Appendix I: Technical Details of Study Design and Sample

Appendix I:

Technical Details of Study Design and Sample

154 | Indian Youth: Aspirations and Vision for the Future

Appendix I: Technical Details of Study Design and Sample

The study is based on a sample survey of 6277 respondents aged between 15 and 34 years across 18 major states of India. The study was conducted by Lokniti, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi, in the months of July and August, 2021. The states which were selected for the study were the largest states of India in terms of population based on the Census, 2011.

The targeted sample for the study was 6000. The sample was divided across four localities (big cities, small cities, towns and villages) and we set a target to conduct 1500 interviews from each locality (for targeted and achieved sample see Table A1). Though, according to the Census, 2011, the urban population consists of roughly 30 percent of Indian population, but this study takes a higher proportion of urban population. The urban sample size is 4,500 and rural sample size is 1,500. The localities were selected in a way to have an equal representation of the big and small cities as well as towns and villages to have an inclusive study and to compare the experiences and views of youth with different levels of urbanization.

Sample Selection:

Multi-stage random sampling method was used to select the sample. The sampling was done at four stages.

Stage 1: Selection of states

For the purpose of the study, 18 states were selected based on their population as per the Census 2011. These states were the top 18 in the list of highest populated states in India. These include Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Gujarat, Odisha, Kerala, Jharkhand, Assam, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Delhi.

Stage 2: Selection of localities

The selection of the localities was based on the probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling technique that increases the probability of the selection of localities with their actual proportion in the population. The sample for the study includes interviews from both urban and rural localities. The cities were segmented into three categories -towns, small cities and big cities, depending on their population. This was done to include and compare the attitudes and opinions of the youth experiencing different levels of urbanisation. We prepared three lists of the cities on the basis of their population. The cities with the population of between 1-5 lakh are categorised as ‘towns’, cities with a population between 5-10 lakh are ‘small cities’; cities with a population of 10 lakh or above are categorised as ‘big cities’. In the compiled list, there were a total of 43 big cities, 41 small cities and 362 towns. Fifteen cities were selected from each list of big cities, small cities and towns. Thus, a total of 45 cities were selected that represent the urban population. From each city, four locations were selected by keeping geographical and economic profile of the area in mind. For this, a grid was made on the map of the sampled city and the city was divided into four geographical zones. From these four encircled zones, the State teams (with help from a local person) were asked to pick four different locations belonging to four different income groups- poor, lower, middle and upper. From each location, 25 interviews were to be conducted and altogether 100 interviews were targeted from each city which accounted for 4500 interviews from urban areas.

India is known as ‘country of villages’ as twothirds of the Indian population live in villages. The list of villages was quite long having different population sizes. But purposively, we filtered out

the villages having population of 20,000 and above. A total of 3715 villages were listed and 60 villages were selected from that list.

Stage 3: Selection of households

The selection of the household was different for villages and cities. In the villages, to maintain uniformity, a random walk procedure was predetermined, especially in reference to the direction or pattern of walk. The pattern of settlements in each location was not similar, therefore, the FIs had to locate one place such as a school, dispensary, market place or welcoming boards (if available) as a starting point and from there, they selected the first household randomly from their right-hand side; and thereafter, for the next interview, they had to add the given random interval (the interval varied across villages as different villages had different population size) provided for the sampled villages. They were asked to walk towards the end of the village to complete 25 interviews. The FIs were provided with the name of the villages with the random interval to be followed.

In the cities, the FIs were suggested to interview every 20th household at an interval and then follow the random walk pattern, as done in the villages. For instance, after locating one place such as a school or a market as a starting point, they were to select one household from their right-hand side, randomly, and thereafter, they had to approach every 20th household until they completed their interviews.

Stage 4: Selection of respondents

In the survey, an individual in the age bracket of 15 to 34 years was considered a youth. The selection of the respondents was based on the gender and the age of the respondents. The Field Investigators (FIs) were instructed to follow a respondents’ sheet with prescribed quota for gender and age-groups of the youth in mind. The quota assured that the interviews covered all the age brackets and have an equal representation of gender. FIs were asked to take, 4 interviews from the youth in the age group 15-17 years, 10 interviews in the age group 18-24 years, 6 interviews in the age group 25-29 years, and 5 interviews in the age group 30-34 years. The proportion of these age groups were calculated in accordance with their actual population in Census 2011. Equal gender ratio was to be observed in each age group while taking the interview. For instance, for a total of 25 interviews, 13 had to be young men and 12 of young women. For keeping log of the quota, the FIs were suggested to indicate the age group and gender of the respondent through a checkmark or tick () provided in the respondent sheet.

Field work

The field work of the survey took place in the months of July and August 2021. Before going to the field, the Field Investigators (FIs) were provided with training about the survey method and interviewing techniques at training workshops, conducted for each of the 18 states. Due to Covid-19, the training workshops were conducted online. Also, the survey was done on an App, so the training for it was also given to the FIs with practice interviews done by each of them before going to the field. Keeping in mind the safety of the FIs and the respondents during the times of Covid-19, the FIs were required to keep a certain distance from the respondents, and also wear a mask at all times and advise the respondents to do the same while conducting the interview. The FIs conducted face to face interviews with the respondents at their place of residence using a standardized questionnaire in the languages spoken and understood by the respondents. Most of the questions in the questionnaire were structured, i.e., close ended with a few open ended questions to find out about the views and feelings of respondents on an issue. During the survey, around 35-40 minutes were requested by the respondents to administer the survey. The analysis presented in this report has been done using a standard social science statistical package (SPSS).

Data weighting

The achieved sample is quite representative of India’s 15-34-year-old population. The proportion of various demographics in the sample largely matches with the actual proportion of those groups in India’s 15-34-year-old population, except in terms of locality. For locality, there was a deliberate choice to oversample urban respondents. While making generalized claims about the Indian youth, we ensured that the achieved sample was weighted in such a manner that it mirrored the actual profile of India’s 15-34-year-old population as per Census 2011 data. For such generalized analysis, the sample was weighted by variable which included three indicators - one, the proportion of the 15-34-year-

old population in respective (18) states; two, the actual proportion of different age groups (1517, 18-24, 25-29 30-34) in the larger 15-34-yearold population of the 18 States; three, the actual proportion of urban and rural youths in the larger 15-34-year-old population of the 18 States.

Table A1: Final Sample

Sr. no. State Big cities Medium cities Town Village

Nos. Sample Nos. Sample Nos. Sample Nos. Sample Total Achieved Sample 1 Andhra Pradesh 1 100 1 100 1 100 2 50 350 362 2 Assam 1 100 1 25 125 124 3 Bihar 2 200 15 375 575 577 4 Chhattisgarh 1 100 1 100 200 200 5 NCT Delhi 1 100 300* 319 6 Gujarat 2 200 1 100 3 75 375 374 7 Jharkhand 1 100 2 50 150 152 8 Karnataka 1 100 1 100 1 100 4 100 400 410 9 Kerala 1 100 0 5 125 225 227 10 Madhya Pradesh 1 100 1 100 1 100 1 25 325 325 11 Maharashtra 2 200 1 100 1 100 4 100 500 500 12 Odisha 1 100 1 100 1 25 225 225 13 Punjab 1 100 0 1 100 1 25 225 251 14 Rajasthan 1 100 1 100 1 100 1 25 325 340 15 Tamil Nadu 1 100 1 100 1 100 4 100 400 422 16 Telangana 1 100 1 100 200 205 17 Uttar Pradesh 1 100 3 300 2 200 10 250 850 765 18 West Bengal 1 100 1 100 1 100 6 150 450 449

Total 15 1500 15 1500 15 1500 60 1500 6000 6227

Note: * Booster of 200 was added in Delhi.

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