Sampling

The principal objective of the sample design was to provide current and reliable estimates on a set of indicators covering the four major areas of the World Fit for Children declaration, including promoting healthy lives; providing quality education; protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence; and combating HIV/AIDS. The population covered by the MICS - 3 is defined as the universe of all women aged 15-49 and all children aged under 5.  A sample of households was selected and all women aged 15-49 identified as usual residents of these households were interviewed.  In addition, the mother or the caretaker of all children aged under 5 who were usual residents of the household were also interviewed about the child.

The MICS - 3 collected data from a nationally representative sample of households, women and children.  The primary focus of the MICS - 3 was to provide estimates of key population and health, education, child protection and HIV related indicators for Mongolia as a whole and for urban and rural areas separately.  In addition, the sample was designed to provide estimates for each of the 5 regions for key indicators.  Mongolia is divided into 5 regions.  Each region is subdivided into provinces (aimags) and a capital city, and each province into soums, a capital city into districts, each soum into bags and each districts into khoroos. As bag and khoroo household and population listing is annually updated, these were taken as primary sampling units. Bags and khoroos with a large population were divided into 2-3 primary sampling units in order to keep the similar number of households for sampling units. Bag and khoroos (primary sampling unit) were selected with probability proportional to size and 25 households within each of these selected units were sampled using the systematic method.  The primary sampling unit variable is the cluster (HH1).  

The survey estimates the indicators on the child and women situation by national level, rural, urban areas and regions. Five regions (Western, Khangai, Central, Eastern and Ulaanbaatar) were the main sampling domains and a two stage sampling design was used. Within each region households were selected with probability proportional to size. 

A total of 6325 households in 253 primary sampling units were selected to represent 21 aimags and Ulaanbaatar city. Sample weights were used for estimating the data collected from each of the sampled households. 

No replacement of households was permitted in case of non-response or non-contactable households.  Adjustments were made to the sampling weights to correct for non-response, according to MICS standard procedures.

No major deviations from the original sample design were made.  All primary sampling units were accessed and successfully interviewed with good response rates.

6325 households were selected for the sample.  Of these, 6325 were occupied households and 6220 were successfully interviewed for a response rate of 98.3%.  Within these households, 8057 eligible women aged 15-49 were identified for interview, of which 7459 were successfully interviewed (response rate 92.6%), and 3568 children aged 0-4 were identified for whom the mother or caretaker was successfully interviewed for 3547 children (response rate 99.4%).  These give overall response rates (household response rate times individual response rate) for the women's interview of 91.0% and for the children's interview of 97.8%.

Sample weights were calculated for each of the datafiles.  

Sample weights for the household data were computed as the inverse of the probability of selection of the household, computed at the sampling domain level (urban/rural within each region).  The household weights were adjusted for non-response at the domain level, and were then normalized by a constant factor so that the total weighted number of households equals the total unweighted number of households.  The household weight variable is called HHWEIGHT and is used with the HH data and the HL data.

Sample weights for the women's data used the un-normalized household weights, adjusted for non-response for the women's questionnaire, and were then normalized by a constant factor so that the total weighted number of women's cases equals the total unweighted number of women's cases.

Sample weights for the children's data followed the same approach as the women's and used the un-normalized household weights, adjusted for non-response for the children's questionnaire, and were then normalized by a constant factor so that the total weighted number of children's cases equals the total unweighted number of children's cases.