Questionnaires and Spatial Forms
Consent Form
The spatial teams obtained consent from the villagers prior to
proceeding with the group discussion. We promised to inform those who
are part of the interview about the content of the questions to be
asked; that our goal is to describe social, economic, and environmental
change in Nang Rong; that their participation is voluntary and that
they can leave any time; that the information they provide is
confidential; that we will take their answers and transform them into
numbers in a computer file. This was done before the interview
commenced. A representative from the village, usually the headman,
signed the consent form. In some instances, when villagers were unable
or were wary of signing the consent form, but consented verbally, the
interviewer signed for the villagers. The interviewer also included the
names of the informants on the consent form. Since the group discussion
may have required more than one group meeting, or session, multiple
consent forms were used per village. Each consent form was numbered
sequentially to indicate which session the consent form corresponded to.
Household Directory
A Household Directory was prepared for each village using information
provided in Household Questionnaires (Form 6) and the Household
Listing. Household Directories for the target village were used during
the Group Discussion process. Example 5 below indicates the information
that was included in the each village’s Household Directory. The
Household Directory served as a listing of all individuals in a
village, providing their survey codes, household IDs and the number of
plangs used by each individual. The Household Directory was used in
order to complete the Group Discussion process, serving as a checklist
and reference for the user names and number of plangs identified for
each user by the informants during the Group Discussion Mapping.
Group Discussion Tally
A Tally Sheet was also prepared for each target village prior to the
Group Discussion Mapping. The Tally Sheet summarized the number of
plangs used by each Household, whereas the Household Directory
indicated the number of plangs used by individuals. To prepare the
Tally Sheet, interviewers made a list of 3 digit House IDs for the
village, which they took from the 9 digit Household IDs (concatenation
of 6 digit village ID and 3 digit House ID) in the target
village’s Household Directory. The Head of Household names were
written on the tally sheet to the left of the House ID. Head of
Household names were taken directly from the Household Listing. To the
right of each House ID was recorded the total number of plangs used by
all individuals in that household. If any House IDs had 0 plang, this
indicated that 0 plang were reported used by that Household in Form 6.
If plangs were identified during the Group Discussion as being used by
anyone in these Households, they cannot be matched (no data in Form 6),
therefore on the Tally Sheet, the House IDs with 0 plang were struck
out (X’d out). The Tally Sheet was then ready for use during the
Group Discussion.
Group Discussion Land Use Form
This form was used to record data during the Group Discussion process.
The Form was divided into three sections: Section 1 – Cover
Sheet; Section 2 – Land Use Form; and Section 3 – Land Use
Outside Nine Map Tiles Form.
Section 1: Multiple Cover Sheets were used in most villages because
more than one group discussion session (using a different group of key
informants) was required to complete the group discussion component for
each village.
- Each cover sheet had an indication for the Group / Session number.
- In the upper right area of the cover sheet there
was an indication for Landmarks completed. This designation was
included on the cover sheet of the first session for each village to
indicate that the landmarks had been drawn on the map tiles.
- Also in the upper right area of each cover sheet a
page range was indicated. This page range corresponded to the pages of
the Section 2 Land Use Form that were completed during each group
discussion session. The Section 2 Land Use Form pages were numbered
sequentially in the upper right corner as they were completed during
each group discussion session.
Section 2: Land Use Form provided the entry rows for the bulk of the
land use data. Typically, a single group discussion session used
multiple sheets of Section 2. If so, the sheets were numbered
sequentially in the upper right corners, and this page range was
indicated on the corresponding Cover Sheet for the particular group
discussion session.
Section 3: Land Use Outside Nine Tiles Form provided space to enter
data for land parcels located outside the 9 map tile area (36 square
kilometers) and used by the target villagers. Initially, this included
only contiguous areas outside the nine tiles where 5 or more households
farmed. However, the interviewers discovered that many informants could
provide specific household names and the number of plangs used by each
household for most areas, including areas with less than 5 households
farming. For this reason, Section 3 was updated to its present form.
NOTE: Section 3 was updated after the data collection had commenced.
The information for areas with less than 5 households using the land
was gathered for all villages except for the first 5 group discussion
villages and a Section 3 was completed for all villages except those
first 5.
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here for more information on the Group Discussion process...
GPS Accuracy Check Form
During the group discussion, village informants assisted the
interviewers in updating and verifying parcel boundaries on the field
maps. The informants also provided user, and in some instances, owner
information for both target and adjacent plang. In order to verify the
accuracy of the information provided by the informants, at least six
sample plangs, representing at least 6 different households, were
randomly selected from the maps.
Since travel to and from and within the cultivation areas is
time-consuming and difficult at times, 2 clusters of 3 plangs, each
plang representing a different household (6 households total), were
identified from the maps. Each of these plangs was visited and assessed
by a member of the spatial team.
Plangs were located with the help of a representative from the
household (household land guide) that actually farmed the plang. The
actual location and boundaries of each plang were compared to the
location and boundaries provided on the map by the informants. Each
plang was also GPS’d and the household land guide verified the
user / owner information.
Below are specifics regarding the random selection process and the land verification:
Bottle Cap Draw and Coin Toss Selection:
- Maps were selected for the GPS Accuracy Check
process by first gathering nine bottle caps, numbered 1-9, which
corresponded to the 9-map tiles, and placing them in a hat or bag.
- Some map tiles contained no areas used by the
village or did not contain at least one cluster of plangs representing
3 different households in the target village. In these instances, the
corresponding cap(s) and map(s) were removed from the process.
- The headman or an informant drew a bottle cap
and the corresponding map tile was selected based on the draw.
- The bottle cap was replaced into the hat.
- NOTE: If the map chosen, via the luck of the
draw, had only one cluster representing 3 different households, that
cluster was chosen immediately and no coin tossing was necessary.
- The headman or other informant, standing at a
distance of ~1.5 meters, tossed a 1 Baht coin onto the randomly
selected map.
- A cluster representing at least three
households was identified under and around the coin. If no cluster
satisfied the criteria, or if the coin failed to come to rest on the
map, the coin was tossed again until a cluster was identified.
- 3 – 7 are repeated. One or two maps,
depending on the bottle caps drawn, were chosen and 2 clusters total,
each representing at least 3 different households (at least 6
individual plangs), were identified for mobile GPS Accuracy Checking.
Land Use and Location Verification:
- For each of the six plangs, a household member
was contacted to be the Household Land Guide (HLG). The HLG accompanied
the survey team to the their plang.
- The spatial team then traveled to each of the
six plangs and a GPS position was gathered in as close to the center of
the plang as possible. This likely involved navigating bund lines to
reach the plang center to avoid entering the water in flooded areas.
- The HLG was used to navigate to the actual
location of their plang and to identify the household member(s) that
used the plang.
- The GPS position and the map were used together
to determine if the plangs had been mapped correctly in the group
discussion.
- Team members completed the GPS Accuracy Check
Form for each of the plang visited. Example 8 below indicates the
information that was gathered for each plang.
- Teams were instructed to check yes if the
parcel was assessed and verified as accurate. If the parcel was unable
to be assessed, or if boundary and use data from the group discussion
differed substantially from that observed in the cultivation areas,
teams were instructed to provide detailed notes as to the nature of the
problem. As it turns out, if errors in boundary and use data were
identified, the team members corrected the problems and indicated that
the parcel was assessed. No detailed notes related to the problems were
recorded.
A CBIRD driver and truck were hired to transport a geodetic control
survey GPS team around Nang Rong district to collect geodetic control.
The driver was paid 100 baht/day during the week and 250/day during the
weekends, and he was available from 8:30 – 5:00 each day.
Three types of maps were used to complete the Geodetic Control GPS. The
primary type was air photo image maps, prepared for all air photos
covering Nang Rong district. The second type of map was an air photo
index map, indicating the location of air photo center points, the
extent of each air photo’s coverage, air photo ID#s and dates.
This information was overlaid on a Nang Rong map showing roads,
hydrography, and study villages and their 3 km buffers. The third type
of map was 1:50,000 topographic maps of the district with detailed
roads and hydrography, village locations, mainly used for navigation
purposes.
Air photo image maps were basically larger versions of the original
scanned 1:50,000 air photos. Two lines were drawn on the air photo
image maps, which intersected at the air photo center point (principal
point) and divided each air photo into 4 quadrants. In order to
properly rectify the air photos, at least 1 GPS point was gathered in
each quadrant at a location that is visible on the air photo, typically
prominent road intersections near the center to outer edges of the
quadrants (see Figure 1).
Prior to driving in the field, candidate GCP locations were marked on
the air photo image maps. The GCP collection team navigated to these
locations in a truck and then on foot. Upon arrival at each GCP
location, a GPS point was collected for a minimum of 3 minutes (180
positions) and the Geodetic Control GPS Form was completed for that
particular GPS File/location.
