DHS Working Group Meetings
The DHS group at the Pop Center hosts monthly meetings to discuss current ongoing projects that use the Demographic and Health Surveys data. This meeting includes a methodological talk about analytical approaches to the DHS data, as well as a discussion among the group about recently encountered challenges and research questions. Session time is 4:30 - 6:00 PM here at the Harvard Pop Center (9 Bow St, Camb)
The 2011-2012 meetings are as scheduled:
October 12 - led by SV Subramanian, PhD, Professor of Population Health and Geography
Watch an archived recording of Dr. Subramanian's talk here
November 9 - led by Rania Salem, PhD, Bell Research Fellow, Harvard Pop Center
December 14 - led by Dana Thomson, MSPH, Dept of Global Health and Medicine, Harvard Medical School
February 29 - led by Jocelyn Finlay, Director of the Research Computing Core here at the Pop Center. She will give a methodological talk entitled, "The ins and outs of child anthropometric measures using the Demographic and Health Surveys." There will be plenty of time for discussion on this topic, as well as other topics that may arise.
March 28 - led by Dana Thomson, MSPH, Dept of Global Health and Medicine, Harvard Medical School
April 11 - "Progress toward Universal Primary Education: An Examination of Indicators," presented by Ray Langsten, PhD, Social Research Center, American University in Cairo. This work uses DHS data from multiple sub-Saharan African surveys to propose an innovative method for measuring educational attainment.
Abstract: In this paper I compare the two internationally accepted indicators for assessing progress toward Universal Primary Education (UPE): 1) the Net Enrollment Ratio (NER); and 2) the Primary School Completion Rate (PSCR). I also consider the role played in UPE assessment by the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER)---mainly used in measuring gender parity. These measures can produce dramatically different indications of the amount and nature of progress achieved over time. These differences are largely caused by differing impacts of the proximate determinants of educational attainment---ever-enrollment, retention, and timely progress through education. I show that the NER and related measures, the most commonly used indicators of progress, will, under conditions widely prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, produce misleading results. The PSCR, in the context of the proximate determinants of educational attainment framework, provides a more reliable indication of progress toward UPE and more coherent and useful feedback for policy makers.
DATE TBD - led by Kirk Goldsberry, PhD, Asst Professor of Geography, University of Michigan
Please visit the Research Computing Core for more details.
