CITIZEN-SDSS PROJECT:
Guidelines o conduc ing household-le el
in e iews in mosaic o es landscapes o he
Philippines
Mel in Lippe, Cecilia Mangaba , P ince Asa e, Renz S. Come, Ra iya Lippe
Au ho s a ilia ion
Mel in Lippe
Johann Hein ich on Thünen Ins i u e, Ins i u e o Fo es y, Leuschne s aße 91, 21031 Hambu g, Ge many
Cecilia Mangaba
College o Fo es y and En i onmen al Managemen , Isabela S a e Uni e si y, Cabagan, Philippines
P ince Asa e
Johann Hein ich on Thünen Ins i u e, Ins i u e o Fo es y, Leuschne s aße 91, 21031 Hambu g, Ge many
Renz S. Come
Depa men o Fo es Science, Facul y o Fo es y and En i onmen al Science, Visayas S a e Uni e si y, Baybay,
Philippines
Ra iya Lippe
Johann Hein ich on Thünen Ins i u e, Ins i u e o Fo es y, Leuschne s aße 91, 21031 Hambu g, Ge many
Sugges ed ci a ion:
Lippe, M., Mangaba , C., Asa e, P., Renz, S. C., & Lippe, R. (2025). CITIZEN-SDSS PROJECT: Guidelines o
conduc ing household-le el in e iews in mosaic o es landscapes o he Philippines (Ve sion 1). Zenodo.
h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17233788
P ojec conso ium
Thünen Ins i u e o Fo es y
Leuschne s . 91
21031 Hambu g | Ge many
Fo es Founda ion Philippines
Maka i Ci y
Philippines
Isabela S a e Uni e si y
Cabagan, Isabela p o ince
Philippines
Visayas S a e Uni e si y
Baybay, Ley e p o ince
Philippines
Funding
Velux S i ung
Ki chgasse 2
CH-8001 Zü ich | Swi ze land
G an ID: 1881
Con ac and Homepage
E-Mail: ci izensdss@ huenen.de
Homepage: h ps://www. huenen.de/en/ins i u es/ o es y/p ojec s-1/ci izen-sdss-
Household su ey________________________________________________________________________________________
Table o Con en s
1 Backg ound CITIZEN-SDSS P ojec 1
2 Objec i e o household su eys 1
3 Gene al con en ions household ques ionnai e (HHQ) 2
3.1 Selec ion o s udy si es and Ba angays o conduc ing HHQ 2
3.2 Re e ence adminis a i e bounda ies s udy landscapes 2
3.3 Ba angay 2
3.4 Ba angay selec ion 2
3.5 Sampling using household lis s and he o al no. o in e iewed HHs 3
3.6 The layou o he ques ionnai e 4
3.7 Gene al guidelines when in e iewing he esponden 4
3.8 T aining and p e- es ing 5
3.9 Da a backup, sani a ion and da a en y 5
4 De ini ions and e minologies 5
4.1 Household 5
4.2 Household head (HHQ sec ion A3) 6
4.3 Geo e e enced pho os (HHQ sec ion A3) 6
4.4 Fo es ecosys em se ices (HHQ sec ion B2) 6
4.5 Land deg ada ion (HHQ sec ion D) 7
4.6 Land use asse s (HHQ sec ion D) 7
4.7 Family labou (HHQ sec ion E) 7
4.8 Household income (HHQ sec ion E) 8
4.9 Income om ag icul u e and plan a ion ac i i ies (HHQ sec ion E1) 8
4.10 Wage employed ac i i ies (HHQ sec ion E4.1) 9
4.11 Income om o - a m sel -employed/ business ac i i ies (HHQ sec ion E4.2) 9
4.12 O he income sou ces (HHQ sec ion E4.3) 9
5 Majo land co e and land use ypes conside ed 9
5.1 Fo es ypes 9
5.2 Timbe plan a ions 10
5.3 C opland 10
5.4 Pas u e 10
5.5 Ag o o es y 10
5.6 Fallow 10
5.7 Sh ublands 10
5.8 G assland 10
5.9 We lands 10
6 Re e ences 11
Household su ey________________________________________________________________________________________
1
1 Backg ound CITIZEN-SDSS P ojec
The emaining Philippine o es landscapes co e a ound 24% o he coun y's o al land a ea. These landscapes
a e cha ac e ised by a high le el o endemism, ye hey a e simul aneously h ea ened by de o es a ion and
o es deg ada ion, which has long-las ing e ec s on he ecosys em se ices hey p o ide o socie y. Na u e-
based solu ions (NBS) encompass a wide ange o measu es, such as o es conse a ion, e o es a ion, and
es o a ion, and can suppo local li elihoods h ough communi y woodlo s, ag o o es y, and o he ini ia i es,
including li ing ences and i e bank ege a ion. NBS ha e he po en ial o sa egua d he Philippines' emaining
o es landscapes and suppo na ional wood demand, which is cu en ly me by indus ial imbe plan a ions
and impo s.
The CITIZEN-SDSS p ojec aims o in o m decision-making o suppo he de elopmen o long- e m land use and
o es managemen s a egies ha u ilise na u e-based solu ions o sus ain local li elihoods and ecosys em
se ices. The p ojec ocuses on ou s udy si es and hei su ounding p o inces - see o u he de ails on s udy
landscapes: Asa e and Lippe (2025). The p ojec combines pa icipa o y app oaches and a ious o ms o
s akeholde in e ac ion, such as key in o man in e iews, household in e iews and ocus g oup discussions,
wi h geog aphic in o ma ion sys ems (GIS) and spa io empo al modelling. The la e can also be e e ed o as
spa ial decision suppo sys ems (SDSS). The p ojec de elops me hodological app oaches o make p ojec ions
on long- e m sus ainable o es and land use managemen pa hways, suppo ing local li elihoods and os e ing
na u e-based solu ions a Ba angay le el. This is impo an because decision-making p ocesses equi e con ex -
sensi i e app oaches ha a e also g ounded in scien i ic igou .
2 Objec i e o household su eys
The objec i e o he household su ey is o collec in o ma ion abou he socio-economic p o ile o a household
and i s land use asse s. Mo eo e , he su ey aims o e eal households’ pe cep ions on ecosys em se ices and
land deg ada ion, he ole o es s play in suppo ing local li elihoods a he Ba angay-le el, and o u he assess
how he Co id-19 pandemic in luenced na u al esou ce ex ac ions.
In o de o achie e his goal, household su eys a e conduc ed in 6 illages o each o he ou s udy landscapes
o CITIZEN-SDSS (see sec ion 3.4 o mo e de ails). Fo da a collec ion pu poses, a s uc u ed ques ionnai e is
used, commencing in a ace- o- ace si ua ion, in e iewing he household head as he p ima y esponden , and
in case o his/ he absence, in e iewing a household membe (olde han 18 yea s) o eplace he household
head. The la e one is hen de ined as a seconda y esponden .
Fu he mo e, key in o man in e iews (KII) a e conduc ed wi h he ele an Ba angay cap ain o depu y o
ob ain in o ma ion on he gene al demog aphic composi ion o a s udy Ba angay, o collec in o ma ion on local
a m ga e p ices o he mos ele an c ops and non- a ming p oduc s, among o he s.
The ollowing sec ions p o ide ins uc ions and explana ions o enume a o s in using he household
ques ionnai e o conduc ing ace- o- ace in e iews. This includes in o ma ion on e minologies and
con en ions o he pu pose o he household ques ionnai e (HHQ) and he CITIZEN-SDSS p ojec . The documen
builds on se e al comple ed p ojec s and hei aining guideline documen s, and ques ionnai es, namely he
Landscape Fo es y in he T opics (LaFo eT) p ojec
1
and he ela ed s udies o Ojeda e al. (2020) and Wiebe e
al. (2022), he Po e y En i onmen Ne wo k (PEN) p ojec
2
and he ela ed s udies o Angelsen e al. (2011) and
p o o ype ques ionnai es and guidelines o PEN (2008), and he Thailand Vie nam Socio Economic Panel (TVSEP)
3
,
1
h ps://www.la- o e .o g/
2
h ps://www2.ci o .o g/pen
3
h ps://www. sep.de/en/
Household su ey________________________________________________________________________________________
2
and he ela ed p o o ype ques ionnai es and guidelines o TVSEP (2024a, b, c). Templa es o he HHQ and KII
a e accompanying he guideline documen and he open eposi o y DOI (Zenodo, OpenAg a .
3 Gene al con en ions household ques ionnai e (HHQ)
The ques ionnai e is designed in a code-based abula o ma . Thus, o almos all ques ions, a code lis is
p esen ed om which answe s ha e o be chosen o icked by he enume a o . As i is, howe e , impossible o
co e all answe s ia code lis s, code op ion “90” allows he enume a o o add u he i ems named “90=o he s,
please speci y”. In such a case, he enume a o has o w i e down “90” plus he missing/ new code i em.
In gene al, i is impo an o y no o ead ou codes in on o he in e iewed esponden , bu ins ead o ha e
a con e sa ion whe e codes a e discussed wi h he esponden . I is he enume a o 's ask o “encode” he
espec i e answe o he HHQ. In his way, i should ensu e he esponden ’s a en ion du ing he in e iew, and
a oid in e iew a igue.
3.1 Selec ion o s udy si es and Ba angays o conduc ing HHQ
The selec ion o he s udy a ea is a c i ical decision. The a ea is o en chosen due o ce ain ea u es o in e es
o he esea ch p ojec , which, in he case o CITIZEN-SDSS, e e s o land deg ada ion, na u e-based solu ions
(e.g., ag o o es y, o es conse a ion, e o es a ion), and ecosys em se ices p o ided by o es s and locally
p e ailing o he non- o es land use sys ems.
Due o inancial and ime cons ain s, i is usually no possible o include all Ba angays o a ce ain municipali y
o household in e iews. Thus, a selec ion is necessa y ha ollows ep esen a i eness and con ex a iabili y
in key a iables ac oss he selec ed Ba angays.
Gi en he o e all p ojec scope o CITIZEN-SDSS, 4 s udy si es we e selec ed, wi h:
• Municipali y o Penablanca and Balasig Wa e shed, being loca ed in Region 2 Cagayan Valley, and
• Municipali y o Silago and he Ci y o Maasin a e loca ed in Region 8 Eas e n Visayas.
3.2 Re e ence adminis a i e bounda ies s udy landscapes
Fo he pu pose o s udy consis ency, we ely on he adminis a i e bounda ies used a he le el o municipali y,
independen ly o he adminis a i e bounda ies published by NAMRIA, DENR o o he p o incial o egional
go e nmen agencies. When o e laying he di e en adminis a i e bounda ies in a GIS, inconsis encies among
he a ious sou ces and agencies may occu and o en become clea ly isible. In such a case, i is no he ask o
he p ojec o ind ag eemen among he iden i ied adminis a i e bounda y inconsis encies. Hence, he p ojec
elies on he adminis a i e bounda ies ha a e p o ided by he espec i e local go e nmen uni (LGU) o
wa e shed bounda y, gi en he esea ch scope o CITIZEN-SDSS on LGU, espec i ely.
3.3 Ba angay
Fo pu poses o CITIZEN-SDSS esea ch, a Ba angay is de ined as he lowes adminis a i e uni in a s udy a ea,
no mally unde he ju isdic ion o a Ba angay cap ain and o he o icials, such as he Ba angay sec e a y.
3.4 Ba angay selec ion
CITIZEN-SDSS elies on a s a i ied sampling app oach o selec ing a o al o 6 Ba angays pe s udy (Municipali y
o Wa e shed) using land co e in o ma ion om NAMRIA (2020), he mos ecen census da a (PSA 2024), and
he adminis a i e bounda ies o he selec ed municipali ies o Maasin, Silago and Penablanca. Fo he case o
he Balasig wa e shed, he hyd ological bounda ies de ined by opog aphic ea u es a e used ins ead, which
inco po a es Ba angays o he Municipali ies o Cabagan and Tumauini.
Subsequen ly, he ollowing calcula ion was done o each Ba angay:
1) Calcula e he a ea o o es and c opland pe Ba angay in hec a e (ha),
Household su ey________________________________________________________________________________________
3
2) Calcula e he sha e o o es and c opland o a Ba angay (ha) in ela ion o he o al a ea o he Ba angay
(ha), and con e in o %,
3) Use he esul s o (2.) o "so " he ba angays in o h ee ca ego ies, namely:
a. "ha e c opland a ea bu no o es a ea" (Ca ego y CROPLAND, CL),
b. "ha e mo e c opland a ea han o es a ea pe o al Ba angay a ea" (Ca ego y CROP-
FORESTLAND, CFL),
c. "ha e mo e o es a ea han c opland a ea pe o al Ba angay a ea" (Ca ego y FOREST-
CROPLAND, FOCL).
Based on his ca ego isa ion, 2 ba angays a e selec ed andomly pe land co e ca ego y and s udy landscape,
o alling 6 Ba angays pe s udy si e, and 24 Ba angays o all landscapes oge he (Table 1).
Table 1. Lis o selec ed Ba angays o each s udy landscape based on he p ede ined land co e ca ego ies
(CROPLAND: CL, CROP-FORESTLAND: CFL, FOREST-CROPLAND: FOCL)
S udy egion
S udy landscape
Name o Ba angay
Land co e ca ego y
Cagayan Valley
Balasig wa e shed
Municipali y o Cabagan
Union
CL
Pilig Al o
CL
Masipi Eas
FOCL
Municipali y o Tumauini
Camasi
CFL
Cumabao
CFL
DY Ab a
FOCL
Penablanca (Municipali y)
Buyun
CFL
Cabbo
CL
Callao
CFL
Dodan
CL
Minaga
FOCL
Nanguila an
FOCL
Eas e n Visayas
Maasin (Ci y)
Bac ul I
CL
Baugo
CFL
Cagni uan
FOCL
Han ag
CL
Lunas
FOCL
San Jose
CLF
Silago (Municipali y)
Ca mon
FOCL
Ka ipunan
FOCL
Tuba-on
CLF
Sal acion
CLF
Sap-ang
CL
Sudmon
CL
3.5 Sampling using household lis s and he o al no. o in e iewed HHs
The selec ion o households wi hin a p eselec ed Ba angay is ca ied ou using andom sampling. This s ep is
essen ial o ensu e ha he s udy sample is ep esen a i e o he o al popula ion unde in es iga ion, de ined
he e as all in e iewed households ac oss he ou s udy si es. Random selec ion no only s eng hens he alidi y
Household su ey________________________________________________________________________________________
4
o conclusions d awn om he da a bu also acili a es subsequen s a is ical analysis by minimising bias and
enhancing he eliabili y o compa isons.
Fo his pu pose, household lis s wi h he name o he household and, i a ailable, he names o he o he
household membe s a e equi ed o a andom selec ion o he a ge households pe Ba angay. Fo each land
co e ca ego y (CL, CFL, FOCL), a a ge o 30 households is chosen, which equi es in e iewing a o al o 90
households pe s udy si e.
Al oge he , a o al o 360 households we e in e iewed ac oss he ou s udy si es. To accoun o po en ial
household d opou s o cases o una ailabili y du ing he su ey pe iod, he numbe o households andomly
selec ed pe Ba angay was se a 20% abo e he a ge sample size. This o e sampling s a egy ensu ed ha
enume a o s could eplace una ailable households wi h p eselec ed al e na i es, he eby main aining he
in ended sample size while p ese ing andomness and ep esen a i eness.
3.6 The layou o he ques ionnai e
The ques ionnai e con ains di e en layou ea u es o guide he enume a o :
• Each ques ion is con inuously numbe ed, and each answe has o be no ed in he p o ided cells o
ables. Con inued numbe ing o ques ions la e acili a es he en y o HHQ da a in o Excel da a shee s.
• Bold ex e e s o pa icula ema ks o enume a o s and should no be o e seen.
• Coo dina es o he household loca ion ha e o be ei he eco ded in he o ma o “minu es, deg ees,
seconds” o No hing and Eas ing using ei he a handheld GPS de ice o a sma phone wi h a GPS
eco de app.
• Code lis s a e p o ided o almos all ques ions, and hey guide he enume a o in he con e sa ion wi h
he esponden , as well as o check whe he ce ain issues we e no (ye ) men ioned by he esponden .
• Time ames: Many ques ions e e o a pa icula ime ame, e.g., “du ing he pas 12 mon hs” o “in
2024”. Enume a o s mus ensu e ha he ime ames a e clea ly communica ed and unde s ood by he
esponden .
• Amoun s and pe cen ages: In some cases, i may be use ul o i s ely on local uni s (e.g., bags) a he
han on he desi ed uni s o kilog ams, hec a es o m². I one uses local uni s, i is impo an o no e such
a calcula ion in he pa icula sec ion o he HHQ. I esponden s ha e di icul y p o iding amoun s,
enume a o s should y o ge a good es ima e be o e skipping he ques ion comple ely.
3.7 Gene al guidelines when in e iewing he esponden
Gene al p inciples when in e iewing a esponden can be summa ised as “lis en, obse e, and le he
esponden alk”. This u he has o include:
1) P ope ly in oduce you sel o he esponden and o he a ending household membe s be o e s a ing
he in e iew.
2) Pu he esponden a ease be o e s a ing he in e iew. Ask easie ques ions i s , e.g., names o amily
o household membe s, be o e s a ing wi h he mo e di icul ones. Show genuine in e es in he
esponden s.
3) In o de o make he in e iew a pleasan expe ience and ge good esul s, you should always be poli e
o he esponden s and show in e es in hei s o ies.
4) A li le small alk helps o ge he con e sa ion going. Especially when you esponden s a e ne ous o
shy, ake a li le ime o a cha , so ha e e ybody eels mo e elaxed and com o able.
5) Do no ask ques ions simul aneously.
6) Do no ead ou codes in on o he in e iewed esponden , bu ins ead y o ha e a con e sa ion
whe e codes a e discussed wi h he esponden . I is he enume a o o “encode” he espec i e answe
o he HHQ, no he esponden him-/he sel .
Household su ey________________________________________________________________________________________
5
7) You may use indi ec ques ions o sensi i e aspec s, e.g., income, owne ship, disabili y, age, ma i al
s a us, educa ional a ainmen , e c.
8) Be conscious o he ime you conduc and he ime spen on he in e iew.
9) Be pa ien . You will o en encoun e esponden s who a e unsu e o he answe o ce ain ques ions.
Explain o he esponden s ha he e is no need o be insecu e i hey do no know he exac answe s.
10) T y o ge eliable es ima ions, e.g., by using a sho e ecall pe iod; o he wise, ma k “99 = no answe ”.
11) I an in e iew is di icul , esis he u ge o skip ques ions and keep going h ough he ques ionnai e
s ep by s ep, e en i people do no know ce ain answe s.
12) Comple eness is a key c i e ion o high-quali y in o ma ion. So, use he ques ionnai e as a s uc u ed
ins umen o ga he a comple e da a se .
13) Be c i ical. Some imes esponden s ge bo ed du ing he in e iew and will jus gi e you any answe o
ush h ough he in e iew. I a esponden seems suspicious, use ollow-up ques ions o check o
consis ency.
14) Be awa e ha some ac i i ies in he ques ionnai e may no be comple ely legal. A good ela ionship wi h
he esponden may help o ge some answe s, bu do no expec o ob ain “ he ull u h and no hing
bu he u h”.
15) Sensi i e ques ions: Keep in mind ha esponden s a e ee o skip ce ain ques ions i hese a e
sensi i e o hem. While you should ask ollow-up ques ions in some cases, you should no push oo
ha d i you esponden is ob iously uncom o able.
16) Do no abuse esponden s’ hospi ali y.
17) Do no in e p e in on o he esponden .
3.8 T aining and p e- es ing
T aining and p e- es ing a e impo an componen s o conduc ing success ul HHQs, as hey help o c oss-check
and es ques ionnai e se ings unde eal-wo ld si ua ions, as well as o check whe he ce ain ques ions and
code lis s a e clea o he enume a o and esponden . In he case o CITIZEN-SDSS, se e al days o aining we e
conduc ed a ISU and VSU, and a leas wo p e es ing ounds ook place, es ing he HHQ wi h a o al o 10
esponden s who do no belong o any o he s udy a eas.
3.9 Da a backup, sani a ion and da a en y
1) Da a backup: Each HHQ should back up wice: 1.) Taking pho os o each HHQ page in he e ening o an
in e iew day, 2.) Uploading pho os o he p o ided Google D i e olde a e e u ning om a su ey.
2) The in o ma ion om he comple ed ques ionnai e should be checked by he enume a o di ec ly a e
he in e iew o comple eness and ele an immedia e ecall. The ques ionnai e has o be hen gi en
o an enume a o colleague who e iews he HHQ and checks all en ies. As a nex s ep, he esponsible
ISU/ VSU s udy leade will e iew he en ies o he HHQ and app o e da a en y.
3) A e da a en y is comple ed, each HHQ ques ionnai e has o be labelled and uploaded o he p o ided
Google D i e olde . Labelling has o be done as, e.g., HHQID_Mon hDayYea _Fi s Name_FamilyName
4) Da a en y should be done on a egula basis and a e e u ning om a ield su ey. I should NOT be
delayed owa ds he end o he o e all in e iew pe iod o ensu e in o ma ion consis ency, and o allow
o ecall esponden s in case o missing in o ma ion o unclea en ies.
4 De ini ions and e minologies
4.1 Household
A household is de ined as a “g oup o people (no mally amily membe s) li ing unde he same oo , and pooling
esou ces (labou and income)”.
Johann Hein ich on Thünen-Ins i u
Bundesallee 50
38116 B aunschweig
Ge many
www. huenen.de
Tex and Tables: ©2025 he au ho (s), Thünen Ins i u e. This is an open access publica ion dis ibu ed unde
he e ms and condi ions o he C ea i e Commons A ibu e on 4.0 In e na ional (CC BY 4.0) license
(h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/).
