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Indian population
census organisation with its tentacles spread throughout the country
is considered as the largest administrative network in the world.
In order to ensure full utility of the population count, Indian
census attempts to collect information on various socio-economic
characteristics of the entire population. The population census
is one of the most extensive and complicated statistical operations
which needs careful planning to avoid defects and inefficiencies.
Careful planning of census is vital to the successful operation
of the census. The census operations can broadly be divided into
the following sequential phases:
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The preparatory
work of census includes enactment or modification of census legislation,
creation of administrative organisation, demarcation of administrative
units, house-numbering, formulation of census questionnaires, pretesting
of census questionnaires, tabulation programme, method of enumeration,
plans for data processing, publicity, staff recruitment and training
etc. These are briefly described as follows:
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Census
Legislation:
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For the success of an operation
of such magnitude and importance as the Population Census, it is
imperative that it should have the necessary backing of law. The
Census Organisation should be armed with necessary authority to
have access to households and canvass the prescribed questionnaires
and to expect the people to answer truthfully. The law should also
protect the interests of the people by guaranteeing the secrecy
of the information collected. By now most countries have a permanent
Census law requiring periodic censuses to be taken in accordance
with a scheme to be notified from time to time. If in any country
no such permanent law exists, suitable ad-hoc legislative approval
should be obtained before launching on a census operation.
In India - a permanent legislation, viz., the Census of India Act was
placed in the Statue Book in 1948. The Act empowers Central Government
to notify the date for the census and to appoint a Census Commissioner
and Superintendents of Census Operations in States. The Act enjoins upon
every citizen to assist in the taking of census. The Act lays down that
services of any citizen can be requisitioned for census work and takes
obligatory on every person occupying a house, enclosure etc. to allow
access to census officers, and to allow them to paint on or affix to
the place such letters, marks or numbers as may be necessary for census
purposes.
The law makes it obligatory on the part of every citizen to answer the
census question truthfully. The Act provides penalties for giving false
answer or not giving answers at all to the census questionnaire. At the
same time, it calls upon the census officers to discharge their duties
faithfully and warns them against putting any question to a person which
is not covered by the questionnaire and they are required to record the
answers as given by the person enumerated. One of the most important
provisions of law is the guarantee it provides for the maintenance of
secrecy of the information collected at the census of each individual.
The Act requires strict secrecy to be maintained about the individual's
record which should not be used for any purpose against the individual
except for an offence in connection with the census itself. The census
records are not open to inspection and also not admissible in evidence.
The answers ascertained at the census can be used only for statistical
purposes in which the individual data get submerged.
The success of census, however, depends not so much on the penal provisions
in the Act but on the willing co-operation of all concerned. It is the
responsibility of every census officer to create such atmosphere in which
people may not give false replies to questions because of unnecessary
for unfounded fears.
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Universal
coverage of Area:
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In organising a Population
Census the primary objective to be achieved is to ensure coverage
of the entire area in a great territory, without ommission or overlapping.
Therefore, a fundamental task in preparing for a census involves
the location of every local area and building up of a suitable
organisation to adequately cover it.
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Household,
the Operational Unit of enumeration:
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Census aims at enumerating
every individual. But the operational unit is the physical entity
of the household which is generally understood as a group of persons
commonly living together and partaking of food from the same kitchen.
A household may occupy an entire house, or more than one household
may share a house. In organising a census, one should locate every
house and household. In order to achieve this a clear delimitation
of territory has to be undertaken by which every single household
is accounted for.
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Determination
of territorial units for organising census
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One should decided fairly
early on what should be the smallest unit of territory for which
census statistical data are to be presented and also the highest
stratum of jurisidiction for which the data will be consolidated
and presented. For example, it has to be decided if the primary
census data will be provided for every village or groups of villages,
which are sometimes combined for the purpose of local administration,
and at the higher level if the data are to be presented for development
blocks, electoral constituencies, revenue and police administrative
territories and at still higher levels for regions or districts
and so on. In building up the census organisation and demarcating
jurisdictions at the various levels of hierarchy it is necessary
to make them correspond with the pattern of areas for which data
will be ultimately presented. It is obviously advantageous to follow
the accepted administrative units for this purpose. A country is
generally divided into provinces, prefectures or states and sub-divided
into districts and further sub-divided into sub-districts, sub-divisions,
taluks etc. The smallest unit of administration will ultimately
be a village or a town. These various administrative levels of
jurisdictions are likely to have enduring boundaries unlike electoral
constituencies which generally change with population size. The
administrative units of territory are generally surveyed and mapped
and the collection and presentation of census data for such units
from census to census will also have the advantage of providing
a time series of data for comparable units. Also the adoption of
the administrative sub-divisions of territory for census purposes
will help to press into service the hierarchy of normal administrative
machinery for census work and the exercise of control from top
to bottom is rendered easier which is so very essential in an intricate
operation such as the Population Census.
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Village
and Town
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The smallest unit of areas for
which the census data is presented may be the village
or town. Though this may sound simple, yet there is a need
to clearly define what these units are. A village may not be
mere cluster
of houses
with a local name. It may be made up of the chief
area of
habitation
and the surrounding area falling within certain demarcated
boundaries. Hamlets or scattered farm houses within such
areas will have to
be assigned to definite villages Then, what a town
is, requires clear definition. Rural and Urban classification
of population
is an accepted demographic practice. But there has
been varying
criteria adopted for the recognition of units as
urban at censuses of different countries. Recognising this the
ECAFE
Seminar
on Planning for Urban and Regional Development held at
Tokyo in
October, 1966
also recommended that census authorities should try
to evolve a simplified and standardised definition. Generally
all
places
with
local administration of its own such as a City Corporation,
Muncipality etc., are automatically treated as urban.
For others, a minimum
limit of population size is recognised for qualifying
a place as urban. It is 5,000 in some countries and in some
others as
little as 1,500 or 2,000. A minimum density of population
is also laid
down as a criterion to qualify a place as urban.
It may be 1,000 per sq. Mile (or say 400 per sq. Km) as in India.
This
becomes
sometimes difficult to determine. A third criterion
applied is
the preponderance of non-agricultural population
to qualify a place for urban status. It is desirable to have
some acceptable
definition
of urban units so that data may be comparable within
the
same country and also international comparison is rendered
possible.
It is not unusual to find that adjoining the
statutory limits of large urban centres, areas develop which,
in all but their being outside the statutory territorial limits,
seems to be integral parts of the city or town and enjoy almost
all the amenities and services of the city. The census authorities
will have to take due cognisance of such areas and even if the
identity of the main town within its own statutory limits has
to be recognised, the possibility of treating the adjoining urban
growths to form an urban group alongwith the main urban centre
will have to be examined.
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Need
for Maps:
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When once the various levels
of territorial units according to which the census is
organised are determined, it is essential to secure detailed
maps
on which the boundaries of each of these units are clearly delineated.
The
maps should help to clearly demarcate the boundaries
of the
country as well as its division into provincial territories
and further
sub-division into districts and down to the smallest
enumeration areas of villages and towns. The census organisation
should
make sure that these maps represent the latest position of
the administrative
jurisdiction and all changes ordered by State Government
in respect of the clubbing of villages or determination of
boundaries of municipalities
etc., are properly accounted for. With the help of these
maps
the census officers responsible for enumeration of the territory
should
clearly know the dividing line between his jurisdiction
and that of the one next to him. It is necessary to have maps
of adequately large scale of 1" to 4 miles or 1" to 1 mile covering
all areas.
Even if such maps do exist in some areas, they
may not be up-to-date. It is not unusual for Governments to effect
administrative changes of territory for various reasons. Sometimes
villages may be clubbed to form a larger unit or a village may
get split up and each part recognised as an independent unit;
or the limits of a municipal town may get extended to cover a
whole or part of an adjoining village; some border adjustment
of districts or even provinces may take place. Often times, it
takes considerable time for the Survey Organisations to carry
out such changes in the maps. It will be one of the essential
requirements of the census organisations that these maps should
be brought up-to-date as on the census date. Cartographic units
should function in each census office to take note of the latest
changes of territory ordered by Provincial or National Governments
and bring the maps up-to-date.
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Territorial
boundaries to be frozen in advance of census taking:
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It will be obviously difficult
even for the census organisation to keep track of the territorial
changes, if they were to take place till the very date of census
taking. It will be necessary to freeze the boundaries atleast a
year in advance of the census date and the National and Local Governments
should be requested not to effect any changes after that till the
census is completed. On the maps being brought up-to-date by the
cartographic units of the census offices it is desirable to send
them to local officers incharge of the districts or its sub-division
to certify to the correctness of all the local units that constitute
the larger territory as indicated in the maps.
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Unsurveyed
Areas:
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There may be countries or
within the same country some parts which may not have been surveyed
and no maps may exist. These will undoubtedly present a problem.
Even so, there are bound to be some locally accepted dividing lines
between one local area and another. It will be necessary for the
census authorities to prepare a list of the areas and define the
limits as locally accepted and even roughly mark them out on an
outline map. The map should show all the localities even if they
are only approximately demarcated. In some countries one is likely
to come across tribal or aboriginal habitations spread in the thick
of forest or hilly areas or remote regions and the limits of each
such habitations might not have been surveyed and demarcated. In
such areas, the jurisdictions of the local forest range offices
or the forest beats are generally determined. Such jurisdictions
can be recognised within which the tribal habitations can be listed
and located on a map. These will help to see that during actual
census enumeration no area is left out and all habitations are
accounted for.
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Location
Code:
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It is an advantage to evolve
a location code by allotting code numbers to each district, each
sub-district and each village or town. By the combination of the
number of the village/town, sub-district and district it will be
possible to have a code by which each smallest territory in the
country can be located. These numbers can be marked on the territorial
maps. Such a location code will be very convenient for allocating
census enumerators to every unit without omission and it is also
handy for the enumerator to indicate his area on the enumeration
schedules and also useful in tabulation. This is a good aid to
ensure complete coverage of territory.
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Housenumbering
and Houselisting:
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While the listing of all territorial
units of administration down to village level and the preparation
of maps on which each unit of territory is demarcated help to ensure
territorial coverage, one has to go a step further down to locate
every household within the smallest administrative unit, for, after
all the ultimate aim at a census is to ensure that the census enumerator
visits every household and enumerates every person in it. For this,
ideally, detailed village and town lay-out plans will have to be
prepared showing important topographical details such as roads,
streams, public buildings etc. And locate on it every house which
should be indicated by a distinct numbe. It is doubtful if every
village and town will have any such plan already prepared and maintained.
Most areas may not have any house-numbering at all. The Census
Organisation will have to take the initiative to have uptodate
layout plans prepared and to see that the houses and households
are numbered and listed.
In several countries a distinct housenumbering
and houselisting operation is taken up as preliminary to census
enumeration a few months in advance. The staff of the local authorities
may be used for such operations or sometimes the census enumeration
agency itself is made to take up this task. Notional maps of
each village and town are prepared on which every house is located.
If in a town a system of permanent house-numbering prevails,
these numbers are adopted for locating each house on the map.
This also gives an opportunity to bring the house-numbering up-to-date
by allocation of appropriate numbers to new constructions, etc.
In villages or towns where no permanent house numbers are maintained,
a system of orderly numbering of the houses should be evolved
with reference to the lay-out map prepared and the house number
so allotted to each house should be marked on the sketch and
simultaneously on the door of each house by chalk, paint, etc.
It is necessary for census purposes that even the remotest and
the poorest household should be located and, therefore, every
hut, shack and shed which may not even have a proper door should
be provided with a wooden plank, or tin plate with a number marked
and the same may be hung in some portion of each such house.
These will serve to identify every house and household which
the census enumerator is required to cover for census enumeration.
Along with the house numbering, the houses
and households are also listed. A definite form of houselist
is prescribed for noting certain particulars of every house and
household in it. The minimum particulars needed for a houselist
are the number allotted to the house and household, a description
of the house, the name of the head of household and the number
of persons present in the household. While the main purpose of
the houselist is to locate every house where there is a possibility
of people living so that they could be later identified and covered
at the census enumeration, this opportunity is sometimes taken
to gether enough particulars as to serve the purpose of a housing
census. Houselisting is extremely useful as it will help to give
for each local area as preliminary estimate of the population
that will be covered at the census shortly later. This will facilitate
the formulation of census enumerator's block with reference to
the size of population in such a way that each block can be conveniently
covered by the census enumerator within the prescribed census
enumeration period and it serves the ultimate purpose of helping
the enumerator to locate every household in his block. Thus a
complete coverage of every household by the census enumerator
is also ensured. Besides, the house-numbering plans and the houselists
also provide convenient frame for taking up any sample surveys.
In some areas, particularly where the "householder" method
of enumeration is resorted to, the census collector/enumerator
himself prepares a list of the households within the
area allotted to him which will serve as a control sheet to enable
him to distribute
and collect back the census schedules from each household.
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Building
up the heirarchy of census officers:
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The breaking up of the territory
according to the administrative levels of jurisdictions and the
development of a location code and demarcation of the areas on
census maps and the preparation of detailed house-numbering plans
and houselists provide the necessary frame work for creating the
requisite field organisation and to build up a heirarchy of census
officers for complete control, supervision and conduct of census
operations.
Instead of the decennial census Phoenix having
to be reborn every time, the need for a permanent
and continuing census organisation, atleast a nucleus set up;
during
intercensal
periods, is increasingly recognised by all countries.
The Chief Census Commissioner who heads the census organisation
in
a country
is responsible to the Central Government to conduct
the National Census. He will have to work several details of
the operations,
evolve the questionnaires after duly consulting
the various data users and had to issue executive instructions
in respect
of
several
details of the operations. Except in small countries,
it
is advantageous to have Regional Commissioners perhaps
one for each province
or state who will be directly responsible to the
Chief Census Commissioner in ensuring that all the instructions
issued
by the latter are carried out in his respective area.
He may have
to be given considerable latitude in planning the
operation in
his region or province so as to suit the local
conditions but within the frame work of the over-all operations
in the
country. In an operation such as the population census, when
the services of a vast organisation requires to be harnessed
throughout
the
length and breadth of a country for a limited period
for
the purpose of actual census taking, it becomes necessary
to work
through the machinery of the normal state and local
administrations. Several countries have the convention of making
the services
of the officials of the provincial and local governments
available
for census work as part of their national duty.
In Japan statutory orders lay down the responsibilities of Governors of
Prefectures, Heads of villages and towns in the matter
of conducting census.
The census legislation, wherever, it exists generally
makes it incumbent on the part of every one notified as a census
officer
under the Act to carry out his duties, deligently.
It is desirable to make statutory appointments
of census officers at various territorial levels
fairly early while preparing for a census so that a full-proof
hierarchy
of jurisdictions is built up and responsibility is clearly
placed on the shoulders of each to look to all administrative
arrangements
in accordance with the general directions of the
Chief Census Commissioner operating through the Regional or Provincial
Commissioners.
The Provincial Commissioner should closely keep
a watch
over
the progress of work in all local areas of the
province and given constant guidance. The census officer in charge
of
each district
should divide his district into definite census
charges. The
rural areas and small towns of the sub-district
can together form a charge under the sub-didstrict officer. Each
large
town can form a charge by itself with the chief executive
officer
being made the charge officer. Very large cities
of say over a million population may require a different type
of organisation
with a chief census officer for the city as a whole
and
charge
officers for individual wards of the city. Military
units, cantonments,
project townships, harbour areas etc., may have
to form special charges. The charge officer should be made responsible
for
appointment of enumerators and supervisors to cover the
entire
population
in his charge. He should see to the complete training
of
the enumerators and should consider success of census
in his charge as his personal responsibility. As already indicated
it
is
best
that the Chief Administrative Officer of the area
concerned
is designated as the census officer at each level. Sometimes
incentives
may be provided by sanctioning a remuneration for
carrying out the census duties that devolve on each charge
officer
as an extra
burden during the census year.
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Census
Enumerators and Supervisors:
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The census enumerators from
the bulkwark of the census field organisation and the entire success
of the census enumeration depends on the quality and capacity of
the census enumerator and the interest he takes. He should be one
who can command the confidence of the people and capable of interpreting
the census questionnaires properly and evoke appropriate response.
The largeness of the size of the population and the vastness of
the areas of some of the countries of the region make it difficult
to secure the services of adequate number of highly qualified enumerators.
But the recent emphasis on the spread of education has enabled
the establishment of a good number of elementary schools throughout
the length and breadth of the country and, therefore, the school
teachers generally prove to be the best agency to draw upon for
appointment as census enumerators. In urban areas it may be necessary
to draw on the services of a good number of central, provincial
and local government officials. The charge officers should assess
the total requirement of enumerators and supervisors and allow
for an adequate reserve to serve as replacements or for any emergent
duties and make an inventory of all personnel available for census
duties well in advance of the formation of census blocks. Usually
the work of 5 to 10 enumerators is controlled and supervised by
census supervisors who should be selected from among persons with
higher qualifications and as far as possible may be desirable to
appoint them from among the permanent staff of the Government.
The census enumerators and supervisors may be required to generally
perform their duties outside their office hours. Countries who
have necessary resources pay the enumerators attractive remuneration.
In a few others the enumerators perform their duties purely on
an honorary basis. Even in such cases it is desirable to pay an
honorarium to enable them to meet their out of pocket expenses
which they will have to incur when they are out to attend training
classes or when they go out on enumeration work.
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Printing
of census schedules:
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Early in the preparatory stages
of the census, action would have been taken to evolve the census
questionnaire after duly consulting the various departments of
the government and the other census data users and to pretest them
and finalise them. The pretests should have helped to fix the norms
for coverage by each enumerator within the enumeration period.
While other preparatory operations are going on, early steps should
be taken to print the requisite number of schedules by carefully
assessing the requirements of each province and each district on
the basis of the projected population size. Allowance should also
be made for an adequate reserve of 10-15 per cent. The house-numbering
and house-listing operations would have helped to indicate more
accurately the approximately population size of each local area.
The printing of census schedules and instruction manuals would
also require careful planning. The required paper and other stationery
will have to be secured in time, the printing resources assessed
and kept reserved, and the printing and binding of schedules into
convenient sized books etc., will have to be carefully attended
to. The census schedules should be despatched well in time to enable
the District Census Officers to distribute them to the charge officers
who in turn should see that the schedules and instruction manuals
are issued to every enumerator on the eve of launching the enumeration.
While indenting for schedules it is a good
idea to ask for a small proportion for training purposes. These
should be distinguished from the main schedules. Practice enumeration
schedules can be printed in different coloured ink and should
be made available in advance of the main schedules for training
purposes.
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Translation
into Regional Languages:
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In certain countries there
may be difficulty of different local languages being in use. It
is important to assess the requirement of schedules and instruction
manuals in regional languages, get the translations made, not in
pedantic, high flown or technical language, but in a style that
can be easily understood by the enumerators. Translated schedules
and instructions will have to be got printed at centres which have
the facilities to do it and see that they are despatched to the
proper quarters. All this requires careful planning and organisation
and attention should be given fairly early at the pre-enumeration
stage.
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Training:
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The importance of thorough
training of census enumeration agency from top to bottom cannot
be over-emphasised. Each one in the census hierarchy must be very
clear on what his duties and responsibilities are. There should
be no ambiguity in their understanding of census concepts. Manuals
of instructions issued by the Chief Census Commissioner or the
Regional Commissioners will be of great help. The printed manuals
should invariably contain specimens of a few typical filled up
schedules. Apart of the issue of printed instructions it is important
that the Regional Commissioners who should get trained by the Chief
Commissioner should impart intensive training to the district and
sub-district census officers and the charge superintendents who
in turn must thoroughly train up the census enumerators and supervisors.
Each supervisor must ensure that every enumerator under him has
understood the instructions thoroughly. Each should be required
to attend a prescribed minimum of training classes. A good part
of the training should be spent on demonstration and practice enumeration.
Census Schedules printed in different coloured ink than the regular
schedules can be used for training purposes. The mistakes committed
during practice enumeration should be fully discussed after each
practice enumeration. It is good, if possible, to hold tests to
see that each enumerator has understood the instructions fully.
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Publicity:
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It requires two to take a
census, viz., the enumerator and the enumerated. Greatest cooperation
from both is necessary for the success of a census. Apart from
the intensive training of the enumeration agency, wide publicity
programme will have to be launched on the eve of census taking
to educate the public on the need for the census, about the particulars
that will be asked at the census, assuring the people that the
confidentiality of the information will be maintained and also
to tell them of their legal obligations. All media of publicity
should be explored such as issue of attractive pamphlets and striking
posters, radio and television programmes, by feature films and
cinema slides, through a short lesson in schools, by announcing
by beat of drum in villages and various other media according to
the ingenuity of the local officers. Thus by the time the census
enumeration is launched both the enumeration agency and the people
should have been completely kept in a state of readiness to get
through the enumeration within the next few days that mark the
high key of the entire operation.
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'Canvasser'
and 'householder' methods:
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'Canvasser' and the 'Householder'
methods are the two recognised methods of census enumeration. Under
the 'Canvasser' method the enumerator approaches every household
and records the answer on the schedules himself after ascertaining
the particulars from the head of the household or other knowledgeable
persons in the household. Under the 'householder' method the enumerator
distributes the census schedules to each household in his jurisdiction
and the head of the household is expected to fill the answer for
all members of his household and the enumerator later collects
back the answered schedules soon after the census day is over.
Without going into the merits or demerits of each of these methods,
it has to be recognised that in countries where literacy is still
low, the 'canvasser' method is the only practical method.
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Census
Reference Date:
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The decennial censuses are
generally taken in the years ending in '0' or '1' or as near to
them as possible. The reference day for the census is fixed having
due consideration to factors such as climate, maximum accessibility
of areas, people being comparatively free from economic or other
activities that may keep them away from home for long periods,
and administrative convenience. The census moment is fixed as the
midnight of the reference day or the sunrise. The sunrise appears
better as several people may not know the exact point of midnight
and may not be able to precisely say for example, that a birth
occuring on the census nightr was before or after the midnight
hour. Sunrise is a more easily distinguishable point of time.
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Period
of Enumeration:
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The census count is expected
to give particulars of the population at a fixed point of time.
While under the 'householder' method the head of the household
may find it possible to give particulars of the household as at
that point of time, where the 'canvasser' method is used, it is
obviously not possible for an unduly large army of enumerators
to be deployed as to cover every individual at this fixed point
of time. Therefore, the objective is achieved by the census enumerator
making a double visit, the first in advance of the census date
to record particulars of all individuals in the household and the
second, a short visit, immediately after the census reference date
to bring the record up-to-date by enumerating fresh births after
his last visit to the household but upto the census reference point
of time, and also visitors that had arrived later who were not
likely to have been enumerated elsewhere and also cancelling out
entries relating to deaths that had occurred during the period.
As to what should be the length of the period in advance of the
census reference date which should be utilised for enumeration
depends on the resources and availability of manpower. The pre-tests
would have indicated the period that will be taken for enumerating
each individual. The approximate population of each area would
also be available from the houselist. It will not be difficult
to determine the actual period needed with the available manpower.
It is generally a week or a fortnight and sometimes a little longer.
It is, however, necessary not to drag the period too long as it
is difficult to utilise the services of the part-time enumerators
too long without letting their enthusiasm flag and also to exercise
proper control. The re-visit generally lasts for three days.
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Use
of Sampling in enumeration:
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Sampling may be used for the
collection, tabulation and evaluation of census data. Sampling
therefore, plays an important role in population censuses both
as an integral part of plan execution, analysis and evaluation
of census data and through the use of census as a sampling frame
for subsequent sample enquiries.
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Non-synchronous
enumeration:
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While synchronous enumeration
has to be aimed at in the Population Census of a country, there
may be some areas within a country where this may not be possible
at all such as in the inaccessible hilly and forest areas inhabited
by tribal population where suitable enumerators may not be locally
available to carry out synchronous enumeration. Special enumerators
from outside will have to be sent to cover such areas. This is
bound to take longer time than enumeration in the plans. In such
areas the enumeration can be conducted a month or two in advance
of the actual reference day and sometimes even longer. Re-visits
will be out of the question. In some countries a simpler census
schedule is also developed for canvassing in such areas.
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Snow
covered areas:
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There may also be the problems
of large scale movement of population in certain areas such as
say in certain snow covered areas where people may move out of
their habitations when the area is covered by snow and return back
after it clears. If the census reference day falls at the time
when the people move out of their areas, such areas will show no
population at all. Therefore, advance enumeration should be resorted
to and the censused households issued with a certificate to show
that they had already been enumerated so that they may not be enumerated
again during the general enumeration elsewhere.
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Enumeration
of persons on boats etc.:
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Enumeration of persons on
the move in coastal shipping or inland waterway or on international
sea travel who may arrive at a harbour on the census reference
day may also present peculiar problems of their own. People living
on boats form a considerable proportion of the population of certain
areas. Special enumeration will have to be organised on the census
day to cover such population. Coastal shipping found in any harbour
during the enumeration period will have to be enumerated by special
enumerators and the ship master issued with a certificate so that
the ship may not be enumerated again at the next port of halt.
Arrangements may have to be made to enumerate ocean going vessels
that arrive at a harbour on the census reference day. Those arriving
later need not be covered.
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Persons
on long travel:
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Similarly arrangements will
have to be made for the enumeration of persons on continuous travel
by train or bus over long periods. All such cases may have to be
covered by a single night enumeration on the census day.
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Houseless
population:
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Houseless population too will
have to be covered. In some areas particularly in some cities there
may be considerable number of pavement dwellers. Arrangements will
have to be made for covering them through a one night enumeration
by appointing special enumerators for the purpose. During the general
enumeration, the enumerators should try to locate the areas where
there may be concentration of houseless population so that on the
census night the charge officer may make arrangements for deputing
adequate number of enumerators for single night enumeration. Social
workers may also be pressed into service for this purpose. Adequate
arrangements will also have to be made for protection and safety
of the enumeration agency on such duty. Policemen accompanying
the enumeration parties on single night enumeration sometimes had
the effect of driving away the pavement dwellers to other areas
thus missing from enumeration. Policemen should only be kept in
reserve at convenient centres or may patrol the areas in vehicles
in order to meet any emergency call.
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De-facto
and De-jure enumeration:
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An important question pertaining
to enumeration that always arises at a Population Census is whether
the population should be counted on a de-facto basis i.e. at the
place where a person is actually found on the reference date of
the census or on a de-jure basis i.e., count a person only according
to the place of normal residence. Of these, the enumeration on
de-jure basis is more difficult to achieve without the risks of
omission or double count. Enumeration of de-facto population though
may appear simple will be difficult unless the movement of population
is restricted on the census day and the entire enumeration is got
through on a single night which is operationally difficult specifically
when large population has to be covered by canvasser method. In
practice, therefore, enumeration on a 100 per cent de-facto or
de-jure basis is impossible and often times a variation or even
a combination of the two is resorted to. The census instructions
should clearly lay down who are the persons who should be enumerated
during the census enumeration period.
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Intensive
supervision:
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During the actual census enumeration,
close supervision should be maintained over enumeration work, and
channels of communication between different levels of census organisation
should be carefully maintained to set right any breakdowns or meet
any emergencies. Intensive supervision during the very early stages
of enumeration is most important to rectify defects if any and
to ensure that further enumeration rpogresses smoothly and correctly.
Any complaint particularly when the canvasser method is used, of
omission of areas or households or of the exercise of bias in enumeration
should be promptly investigated. The supervisors, charge officers,
etc., should closely watch to ensure that the enumeration in all
the areas is progressing according to schedule and if any enumerator
is prevented from attending to his duty due to unforeseen circumstances,
the services of the trained reserve should be immediately drawn
upon.
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Enumerator's
Summaries:
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There is yet one ultimate
state of the census enumeration which requires close attention
viz., the compilation and submission of summaries by the enumerators.
It is important that these should be very carefully compiled from
the schedules, thoroughly verified and promptly relayed by the
quickest means possible to the higher levels to be ultimately consolidated
for each sub-district, district, province and the country. A careful
and accurate preparation of these summaries is important as these
will provide the first results of the census and will form the
basic statistics of population till the final tabulation and publication
of census data which might take considerable time. It is also desirable
that the schedules filled by one enumerator should be exchanged
with another for a thorough check for completeness of entries and
for removing any internal inconsistencies, before the enumerator's
summaries are prepared.
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Collection
of filled up census schedules:
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Clear cut arrangements should
be made, immediately after the census enumeration is over for the
enumerator's summaries to be relayed, for the filled up census
schedules of every enumerator to be properly handled, packed and
despatched with a proper inventory to a pre-determined centre for
further processing. It is desirable for each charge officer to
collect the bundles from all the enumerators in his charge and
send them on to a regional tabulation office as determined by the
Provincial Census Commissioner. With this the great task of census
enumeration will come to an end for except some post enumeration
checks.
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Incentives
for good census work:
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In an operation such as the
population census which is taken up as a national task it is desirable
to provide some aids and incentives to enable the census enumerators
and officials at various levels to put forth their best efforts.
Census enumerators on duty should be provided with dinstinctive
census badge of authority. Apart from serving as an aid for the
enumerator to take pride in his work, this is necessary to safeguard
the interest of the public who should identify the enumerator.
Some countries provide a momento such as a pen to each enumerator.
A careful record of performance of enumerators and supervisors
and all other census officials from beginning i.e., from training
period till the end should be maintained and based on the interest
he has shown and the quality of his census records, the overall
performance can be adjudged and those that show high quality of
performance can be rewarded by the institution of awards such as
census medals and certificates. Such a scheme of rewards should
be announced fairly early to enthuse census officlals to put forth
their best efforts.
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Census
Calendar:
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Census operations involve
a net-work to intricate, interdependent steps which have to be
carefully planned, and worked to a definite time schedule. A calendar
of census operations is an indispensable aid in planning census
enumeration. The details of the calendar may vary from country
to country or from province to province within the same country.
A detailed calendar for each region should be drawn up fairly early
while planning for the census and the time schedule should be strictly
adhered to ensure the success of the entire operation.
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The processing of
the census data occupies a very important place in the census.
The census enumeration may be thorough and accurate but the census
tabulation will not be accurate and useful unless the raw data
are properly processed.
There are various methods of data processing
and the choice of a suitable method depends upon the circumstances
of the country. Many countries have found it attractive to the
use of electronic data processing techniques although the cost
of purchasing or hiring the equipment is quite high and there
is enormous difficulty in finding the suitable trained personnel
to work on the electronic equipments. The decision to use any
data processing equipment should be based on the amount of data
to be processed. If the electronic data processing equipment
is not available within the country,the efforts should be made
to procure such equipments from outside the country.
A complete census is a huge undertaking and
will require many years to complete the whole tabulation programme
of the census data. By the time the data is published, it becomes
out of date and cannot be used for any policy matter. In view
of this, it becomes necessary to base the tabulation of census
data on sample basis to provide quick estimates to the census
data users.
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D
- Evaluation of the results:
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The evaluation
of census results in respect of completeness and accuracy occupies
an important place in the census programme. The extent of error
can be estimated through the use of checks of the internal consistency
of the data, by examination of the reasonableness of the results
and by comparison of the results with data collected in other enquiries.
The publication of the census results must specify the extent of
error in coverage and reporting.
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E
- Analysis of the results:
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It is the responsibility
of the census organisation to analyse the census data so tabulated.
This will greatly help to make comparative studies and also indicate
the long-term trends of certain characteristics of the population.
The experts from outside the census organisation should also be
invited or associated with the projects dealing with the analysis
of census data. As a part of the census programme the Census Organisation
should also encourage various research organisations and universities
to undertake special studies relating to the analysing of census
data.
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F
- Dissemination of the results:
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The census would
be considered incomplete if the data tabulated in the desired form
is not available to the data users in the form in which it suits
them. This calls for high priority to be given to the publication
of the census data. Sufficient funds should be allotted for the
publication of the census data. The data must be presented by appropriate
geographic and administrative divisions and by important demographic
variables; evaluation of their accuracy and appraisals of their
significance should be included in the census publications. The
maps should also be given in the census publications so as to show
each geographic unit for which the statistics are presented. It
is not necessary for the Census Organisation to publish all the
census data but it may be convenient to supply some of the unpublished
data which is used only by the few offices and organisations.
The Census Organisation should make every effort
to publish important results as early as possible so that their
usefulness and the extent of their interest may not be diminished.
It is very necessary to fix the target dates for publication
well in advance so that there may not be any difficulty in achieving
them. Along with publishing of the Census data, it would be proper
that every country may provide a methodological and administrative
report. The report should include specimens of the questionnaires,
instructions to the enumerators, information on the cost of the
census and planning and organisational aspects and the problems
faced at various stages of census operation and the manner in
which these have been tackled.
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G - Systematic recording
of census experience:
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The experience
of the past censuses always prove useful in the planning of the
new census. As the census is conducted every ten years, there is
the possibility that the experienced staff may leave the census
organisation. For this reason, it is very essential to assemble
complete records on the methodology of each census, an evaluation
of the technique employed, and the costs. These records should
be arranged very carefully and properly so that the information
on any aspect of census may be easily traced out.
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