Publication

This publication examines the usefulness of formal, quantitative data collection techniques for relief operations, using a survey from northern Iraq as a case study. The authors argue that formal methodologies have become unfashionable and the subject of criticism due to their expense, inflexibility and time consuming nature. The publication concludes that informal methods, particularly the Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) cannot be expected to produce the kinds of quantified estimates for the population and sub-populations which are required to address the key policy questions.