributed in five provinces of the MD and the RRD remains at the core of the data collection. The five provinces include two ones in the RRD (Nam Định and Hải Phòng) and three ones in the MD (Tiền Giang, Sóc Trăng, and Kiên Giang) (see Figure 4-3) and all together are six districts (each district in each province, except for Sóc Trăng of which two districts were included), 11 communes, 21 villages. The sites intentionally cover the main agrarian systems along the salinity gradients in the coastal areas of the two deltas. In practices, the width of the transects covered in the MD is much wider than in the RRD given the fact that an average farm plot is usually smaller in the latter and as earlier mentioned, the long-history existence of the concrete or semi-concrete of the sea dikes in this delta makes its cultivation landscape less heterogeneous than in the MD as no saline water is allowed to get inside the sea dike at all. The dynamics of land-use, though, are still evident along the coast of both regions which indeed fulfils the objective of the future-forward research approach. While distance to the coastline is not an important proxy between the two deltas due to the difference in spatially spreading of these systems, proximity to urban areas is an important selection criterion to ensure covering the livelihoods and reflect urbanization characteristics in those regions. The two provinces in the RRD are closer to the urban areas by distance, and also by the tighter connection between rural and urban areas, i.e. the average urbanization level within the region of the RRD is higher than in the MD. This is not only because of the inclusion of the capital - Hanoi in this delta comparing to the excluding of HCMC from the MD in the South, but also reflects the greater mobility in the Northern part which could be linked further back in history while the presence and land conversion by its residents commenced much later in the Southern part of Vietnam (Son Nam 2009).

4.5.1. Secondary data

As found in most of the researches in Viet Nam, the secondary data is largely taken from the General Statistics Office (GSO) of Viet Nam for data at the national and provincial level (statistical yearbooks and official website of GSO). Complementary data at the provincial, district and village levels, for instance, quarterly and annual socio-economic reports of People’s Committees of the studied provinces, districts, and communes are collected during the two field trips.

Besides, key hydrological data, e.g. on rainfall and temperature were also collected at the explorative phase to provide the background information in Chapter 2. This data was mainly collected and provided by the Centres for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting of Viet Nam (NCHMF). This type of data is analysed intensively at the first phase to draw on the background of the research, yet also reflected forth and back throughout the chapters for cross-validation.

4.5.2. Interviews, group discussions and transect-walks with experts

Interviews are not only the main method applied in the exploratory phase of this research, but also useful during and after the main data collection period for eliciting complementary information as well as validating the preliminary empirical results. The type of interviews could vary between semi-structured or entirely open depending on the purpose and context as long as it helps to gather rich data via oral communication (Bernard 2011). Expert interviews and group discussions have been carried out with government officers at different levels from provinces to communes. In almost of these provinces, we had the chance to talk with officers from DARD (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), DONRE (Department of Natural Resources and Environment), Department of Forestry, Department of Irrigation, Office of Flood and Storm Control, Statistical Offices, etc. The meetings were helpful, particularly in the exploratory phase, to learn from their expertise and also see the difference in management between administrative levels and have insights on the problems and issues confronted by the local communities.

In more detail, expert interviews and FDGs have been carried out with government officers at different levels from provinces to communes including DARD, DONRE, Department of Forestry, Department of Irrigation, Statistics Offices, etc. Complementing to this local knowledge, formal and informal discussions with experts who have been gaining their rich working experiences in these deltas give a better overview and valuable opinions at the region level. A list of approached agencies and institutions is presented in Appendice 10.1. These activities were done before, during and after the major data collection – an intensive household survey conducted in 2016. The former interviews and group discussions were aimed to get the background information as well as identifying the potential issues which are thematically relevant to the research scheme to develop hypotheses. While the latter ones were strategically added for the validation and enhancing the rigours of the dissertation’s core arguments.

The information collected from these interviews are used for cross-validation and qualitative analysis. In the empirical chapters (5 and 6), these interviews are cited using a simple coding system in which II stands for “in-depth interview”; EI stands for “exploratory interview”; GI stands for “group interview”; TG, ST, KG, ND, and HP are the abbreviation of provinces’ names respectively: Tiền Giang, Sóc Trăng, Kiên Giang, Nam Định and Hải Phòng; P, C, and V stands for administrative levels respectively: province, district, and village; numbers indicate the chronological order.

Another useful exercise is the transect-walk with experts. These activities were conducted in the pre-visit during the exploratory phase. In this phase, transect walks were conducted with the guidance of a local officer in each selected province to identify the compatible transect for the major data collection, i.e. household survey in the second fieldwork trip. In line with the overall project design, the transect crossed different agro-ecological zones and salinity gradients. These transects were complemented by random in-depth interviews with farmers and other households within these transects.

4.5.3. Standardized household survey

During the field-work time in 2015-2016, the core data collection was the standardised household survey carried out intensively between March-July 2016 in both MD and RRD. In order to fulfil the selection criteria, districts and villages are selected after consulting with provincial and district level officers such as DARD, DONRE, Statistics Office, etc. for the most relevant sites and coverage. The name list of these 6 districts, 11 communes and 21 villages with sample size by the district as well as by delta is presented in Table 2, 850 households in these villages were selected out of the list of households with the support of the local leaders and local guides13_{. The information collected at those different levels was}

moderated and cross-validated to control for bias (Flick 2009).

Regarding the household survey, the stratified sampling technique (Lewis-Beck et al. 2004) was applied in the design rather than the standard simple random sampling due to the large coverage and complexity of research context, the administrative challenges to the research procedure, as well as the common objectives of the DeltAdapt project. First and foremost, sample design is of great importance in data collection as it determines data quality and the models' parameterisation step (Chambers & Skinner 2003). There are different sampling techniques documented and suggested by numerous works of literature (Moser & Kalton 1971, Levy & Lemeshow 1999). The stratified sampling is aimed at increasing the precision of population-level estimates and/or to allow for estimation at the sub-population level to increase the representation of the studied groups (Bernard 2011, Lewis-Beck et al. 2004). Considering the village unit, farming system recoded in regional and provincial transects, as well as existing households’ main occupations, the sub-sample was selected proportionally respectively. A pre-test of the survey was carried out at the very beginning of the intensive fieldwork. Up to four weeks after the pre-test was intentionally allocated for adjusting and improving the questionnaire. During the survey period in 2015-2016, one-third of the survey was implemented by the author and the rest was done by trained research assistants who are experienced with the research areas and the research theme broadly. Training was also provided to this group of interviewees to ensure not only the quality of the data collection but also research ethics clearance.

13_{Those were normally village leaders or elders with high credits among the community. In most of the case, village} leaders took part in the survey, otherwise, they nominated their staffs who also had deep knowledge about the area and people.

Table 2: Names of research sites from provincial to village level and sample size by district and delta

Delta Province District Commune Village

Sample size by district Sample size by delta M e ko n g Delta Tiền Giang Tân Phú Đông Phú Đông Lý Quàn 2 170 Bà Tiên 1 Lý Quàn 1 524 Phú Tân Phú Hữu Sóc Trăng Vĩnh Châu Vĩnh Hiệp Tân Lập 50 Mỹ Xuyên Tham Đôn Trà Bết 132

Đại Tâm Đại Nghĩa Thắng Hoà Tú I Hòa Trực Kiên Giang An Minh Vân Khánh Kim Quy A 172 Kim Quy B Đông Hòa 7 Xáng II 7 Xáng Red -r iv e r Delta Nam Định Giao Thủy Giao Xuân Xuân Tiên 167 Xuân Phong 326 Giao Phong Liên Phong Lâm Trụ Lâm Quan Hải Phòng Tiên Lãng Vinh Quang Kim 159 Yên Vam Trên Đông Trên

Among 850 observations covered by the survey, almost 60% of the respondents are the head of their households. The majority of interviewees are at their labour ages with an equal share between male (51.65%) and female (48.35%) which holds true across regions (Figure 4-8 and Figure 4-9). This structure will likely be able to reduce the bias of information in the models' specification process.

In regard to other basic demographic characteristics reflecting local context, in the survey design phase, we took into consideration such factors as ethnicity, poverty rate, education

Figure 4-9: Age of informants by region (N=850) Figure 4-8: Age of informants by gender (N=850)

level, etc. For instance, the sample represents the actual proportion of the population in terms of ethnicity and further shows quite an equal share between men and women participating in the survey in general as well as by ethnicity (Table 3).

Table 3: Gender of informants by their ethnic Sex of informant Ethnic of informant Total Vietnamese (Kinh) Khmer (Vietnamese) Chinese (Vietnamese) Male 385 54 0 439 Female 368 41 2 411 Total 753 95 2 850

Overall, these characteristics unsurprisingly vary across the two deltas. These points are outlined and explained in Chapter 2 and further elaborated in Chapters 5 and 6. It is, however, critical to distinguish among specific contexts when applying all variables particularly newly constructed ones for joint models. Further details and explanations of variables are provided in the models' specification and parameterisation sub-sections of the empirical analyses. In line with the dissertation organisation, depending on which research questions addressed in each following section, relevant specific methods are presented and discussed and followed by analyses and results as well as sub-conclusions.

In document Current and Future Household Livelihood Adaptation to Changing Social-Ecological Context - A Case Study in the Rural Coastal Areas of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta and Red River Delta (Page 81-85)