Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey
Encyclopedia
The Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) are a survey
program developed by the United Nations Children's Fund to provide internationally comparable, statistically
rigorous data on the situation of child
ren and women
. The first round of surveys (MICS1) was carried out in over 60 countries in 1995 in response to the World Summit for Children
. A second round (MICS2) in 2000 increased the depth of the survey, allowing monitoring of multiple indicators. A third round (MICS3) started in 2006 and aimed at producing data measuring progress toward the Millennium Development Goals
, A World Fit for Children, and other major relevant international commitments. The fourth round, launched in 2009, aims at most data collection conducted in 2010. This represents a scale-up of frequency of MICS from UNICEF, now offering the survey programme on a three-year cycle.
The MICS is highly comparable to the Demographic and Health Survey
and the technical teams developing and supporting the surveys are in close collaboration.
The MICS questionnaires are:
- Household, administered to the head of household (MICS1-MICS3; as of MICS4 this is now to any knowledgeable adult)
- Women, administered to all eligible women of the household
- Under five year old children, administered to mothers of children.
- As of 2011, a questionnaire for men has also been developed and is available on request.
The structure of the questionnaires are modular, such that countries, for instance, without malaria can remove this module and not harm the structure or skip patterns in the overall questionnaire. In MICS3 a number of modules were considered core, whilst others were optional and additional. In MICS4, the generic questionnaires now include all modules, such that implementers only should remove non-applicable or non-desired modules, e.g. the malaria
module in non-endemic countries.
The MICS package includes not only questionnaires, but also data entry program (in CSPro
), standard tabulation syntax (in SPSS
), workshop training programmes, in-country capacity building and technical assistance, as well as various online resources, such as an informal blog.
The 5th round of MICS is scheduled to start in 2012 and run to 2014. 2014 is last year were data collection for MDG indicator updating is possible, due to long preparatory phase leading up to the MDG Summit scheduled for September 2015.
X = National Survey
S = Sub-national Survey
Note: Only countries from UNICEF's official list are included (e.g. Botswana 2007-08 Family Health Survey is not included).
The total number of countries having ever conducted a MICS (or plan to do so) is 96.
A recent compilation of evidence on child discipline makes use of the MICS surveys that included the Child Discipline Module is UNICEF (2010).
Statistical survey
Survey methodology is the field that studies surveys, that is, the sample of individuals from a population with a view towards making statistical inferences about the population using the sample. Polls about public opinion, such as political beliefs, are reported in the news media in democracies....
program developed by the United Nations Children's Fund to provide internationally comparable, statistically
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
rigorous data on the situation of child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren and women
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
. The first round of surveys (MICS1) was carried out in over 60 countries in 1995 in response to the World Summit for Children
World Summit for Children
The United Nations World Summit for Children was held in New York on 29-30 September 1990, bringing together the then-largest-ever gathering of heads of state and government to commit to a set of goals to improve the well-being of children worldwide by the year 2000. The summit was the brain-child...
. A second round (MICS2) in 2000 increased the depth of the survey, allowing monitoring of multiple indicators. A third round (MICS3) started in 2006 and aimed at producing data measuring progress toward the Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
, A World Fit for Children, and other major relevant international commitments. The fourth round, launched in 2009, aims at most data collection conducted in 2010. This represents a scale-up of frequency of MICS from UNICEF, now offering the survey programme on a three-year cycle.
The MICS is highly comparable to the Demographic and Health Survey
Demographic and Health Surveys
The MEASURE Demographic and Health Surveys Project is responsible for collecting and disseminating accurate, nationally representative data on health and population in developing countries. The project is implemented by Macro International, Inc...
and the technical teams developing and supporting the surveys are in close collaboration.
The MICS questionnaires are:
- Household, administered to the head of household (MICS1-MICS3; as of MICS4 this is now to any knowledgeable adult)
- Women, administered to all eligible women of the household
- Under five year old children, administered to mothers of children.
- As of 2011, a questionnaire for men has also been developed and is available on request.
The structure of the questionnaires are modular, such that countries, for instance, without malaria can remove this module and not harm the structure or skip patterns in the overall questionnaire. In MICS3 a number of modules were considered core, whilst others were optional and additional. In MICS4, the generic questionnaires now include all modules, such that implementers only should remove non-applicable or non-desired modules, e.g. the malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
module in non-endemic countries.
The MICS package includes not only questionnaires, but also data entry program (in CSPro
CSPro
CSPro, short for Census and Survey Processing System is a public domain statistical package developed by the U.S. Census Bureau, Macro International , and Serpro S.A. Its major funding was from the U.S. Agency for International Development.The software can be used for entering, editing, tabulating,...
), standard tabulation syntax (in SPSS
SPSS
SPSS is a computer program used for survey authoring and deployment , data mining , text analytics, statistical analysis, and collaboration and deployment ....
), workshop training programmes, in-country capacity building and technical assistance, as well as various online resources, such as an informal blog.
The 5th round of MICS is scheduled to start in 2012 and run to 2014. 2014 is last year were data collection for MDG indicator updating is possible, due to long preparatory phase leading up to the MDG Summit scheduled for September 2015.
Countries
The following countries have conducted (or plan to conduct) a MICS survey.
X = National Survey
S = Sub-national Survey
Note: Only countries from UNICEF's official list are included (e.g. Botswana 2007-08 Family Health Survey is not included).
The total number of countries having ever conducted a MICS (or plan to do so) is 96.
Use of survey data
Survey data are widely used, predominantly in multi-country analyses. An example of use of MICS data is provided by Monasch et al. (2004).A recent compilation of evidence on child discipline makes use of the MICS surveys that included the Child Discipline Module is UNICEF (2010).