A sample of 1267 Palestinians over the age of 18 were interviewed face-to
face between the 25th and 29th of January 2001. Sixty-three sampling units
were randomly selected from both the West Bank (including East Jerusalem)
and the Gaza Strip. Cities and regions were stratified according to population
size as determined by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).
Sampling units in towns, villages and refugee camps were selected according
to simple random sampling from within a list that includes all Palestinian
population concentrations. The selection was carried out in accordance
to the population size of these concentrations. Each concentration was
divided into units comprising one thousand people each. If a population
concentration has a population of 10,000, then it is assigned ten units,
accordingly it has ten chances of being randomly selected.
Sixty interviewers were then assigned to primary sampling units. Each
of the interviewers was instructed to interview not more than twenty respondents.
Households were selected according to a pre-defined route. Respondents
were selected from within the households according to a Kish table that
is an objective procedure for selecting household members. In case a respondent
was not available during the interviewers’ visits, an appointment was made
for a second visit.
West Bank Refugee Camps were over-sampled by 70 people in order to ensure
sufficient cases for a deeper analysis of this group. The results presented
hereafter are weighted to be representative of the whole Palestinian population*.
Following the donors’ request, all the results presented in the remainder
of this report will be analysed in terms of:
-
Place of residence: The West Bank and the Gaza Strip (inside and
outside refugee camps) and East Jerusalem.
-
Refugee Status: Refugees and non-refugees.
-
Area of residence: Cities, villages and camps.
-
Gender: men and women.
-
Age groups: 18-25 years / 26-35 years / 36-45 years / 46-60 years
/ more than 60 years.
The first two variables could have been combined into one category.
In that case, however, some subgroups would have become too small for analysis
(for example: non-refugees in camps). As such, it was thought more appropriate
to analyse the variables of “place of residence” and “refugee status” separately.
Results were systematically tested for statistical significance at a
95% confidence level. If no differentiation is shown or mentioned, this
means that there was none.
* According to random sampling, 62 persons in West Bank
refugee camps should have been interviewed. The sample of this survey included
132 West Bank camp residents. Therefore, for the results to be representative,
less weight (0.497) had to be given to the surveyed West Bank camp residents,
while more weight was given to the remaining interviewees (1.059). The
only graphs and tables that are not weighted are those that include the
category "West Bank refugee camp" as they are representative per se.
