Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores

In looking at behaviors of hard-to-reach
populations, sampling frame development
will require preliminary qualitative research
and some level of mapping, to determine
whether and where members of particular
sub-populations tend to gather. The objective
of such efforts is to identify sites/locations
where sufficient numbers of respondent group
members may be found on a regular basis for
use as PSUs. Key informants and members of
the respective respondent groups themselves
will need to be consulted in a systematic
fashion in order to construct a sampling
frame of sites that is as complete as possible.
The process of gathering this information is
known as ethnographic or social mapping.
This simply means that those creating the
maps use basic ethnographic techniques in
their construction; for example, key informant
interviewing, and spending time “walking the
community” in the company of key informants.
These techniques are explained in more detail
in publications specifically designed to describe
this methodology (see Suggested Reading).
It is important that sampling frames cover
the entire geographic universe defined for a
given survey effort and include the large
majority of sites or locations where respondent
group members congregate in significant
numbers. If not, the resulting survey estimates
are prone to bias to the extent that the
characteristics and behaviors of target members
excluded from the possibility of selection
for the survey differ from those who were
surveyed.
In some cases, creating the sampling
frame might only involve creating lists of sites.
In other instances, it may be necessary to map
out locations of sites. Mapping may entail
actual sketching of the specific geographic
area. The resulting map would not need to
have precise dimensions and distances, but
rather be a rough drawing including such
things as main streets, main features of the
landscape or other identifiable features,
and most importantly, main places where
respondent group members are likely to
“hang out”. It is important to allow sufficient
time, human resources and budget for
sampling frame development, a process
which may take up to two months.
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C H A PTER 4 B EHAV I OR A L S U R V EI L L A NC E S U R V EY S