Qatar Supreme Council for Family Affairs: Database of Social Indicators: Final Report

162 Pages·2006·0.492 MB·English

by  Lynn A. Karoly

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Qatar Supreme Council for
Family Affairs Database of
Social Indicators
Final Report
Lynn A. Karoly, Michael Mattock
Prepared for the Qatar Supreme Council for Family Affairs
RAND-QATAR POLICY INSTITUTE
This research was sponsored by the Qatar Supreme Council for Family Affairs and
conducted within RAND Labor and Population and the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute,
programs of the RAND Corporation.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Karoly, Lynn A., 1961-
Qatar Supreme Council for Family Affairs : database of social indicators : final report / Lynn A. Karoly,
Michael Mattock.
p. cm. — (TR ; 350)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8330-3947-4 (pbk.)
1. Family—Qatar. 2. Family policy—Qatar. 3. Social indicators—Qatar. 4. Qatar. Majlis al-
A‘lá li-Shu’ūn al-Usrah. I. Mattock, Michael G., 1961– . II. Title. III. Series: Technical report (Rand
Corporation) ; 350.
HQ665.7.K37 2006
306.85095363—dc22
2006011005
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iii
Preface
The Qatar Supreme Council for Family Affairs (QSCFA) is developing a social
indicators database system. The database will help monitor the well-being of
families in Qatar and provide information for future planning and
decisionmaking within the six domains of the QSCFA: the family, women,
children, youth, the elderly, and people with special needs. The RAND-Qatar
Policy Institute (RQPI) is under contract with the QSCFA to assist in planning for
and developing the database. This document serves as the final report for the
project. In addition to the sponsor, the report may be of interest to other
governmental institutions in Qatar that interact with the QSCFA, as well as
similar institutions in other countries considering the development of such a
database system.
This research was sponsored by the Qatar Supreme Council for Family Affairs
and conducted within RAND Labor and Population and the RAND-Qatar Policy
Institute, programs of the RAND Corporation.
The opinions expressed and conclusions drawn in this report are the
responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views of the
QSCFA, other agencies, the RAND Corporation, or RQPI.

v
Contents
Preface ...................................................................................................iii
Figures ..................................................................................................vii
Tables ...................................................................................................ix
Summary................................................................................................xi
Acknowledgments................................................................................xxix
Abbreviations.......................................................................................xxxi
1. Introduction..........................................................................................1
2. QSCFA Social Indicators Database System..............................................5
Objectives for the Database System.....................................................5
Database Users..................................................................................9
Overview of Database Content.........................................................12
3. QSCFA Database Indicators.................................................................15
Sources of Data...............................................................................15
Recommended Indicators................................................................18
4. QSCFA Database Architecture.............................................................79
The Prototype Database...................................................................79
Strengths and Limitations of the Prototype Database.........................82
Assessment of the Prototype Database System Capabilities................85
Recommendations for the Social Indicators Database System
Architecture..............................................................................87
5. Conclusions and Recommendations.....................................................93
Database Objectives.........................................................................93
Database Content and Indicators......................................................94
Database Architecture......................................................................98
Strategic Actions for Future Database Implementation.......................99
Pursuing the Longer-Term Objectives..............................................101
Appendix A: Proposed Database Architecture.........................................103
Appendix B: Organization, Resource, and Timeline Considerations..........113
Bibliography.........................................................................................127

vii
Figures
S.1—Relationship Between Database Content and Objectives in the
Short-Term and Longer-Term......................................................xv
S.2—Proposed Database Architecture...................................................xxiii
2.1—Relationship Between Database Content and Objectives in the
Short-Term and Longer-Term........................................................6
4.1—Prototype Database Architecture......................................................79
4.2—Proposed Database Architecture......................................................89
4.3—Integration with External Data Sources.............................................90
A.1—The First Three Observations in the “Population” Data Set Giving
Population Counts by Year, Age, Sex, and Nationality.................105
A.2—First Three Observations of the “Population” Dataset in XML
Format......................................................................................105
B.1—Organizational Chart for Database Project.......................................116
B.2—Organizational Chart for Database Project Staff................................119
B.3—Proposed Schedule for Project Implementation................................125