Are We Measuring the Same Thing?

Abstract

There has been a debate over mismatches between different sources of data on sanitation and water access in India. This article looks at the survey instruments and data from two nationally representative sample surveys, the National Family Health Survey-5 and the 79th round of the National Sample Survey. The findings show that some of the data discrepancies could be attributed to the differences in definitions and indicators used by different agencies. Integration in data collection tools and standardisation in reporting data across the different agencies could resolve this.