Armenia: CRRC Data Initiative

Yesterday The Caucasian Knot accompanied students surveying households for the Caucasus Resource Research Center (CRRC) to Arshaluys, a village in the Armavir region of Armenia. From vulnerable households to those better off as well as others inhabited by members of the country’s small ethnic minorities, it was interesting to see the process behind the collection of the data the organization collates in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Questions are varied, ranging from family income and access to medical care to views on NATO, the European Union and the recent war between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia. More to come on that later, but it has to be said that watching interviews held with women sat around a tonir baking lavash was a perfect way to start a Sunday morning. Until I get to write something on the CRRC Data Initiative, there’s more information on two blogs — CRRC Armenia and Social Science in the Caucasus — as well as on their web site.

Data is a critically important foundation for social research, but in the South Caucasus reliable, up-to-date and accessible data on social, political and economic issues are often in short supply. A focus on providing and maintaining access to sound data is a priority for CRRC. Moving beyond their function as a collecting point for existing datasets, the centers sponsor and collect data focusing on a wide range of social, economic and political variables related to the South Caucasus.

To increase cross-comparison of regional social and economic dynamics, the centers began a coordinated data gathering effort in the fall of 2003 to obtain reliable, comparable data on household knowledge, attitudes and practices across the South Caucasus.

The CRRC teams in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia have been collecting data on the region on an annual basis since 2004. While the survey in 2004 was carried out only in the capitals of the South Caucasus, the 2005 survey included one region in each country; since 2006, the survey has been carried out nationwide in both urban and rural areas.

As part of this program, CRRC has been awarding fellowships to researchers to analyze the survey results with training and guidance from the centers.

CRRC Data Initiative , Arshaluys , Armavir Region, Republic of Armenia© Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008