ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on quantitative methods of evaluation, on the limitations of quantitative surveys, and on the need to complement them with qualitative methods. It describes simple messages about designing and proposing methods and systems within the capacity of the countries in which these methods are established. In addition, time series are needed with panel studies providing the most appropriate means to develop them. Even within the quantitative approach, evaluators should use a range of surveys. To monitor a population's changing food security status, Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) pulls together its quantitative and qualitative indicators of availability, access, and use. The FEWS project evaluates the food security of national and sub-national populations. The qualitative assessment is done mostly through interviews with nongovernmental organizations or representatives from the communities, usually in the capital city or during brief field trips to affected areas.
