(All persons)

5. Age

How old is [the respondent]?

This is one of the most important questions in the questionnaire. It is also one that is often difficult to answer correctly. You should take particular care with it. You should record the age of a person in completed years, i.e. as of last birthday.

For example, a person aged twenty-six years and four months should be recorded as "26". Similarly, a person aged twenty-six years and 10 months should be recorded as "26". A child aged under one year should be recorded as "00". For persons aged 98 years and over, enter 98. A person aged 98 will therefore be coded 98 and so will a person aged 99 or 104. The code 99 is for "age not known" and is to be used only when you cannot possibly estimate a person's age, even using the techniques described below.

Some people may not know their ages. When this happens, ask first for the year in which the person was born, then look up the age in the Age Calendar provided inside the back cover of the EA Book or at the back of the Village/Country List and Botswana Events Calendar. If the year of birth is not known you should try to find out the age by using the Botswana Events Calendar. Ask how old the person was at the time of some known event. Check the answer by relating it to some other event the person can remember well. The events listed in the Botswana Events calendar are arranged by District, and corresponding to each event you will find listed the year in which the event occurred and the number of years ago the event occurred. From this information you can calculate the person's age.

If you already know the age of another person in the household, you may find it helpful to ask if the person is older or younger and by how many years. If there is no other way, you may have to estimate the person's age by looking at him/her (if present). Other documents such as Birth Certificates, Clinic Cards, Passports or Omang Cards could help you in accurately establishing respondents' ages. Suggest to the respondent(s) that they might refer to such documents. They might even show you these documents, but do not demand to see them.

When you have made the best estimate you can, you should check whether it is compatible with the person's position in the family/household. (For example, a child should be at least 12 years younger than his/her natural mother; of course, if the mother isn't the natural mother, then the age difference will be irrelevant). Some people have fixed ideas about their ages which are mistaken. Do not accept answers that are obviously wrong. Try and get accurate answers.

[p.21]

In the sample questionnaire in paragraph 97, James is 39 and Anne is 35. Mimi is only 6 months old, so her age is recorded as 00. Anthony is 14, Molelo is 10, David is 19, and Thembe is 58.