A sound methodology: measuring experiences of violent conflict through audio self-interviews

Journal article

This paper investigates the impact of different survey administration methods on the disclosure of sensitive or traumatic experiences. Respondents of a pilot study in Ethiopia were randomly assigned to answer questions either using audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) or as part of a face-to-face (FtF) enumerator-based interview. Results indicate that ACASI led to higher disclosure rates of conflict-related experiences, particularly for the most sensitive questions, i.e., when either the respondent or a close friend or family member was the victim, or when the trauma suffered was more severe. ACASI offers a viable solution to measure traumatic conflict-related experience exposure in low-literacy settings, overcoming the underestimation problem commonly observed when using standard survey methods.

Authors: von Russdorf, S; Ahlborn, L; Hidalgo-Arestegui, A; McQuade, G; Favara, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Economics Letters
• Volume: 242
• Article number: 111879
• Publication date: 2024-07-24
• Acceptance date: 2024-07-12
• DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2024.111879
• EISSN: 1873-7374
• ISSN: 0165-1765
• Language: English
• Keywords: survey methods; measurement; conflict; Tigray; Ethiopia