Online Program

Role of social networks in sampling hard to reach population

*Prakash Adhikari, Central Michigan University 

Keywords: Forced Migration, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Social Networks

Most research on forced migration acknowledges the fact that acquiring accurate data on refugees and internationally displaced persons (IDPs) is challenging, if not impossible. With the help of a national human rights organization, embedded in communities across Nepal, I employed a weighted multi-stage cluster sampling technique to survey over 1800 individuals from 56 village development committees (VDCs) drawn from 11 of the 75 districts of Nepal to study individual coping behaviors during a decade-long civil war in Nepal. This national sample represents districts that were hard-hit during the conflict, all three topographical regions, all five development regions, and both rural and urban parts of Nepal. Data gathered from the survey are being used in understanding why some individuals flee from their homes while others stay, what are the coping strategies employed by those who chose to stay in their villages, and finally what leads some individuals to return home and others to relocate.