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Sampling and Surveying Irregular Female Labor Migrants in Moscow, Russia

Victor Agadjanian, Arizona State University 
*Natalya Zotova, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia)  

Keywords: sampling, survey, migrants, women, Russia, sexual behavior

Because household-based survey designs are notoriously ineffective in studying hard-to-reach groups such as irregular migrants, these groups, however numerically large they may be, are rarely represented in demographic analyses. In this paper, we report on the application of a workplace-based stratified probability sampling design, response rate, and item-specific refusals in a 2010 study of irregular female migrants from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan working in bazaars, eateries, and small retail outlets in Moscow, Russia. We argue that workplace-based survey, while not flawless, provides a uniquely feasible and cost-effective tool for studying irregular migrants and other similar marginalized groups.