South African Social Attitudes Survey 2009

The South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) is a nationally representative survey series that has been conducted on an annual basis by the Human Sciences Research Council's (HSRC) since 2003. The survey has been designed to yield a representative sample of adults aged 16 years and older. The sampling frame for the survey is the HSRC's second Master Sample, which was designed in 2007 and consists of 1 000 primary sampling units (PSUs). The 2001 population census enumerator areas (EAs) were used as PSUs.

These PSUs (EAs) were drawn, with probability proportional to size, from a sampling frame created by Professor David Stoker containing all 80,787 of the 2001 EAs. This sampling frame uses the estimated number of dwelling units (DUs) in an EA (PSU) as a measure of size. The sampling frame was annually updated to coincide with StatsSA's mid-year population estimates in respect of the following variables: province, gender, population group and age group. In updating the 2007 version of this sampling frame, additional use was made of (a) the GeoTerraImage (GTI) residential structure count in all metropolitan EAs in 2004/2006 and (b) the ESKOM counts of dwelling units in all cities, towns, townships and villages.

The HSRC's second master sample excludes special institutions (such as hospitals, military camps, old age homes, school and university hostels), recreational areas, industrial areas, vacant EAs as well as the 1000 EAs included in the first HSRC's master sample (2003-2006). It therefore focuses on dwelling units or visiting points as secondary sampling units (SSUs), which have been defined as 'separate (non-vacant) residential stands, addresses, structures, flats, homesteads, etc.'.

For the 2009 SASAS round of interviewing, a sub-sample of 500 PSUs was drawn from the HSRC's 2nd Master Sample. Three explicit stratification variables were used, namely province, geographic type and majority population group. Within each stratum, the allocated number of PSUs was drawn using probability proportional to size sampling technique with the estimated number of dwelling units in the PSU as measure of size. In each of these drawn PSUs, 14 dwelling units were selected and systematically grouped into two sub-samples of seven, each corresponding to the two SASAS questionnaire versions.

Selection of individuals

Interviewers called at each visiting point selected from the 2nd HSRC master sample and listed all those eligible for inclusion in the sample, that is, all persons currently aged 16 or over and resident at the selected visiting point. The interviewer then selected one respondent using a random selection procedure based on a Kish grid.