The CHIME Project gathers information from four regions (Ayeyarwady, Mandalay, Rakhine and Shan) reflecting LIFT’s priority areas. Together with the IOM and Metta Foundation, the University of Sussex CHIME team worked with the Myanmar Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population to design a sampling methodology that would deliver a sample of households representative of rural households in each of the regions/states.

The CHIME Project uses both quantitative and qualitative surveys to collect data in two rounds.

The first round of data was captured between January and April 2017 and the second round between May and July 2017.  Through collecting data in two separate rounds, the CHIME project aims to show seasonality and trends in migration.

Quantitative surveys

The quantitative survey consists of a household questionnaire and a community questionnaire. 

The household questionnaire collects data on the individual members of the household (e.g. age, gender, status), as well as information on education, poverty and food security, labour force status and activity, experience of migration, decision making, remittances, living standards and key indicators of development.

The community questionnaire collects broader information about the village and in practice was usually completed by those with an official position in the village administration.  This questionnaire collects data on physical infrastructure, past experience of migration, broad economic activities within the village, and past shocks such as floods and droughts.

Both questionnaires were administered using Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI), on a handheld tablet the size of a mobile phone managed by Third Eye. The use of CAPI meant quality controls could be carried out in real time, through checking the consistency of data as it was uploaded to the server and randomised telephone follow up with a small number of households.

In total 2836 household completed the quantitative survey in round 1 and 2493 in round 2 (plus 2 new households).

Qualitative Interviews

Qualitative data was mainly gathered through in-depth interviews which complement the data from the quantitative surveys through providing multiple viewpoints from research subjects using their own language and native terms, in their social and cultural contexts. 

The qualitative fieldwork has also provided researchers with the opportunity to observe unspoken information and obtain information on difficult and sensitive topics which require trust to be built between researchers and respondents. Aspects of migration that cannot be quantified such as social and gender relations, power dynamics, aspirations and feelings are better captured through qualitative interviews.

The data collection comprised of five steps:

Step 1: Initial consultation with NGOs working with migrants in Yangon.

Step 2: Identification of source locations and urban destinations: selection of enumeration areas (EAs) in Ayeyarwady, Mandalay, Shan State and Rakhine State and two urban destinations (Yangon and Mandalay).

Step 3: First round of in-depth interviews: interviews with left-behind families in the identified EAs, followed by interviews with migrant workers in two urban destinations (Yangon and Mandalay).

Step 4: Selection of source locations and an urban destination: identification of alternative source locations and one additional urban destination at township level (a border town, Tachileik) for second round data collection: adjusted according to gaps in the data collected from the first round.

Step 5: Second round of in-depth interviews: interviews with left-behind families in the identified EAs, followed by interviews with migrant workers in two urban destinations (Yangon and Tachileik).

In total 98 qualitative interviews were carried out for round 1 and 94 for round 2. 

^{Photo, mid-page (transplanting on the field) credit Phyu Thaw}