Survey of Socioeconomic Opportunity and Achievement 1991-1994
South Africa, 1991 - 1994
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Dec 07, 2017
Last modified
Apr 28, 2020
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Identification
Survey ID Number
zaf-ucla-hsrc-ssoa-1991-1994-v1
Title
Survey of Socioeconomic Opportunity and Achievement 1991-1994
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| South Africa | zaf |
Study type
Household Survey [hh]
Abstract
The survey was conducted from 1991 to 1994 by a research team headed by Donald J. Treiman, UCLA; Sylvia N. Moeno, then in the Strategic Planning Group at Eskom, Johannesburg; and Lawrence Schlemmer, then Director of the Centre for Policy Studies, School of Business, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Data collection was undertaken by MarkData, the in-house survey unit of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Pretoria, South Africa. The survey was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (SES89 12677), and by several South African agencies: the Anglo- American/De Beers Chairman's Fund, the Trust for Educational Advancement in South Africa, the Human Sciences Research Council, Johannesburg Consolidated Investments, and the Union Carbide Corporation.
Because at the time of the survey, South Africa had a policy of residential segregation by race (authorized under the the "Group Areas Act", which was abolished in June, 1991), South African surveys typically were conducted by drawing separate samples from each of the “Group Areas,” that is, areas designated for residence by Whites, Asians, Coloureds, and Blacks.1 In South Africa, interviewing usually is carried out by interviewers of the same race as interviewees. To accommodate scheduling considerations, the main survey was carried out in two parts: 3,679 interviews were conducted in White, Asian, and Coloured areas in April and May 1991 (the WAC sample) and 3,689 interviews were conducted in Black areas in August and September 1991 (the Black sample). Processing of the two parts was also carried out separately. Because there proved to be substantial under-representation of males in both samples (see below), data were collected for a supplementary sample of 749 men in May-July 1992. Finally, data were collected from a special sample of 969 rural respondents in 1993-94 (see below). In all, between 1991-94 data were collected for 9,086 respondents.
Because at the time of the survey, South Africa had a policy of residential segregation by race (authorized under the the "Group Areas Act", which was abolished in June, 1991), South African surveys typically were conducted by drawing separate samples from each of the “Group Areas,” that is, areas designated for residence by Whites, Asians, Coloureds, and Blacks.1 In South Africa, interviewing usually is carried out by interviewers of the same race as interviewees. To accommodate scheduling considerations, the main survey was carried out in two parts: 3,679 interviews were conducted in White, Asian, and Coloured areas in April and May 1991 (the WAC sample) and 3,689 interviews were conducted in Black areas in August and September 1991 (the Black sample). Processing of the two parts was also carried out separately. Because there proved to be substantial under-representation of males in both samples (see below), data were collected for a supplementary sample of 749 men in May-July 1992. Finally, data were collected from a special sample of 969 rural respondents in 1993-94 (see below). In all, between 1991-94 data were collected for 9,086 respondents.
Kind of Data
Sample survey data
Unit of Analysis
Households and individuals
Version
Version Description
V1: Edited, anonymised data for public distribution
Version Date
2017
Version Notes
The SSOA data was deposited with DataFirst by the Principle Investigator from UCLA, Professor Donald Treiman, in 2017. Andrew Kerr at DataFirst was responsible for this edited version of the data.
Scope
Notes
The survey collected data on household members, including on languages spoken, education, occupation, marital status, residential history, living arrangements, children, material and cultural resources, intergroup contact, and neighbourhood quality
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
The survey had national coverage
Geographic Unit
The data is at the level of Statistical Region (44 regions plus the 10 nominally independent TBVC states), Magisterial District, and Enumerator Area.
Universe
The population surveyed consisted of persons age 20 or older residing in "greater South Africa," that is, the Republic of South Africa plus the nominally independent "TVBC states": Transkei, Venda, Bophutatswana, and Ciskei.
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Professor Donald Treiman | University of California Los Angeles |
| Sylvia N. Moano | Strategic Planning Group, ESKOM |
| Lawrence Schlemmer | Centre for Policy Studies, School of Business, University of theWitwatersrand |
Producers
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Donald J. Treiman | UCLA | Preparation of updated data |
| Martin Wittenberg | DataFirst, UCT | Preparation of updated data |
| Andrew Kerr | DataFirst, UCT | Preparation of updated data |
| Gabriel Espi-Sanchis | DataFirst, UCT | Preparation of updated data |
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. National Science Foundation | NSF | Funder |
| Human Sciences Research Council | HSRC | Funder |
| Anglo-American/De Beers Chairman's Fund | AACF | Funder |
| Trust for Educational Advancement in South Africa | TEASA | Funder |
| Johannesburg Consolidated Investments | JCI | Funder |
| Union Carbide Corporation | UCC | Funder |
Sampling
Sampling Procedure
The population surveyed consisted of persons age 20 or older residing in "greater South Africa," that is, the Republic of South Africa plus the-at the time-nominally independent "TVBC states": Transkei, Venda, Bophutatswana, and Ceskei.2 The sample, as designed, was a complex area probability sample, in which sampling categories and the number of cases to be interviewed were determined by the researchers, households were to be selected within areas at random with probability proportionate to size, and adults within households were to be selected at random, but in such a way that the probability that males would fall into the sample was twice the probability that females would fall into the sample. The sample was designed so that, suitably weighted, it could be regarded as representative of the entire adult population of "greater South Africa." Further information on sampling is in the survey codebook provided with the data.
Weighting
An overview of weighting for the survey can be found in the survey codebook provided with the data.
Data Collection
Dates of Data Collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 1991-03-04 | 1992-10-29 | Fieldwork for national survey |
| 1993-11-01 | 1994-08-09 | Fieldwork for rural sample to ensure representivity |
Data Collection Mode
Face-to-face [f2f]
Data Collection Notes
To accommodate scheduling considerations, the main survey was carried out in two parts: 3,679 interviews were conducted in White, Asian, and Coloured areas in April and May 1991 (the WAC sample) and 3,689 interviews were conducted in Black areas in August and September 1991 (the Black sample). Processing of the two parts was also carried out separately. Because there proved to be substantial under-representation of males in both samples (see below), data were collected for a supplementary sample of 749 men in May-July 1992. Finally, data were collected from a special sample of 969 rural respondents in 1993-94 (see below). In all, between 1991-94 data were collected for 9,086 respondents.
Data Collectors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Markdata | Human Science Research Council |
Data Appraisal
Data Appraisal
In addition to the codebook the documentation for this survey included three reports on the field work. The first report, Social Stratification Report, provided information on the initial WAC sample but has not been located. This report contains, among other information, a copy of the English language questionnaire used for the WAC sample and responses to open-ended questions in the WAC sample. The second report, Fieldwork Report - Project: Social Stratification, provided information on the Black sample, the special samples, and the supplementary sample of males but has not been located.
Access policy
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DataFirst Helpdesk | University of Cape Town | support@data1st.org | www.support.data1st.org |
Access conditions
Public use files, available to all
Citation requirements
Treiman, D. Survey of Socioeconomic Opportunity and Achievement 1991-1994 [dataset]. Version 1. Los Angeles: UCLA, Cape Town: DataFirst [producers], 2017. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributors], 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25828/kcx2-kn30
Access authority
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DataFirst | University of Cape Town | support@data1st.org | support.data1st.org |
Metadata production
Producers
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| DataFirst | University of Cape Town | Metadata producer |
Date of Metadata Production
2020-04-28
DDI Document version
Version 2