Census Operation Activities Part I

1. Census Operation ActivitiesPart I United Nations Statistics Division United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

2. Census Operations • Census questionnaire: Content and design • Building census infrastructure • Mapping and geo-spatial data • Living quarters and household listing • Census test • Field enumeration • Data processing • Evaluation of the results • Dissemination and utilization • Archiving • Overall evaluation and documentation United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

3. Census questionnaires: Content and design • Basic principle is to meet users` needs and to make census statistics as useful as possible, • Content of the census questionnaire should be determined with the involvement of census data users from different sectors such as governmental organisations, research institutions, private sectors, the public, civil society and non-governmental organizations • Consultation with all stakeholders needs to be balanced by factors such as the response burden, respecting respondents’ privacy and other critical considerations such as costs United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

4. Census questionnaires: Content and design • The topics which will be covered in the census should be selected taking into consideration: • The priorities of national needs for small area statistics, • International recommendations, • Historical comparisons, • Suitability of topics for collecting reliable information • Resources available for the census Census takers should evaluate the national needs in the light of possible new topics and the needs for continuation of the topics covered in the past United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

5. Census questionnaires: Content and design • The process of selection of census topics is also related to the decision on: • use a single census questionnaire for all respondents or • adopting a two questionnaires approach – short-form and long-form • A short-form questionnaire with basic questions and enumerating all of population and a long-form questionnaire is applied on a sample of population for collecting more detailed information United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

6. Census questionnaires: Content and design • Questionnaire design • The method(s) of enumeration and technology used for data capture are main factors affecting the design of the questionnaires • Design of the questionnaire which will be used for the face-to-face interview and self-enumeration will differ • Design of paper-based and electronic questionnaires will be different • Design of the questionnaires which will be manually captured or captured by optical system will be different United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

7. Building census infrastructure • This phase of the census is: • a process of building and testing census infrastructure referring all census operations – mapping, enumeration, data processing (capturing, coding, editing, validation), evaluation, dissemination and archiving • Census infrastructure has to be put in place long before the data collection exercise itself as all of the components need to be extensively tested in as real circumstances as possible • The process of building has to be completely finished before the pilot census takes places and should be adjusted as a result of the pilot census United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

8. Mapping and geo-spatial data • The census mapping programme should be developed at a very early stage of census planning considering: • available geographic resources • requirements for new technologies and approaches • available funds and the allocated time frame • staff capacity needed for new approaches • requirements for developing an ongoing geographic system United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

9. Mapping and geo-spatial data • Major technological advances include: • hand-held computers, • global positioning systems (GPS), • geographic information systems (GIS) software • low-cost aerial and satellite imagery Application of new technologies requires careful and long term operational and managerial plans based on a realistic assessment of costs and human resources required United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

10. The role of maps in the census • Maps ensure coverage and facilitate census operations (pre-enumeration) • Census geographers partition the national territory into small data-collection units showing enumeration areas • Maps support data collection and can help supervise census activities (during enumeration) • Maps can be used to evaluate the progress in enumeration allowing supervisors to identify problem areas and implement remedial action quickly • Maps make it easier to present, analyse and disseminate census results (post-enumeration) • Maps are an integral part of policy analysis in the public and private sectors United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

11. Living quarters and household listing • A list of sets of living quarters and structures containing living quarters or households is necessary for enumeration especially in the absence of adequate and updated maps • This list is also useful for: • estimating the number of enumerators and census materials needed in an area, • estimating the time required for the enumeration • using as guide to monitor the completeness and quality of the enumeration of the population in a given area United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

12. Living quarters and household listing • Listing of set of living quarters should have unique street names and building number particularly for densely settled places-multi-dwelling buildings • Where unique address system does not exist, numbering immediately prior to the census would prove useful • Unique address for each dwellings is necessary: • If self-enumeration, whereby questionnaires are sent to the households by mail is used in enumeration • If population register is used United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

13. Census tests • The testing of census operations prior to the enumeration is a of critical importance for all countries, especially • for countries without a long history of census taking and • for those in which fundamental changes in census methods or use of new technologies are being considered • Tests should be employed for all stages of the census, including enumeration, processing, evaluation and dissemination of results United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

14. Census tests • The first kind of tests carried out during census preparations are questionnaire tests • to test the suitability of intended census questions, including their formula­tion and the instructions provided, as well as the suitability of the questionnaire design • Separate test should be conducted to test new technologies such as internet and handheld devices • to allow identifying problems linked to the data collection application, design and architecture and data transfer system • Large scale test of all census procedures - called a “pilot census should be conducted to thoroughly test the entire census infrastructure United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

15. Pilot census • It should cover one or more sizeable administrative divisions, EAs representative of less and most developed areas, to test census organization and enumeration in the field and census materials • It should include all ICT components related to the field work, data transfer or entry and processing well ahead of the census itself: • testing of applications, systems and the equipment itself, as well as the underlying circumstances - climate, or significant delays due to inadequate quality of paper or unexpected problems in programming activities • testing the efficiency of data entry rules, coding, editing and tabulation applications • It should be conducted one year before the enumeration to test everything in the same conditions United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

16. Field Enumeration • The use of new technologies in conducting censuses has introduced substantial changes in field enumeration • Traditional method of enumerating population • face-to-face interview can be applied in different ways: • using a paper questionnaire • handheld devices to automatically capture data during enumeration, • self-enumeration method also can be applied in different methods • using a paper questionnaire • using internet • The use of technology during enumeration would be main challenge for most countries in the next round United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

17. Field Enumeration • Management and supervision • Comprehensive and elaborate management system for providing timely managerial advice to the field staff • Hierarchical and geographically dispersed system for building direct and effective communication mechanism between the managers and the field staff • The use of portable phones and accompanying technologies, such as Short Message Service (SMS), for example, increases significantly the communication capabilities United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

18. Field Enumeration • Management Information System • Management information system for the field operation should be established to collect information needed for timely management and supervision of field operations • Information on the progress of enumeration of population and housing units • Information about logistics issue • Actual performance should be evaluated against the set targets • Using historical data on population size and basic characteristics from previous censuses and other sources • Setting up targets- growth rate, sex ratio, proportion of empty dwellings, average number of residents, response rate • Significant deviation between the target and observed value would indicate a problem United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

19. Field Enumeration • Use of technology • Internet– self enumeration • Handheld or mobile devices-face to face enumeration, communication, supervision • Geographical Information System to create digital maps on GPS enabled handheld devices, as well as producing paper maps • Contact centre or call center to support the field operations • Short Messages Service to share information with field personnel and respondents and exchanging information between the field staff and supervisors United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

20. Data processing • Steps of data processing depend on the technology used- in general, the process covers the following steps: • Outsourcing some of the predominantly IT-related operations may be considered to bring immediate economic and quality advantages to census operations United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

21. Data processing • Preparation :The most common procedure is to have the census documents arrive in the processing centre in batches by enumeration area -or enumerator in case of paper questionnaire • If the census is conducted in a multi-mode approach, it will not be possible to batch questionnaires by EA for processing • Data capture: methods for data capture in a census-keyboard data entry, (including collection by internet or using handheld or laptop computers) and optical data capture (OMR, OCR, ICR) • Use of Internet and handheld devices may significantly improve the quality of captured data while optical data capture gives opportunity of capturing data as it is in the questionnaire and diminishing manual data capture errors United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

22. Data processing • Coding • Pre-coded responses should be used in census questionnaires with numerical or alphanumeric codes • Verbal responses replaced by a code by a dedicated computer program for automatic coding or by a coder (possibly computer-assisted) • Editing/Imputation • A set of consistency rules and corrective measures should be prepared • Decisions on method of imputation (static/deterministic or dynamic or both methods) for correction of errors and assigning value to the missing fields should be taken during the planning phase of data processing United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

23. Data processing • Validation • It is a process of checking consistency in data after editing/imputation which may cause errors due to incorrect application of editing and imputation programme • To identify such consistent errors, it is necessary to review some key aggregate tables for checking consistency among variables and with expected values/distribution to identify the unusual values • Processing control • It is important to establish a computer-based processing management and control system to check individual forms or groups of forms for each EA or for other processing units United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

24. Data processing • Master file is consisting of clean data records for each person and households are produced • Tabulation plan should be prepared by subject- specialists consultation with users of the census information –software packages are widely used for producing census tables United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

25. Evaluation of the results • The main purpose of census evaluation is to provide users with an acceptable level of accuracy and confidence when utilizing the data, and to explain errors in the census result • It is important to choose appropriate methods for evaluation of the quality of data and an appropriate way of sending out these messages to the right group of stakeholders • This topic will be discussed in detail in the workshop United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

26. Dissemination and utilization • Key elements to develop a strategy for census data dissemination: • identifying the diverse categories of users and their data need/uses through consultation • products to be developed • meta-data to aid in the interpretation of the results • confidentiality and privacy measures • assessing the required technologies to meet user needs • dissemination policy • available financial and human resources United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

27. Dissemination and utilization • Dissemination products and services: • Census reports: basic, thematic/analytical, methodological and administrative reports • Databases: Micro-database, macro-database, databases for indicators • Geographical products: Basic maps, thematic maps, use of GIS for detailed geo-referenced inventories and spatial statistical analysis • Interactive electronic outputs: Online database with integrated searching, tabulating, graphing, mapping and analysis capabilities • Micro-data dissemination: Anonymized micro-data -confidentiality of individual data is protected- for analytical researches United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

28. Dissemination and utilization • Census data utilization • Population and housing census is unique source of data for planning, management and monitoring national development programs- by providing comparable statistics for each administrative units and localities • The fullest possible utilization of census results requires a comprehensive and coordinated programme of analytical studies – policy-oriented • Cross-cutting and emerging social issues depending on the priorities, such as statistics on gender, statistics on children and youth, statistics on older persons, statistics on persons with disabilities • Development indicators should be produced to monitor the progress of development goals- national and international United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

29. Archiving • Archiving a vast amount of census records requires an institutional strategy based on three components: • Organizational infrastructure: the arrangements that need to be put in place within the national statistical office in such a manner to ensure the efficiency of the archiving and eventual retrieval process- a centralized unit, maintenance, secure storage and release of individual records for anthropological studies • Technological infrastructure:the actual technology used in the archiving process for enabling successful retrieval of records • Resources: for the necessary fund, it is important to adopt a strategic, long-term approach, as the archiving, maintaining and releasing would essentially consist a continuous activity as long as censuses are part of the national statistical systems United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014

30. Overall evaluation and documentation • Evaluation assesses the effectiveness of operations, systems and processes and their likely impact on data quality • Assessments provide valuable information on strengths and weaknesses of past operational procedures which should be carefully reviewed prior to the development of the next census • Evaluation of processes of census operations becomes even more warranted recently to assess how well new methodologies and technologies have worked • Evaluation of the census operations should be documented to build institutional memory for lessons learnt from the past census and also to share this experience for those that want to adopt similar processes for their future censuses United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014