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Details on the variable access to electricity [message #21591] Mon, 23 November 2020 13:51 Go to next message
camilleatpik is currently offline  camilleatpik
Messages: 6
Registered: July 2019
Member
Dear DHS,

I would like to know some details about the variable access to electricity (v119).

1- Do households having off-grid electricity access (through solar home systems or through mini-grids) are also included in households having access to electricity?

2- Do households having off-grid individual solar devices (i.e. mobile phone chargers, solar lights) are also included in household having access to electricity?

Thank you very much,
Camille
Re: Details on the variable access to electricity [message #21600 is a reply to message #21591] Tue, 24 November 2020 11:04 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Bridgette-DHS is currently offline  Bridgette-DHS
Messages: 3017
Registered: February 2013
Senior Member

Following is a response from DHS Research & Data Analysis Director, Tom Pullum:

I recommend that you look at the household questionnaire for the specific survey you are using. The questionnaires are in an appendix at the end of the main report. Usually the question is just about having electricity, with no reference to the source. I believe there have been some surveys with questions about generators, solar panels, etc., but you have to look at the questionnaire.

Re: Details on the variable access to electricity [message #21606 is a reply to message #21600] Tue, 24 November 2020 23:30 Go to previous messageGo to next message
camilleatpik is currently offline  camilleatpik
Messages: 6
Registered: July 2019
Member
Dear Bridgette,

Thank you very much for your answer. Looking at the questionnaire for the specific survey used sounds like the way to go.
However, as I am using 254 DHS datasets in my analysis, I was wondering if the information on the source of electricity was available for all surveys. In the DHS Recode Manual, there is no specific information about the source of electricity.

All best,
Camille
Re: Details on the variable access to electricity [message #21609 is a reply to message #21606] Wed, 25 November 2020 07:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Bridgette-DHS is currently offline  Bridgette-DHS
Messages: 3017
Registered: February 2013
Senior Member

Following is another response from DHS Research & Data Analysis Director, Tom Pullum:

I believe very few surveys have included a specific question about source of electricity. DHS would not have a list of which ones did. If you are looping through surveys, here's something we sometimes do. For example, you can loop through the HR files, drop all the subscripted variables, and use "lookfor" with keywords. To get the keywords you have to find at least one survey that includes source. You can probably even loop through the dictionary files to find keywords in labels, such as "solar", but I haven't actually done that. If you do this, keep in mind that such a question could be survey-specific and not have an "hv" prefix.

Another good resource for researching a question/variable is the IPUMS-DHS site, which allows users to do a web-based search on a string or variable. Variable names in IPUMS are links that provide extensive information, including variable description, cautionary notes, the survey text used to generate each variable, including its codes and frequencies, variable meaning and universe (who was asked the question), and precise question wording.. The variables are also harmonized across samples, making this an excellent tool for comparative analysis. Easily log in with your DHS user name email and password.
Re: Details on the variable access to electricity [message #21712 is a reply to message #21609] Fri, 11 December 2020 12:07 Go to previous message
camilleatpik is currently offline  camilleatpik
Messages: 6
Registered: July 2019
Member
Dear Brigdette, Dear Tom Pullum,

Thanks a lot for this information. These are two useful ideas to get more information on the source of electricity for many surveys.

With best regards,
Camille
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