The World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) team is conducting a methodological survey experiment in Armenia to (i) test and compare the implementation and resulting land tenure indicators across questionnaire modules, and (ii) assess the feasibility of implementation and accuracy of the Survey Solutions satellite imagery-based land area measurement tool vis-à-vis GPS-based and respondent estimates of parcel area.

Prior to the implementation of the methodological study fieldwork, a small-scale cognitive interviewing pilot was conducted on a separate, gender-balanced sample. The main objective of the survey was to uncover and investigate the patterns of comprehension, interpretation, and response to the main questions related to land tenure.

Thirty-two individual cognitive interviews were administered. In addition to the individual interviews, three focus group discussions were conducted (one all-male, one all-female, one mixed gender). Based on the cognitive interviewing results, the questionnaire developed by the World Bank for the main fieldwork was adjusted and the enumerator manual was developed.

After the cognitive interviewing component, a listing of households in Ararat, Kotayk and Vayots Dzor regions were implemented as well.
In the scope of this project, a 5-day training was conducted for a total of 35 enumerators and supervisors from Ararat, Kotayk, and Vayots Dzor regions on survey tools, manuals, data collection techniques using tablets (Survey Solutions/ CAPI methodology), area measurement using GPS devices. During the training 1-day, mock interview was conducted in the Kotayk region.
The primary methodological study was implemented on a stand-alone sample, i.e. not integrated with an existing survey at this stage, in three marzes. The sample was consisting of 1200 households, scientifically selected from both urban and rural enumeration areas (EAs) (Total EAs=100) covering both agricultural and non-agricultural households. The questionnaire instruments were programmed using the World Bank’s Survey Solutions computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) software, and the enumerators entered the data directly onto the Android tablets.