The Mekong Island Population Laboratory (MIPopLab), A Demographic Surveillance System in Rural Cambodia (2000-06) (ICPSR 36601)
Version Date: Apr 13, 2017 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Patrick Heuveline, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36601.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
The Mekong Island Population Laboratory (MIPopLab) conducted 13 rounds of data collection between 2000 and 2006, at which point MIPopLab was integrated into the Mekong Integrated Population-Registration Areas of Cambodia (MIPRAoC). MIPopLab combined a demographic surveillance system in one rural area of Cambodia with a population of roughly 10,000 inhabitants and a "rider survey" designed to assess the role of the late-1970s mortality crisis in subsequent fertility changes. At the time of registration (first household visit), complete marriage and birth histories were recorded for all eligible women, i.e., women between the ages of 15 and 74. MIPopLab was thus set up to provide both retrospective data on reproductive behavior and prospective follow-up data on population dynamics.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
Village
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The purpose of MIPopLab was to provide both retrospective, quantitative and qualitative data on reproductive behavior and prospective follow-up data on population dynamics. This data release features only quantitative data.
Study Design View help for Study Design
Researchers selected an island on the Mekong River as the catchment area for MIPopLab based on a number of favorable characteristics:
- The island constitutes a single administrative unit referred to as a "commune."
- The population was larger than average (roughly 10,000 at time of the 1998 General Population Census), representing just about one thousandth of the national population size.
- Proximity to the capital city, Phnom Penh, was a necessity at the time as the volatile political situation prevented travel to some parts of the country, and because human resources were highly concentrated in the capital city.
- The insularity of the commune allowed the boundaries of the site and the resident population to be defined unambiguously and durably, even in the event of administrative redistricting.
- Though MIPopLab was not undertaken with the specific pretense of yielding nationally representative data, the 1998 General Population Census exhibited strong urban-rural gradients in nearly all socio-demographic indicators, suggesting that the characteristics of a rural community relatively close to the capital city might be fairly close to national averages.
The commune represents the lowest level of administrative authority in Cambodia. Historically, communes had been further divided into villages and solidarity groups. At the time of data collection, many adult rural residents were still aware of the existence of villages and groups, and were generally aware of the identity of their village chief and group leader. An average-size group consisted of approximately twelve adjacent households. In the absence of reliable maps to canvas the territory of the commune, the MIPopLab data collection strategy relied in part on the dormant administrative structures below the commune level. First, the commune's five villages were mapped into groups with the assistance of the various village chiefs. Second, on days of data collection, field workers were paired with one of the group leaders and interviewed each household head in his or her group at the respondent's home.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
Mekong Island residents living in an administrative unit (commune) consisting of 5 villages.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
Census and administrative records of vital events and migration.
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
Please see the Producer Documentation for a detailed description of variables in the event-based data files.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
99.8% (Censuses); 96.3% (Updates).
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2017-04-12
Version History View help for Version History
- Heuveline, Patrick. The Mekong Island Population Laboratory (MIPopLab), A Demographic Surveillance System in Rural Cambodia (2000-06). ICPSR36601-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2017-04-13. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36601.v1
Weight View help for Weight
The data are not weighted. The data files do not feature weight variables.
HideNotes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.