Dry run for Population and Housing Censuses 2011 was successful, still for real censuses some processes will need to be fine-tuned

 


17 June 2010

A census test was running from 6 April to 7 May in all regions of the Czech Republic. This week the Czech Statistical Office definitively finished scanning of completed forms. 6.4% of the population used the opportunity to send the electronic forms through the Internet, the other chose traditional methods and returned the forms to census takers or sent them by post . The census will take place in spring 2011 and a novelty is that census takers will be mainly the workers of the Czech Post. The Czech Statistical Office thanks very much all citizens, municipalities as well as house owners who helped during the census test.


Statisticians selected 0.5% of the population of the Czech Republic for the census test (54 483 citizens in 23 644 dwellings and 12 926 houses) in order to verify all necessary processes, to test the forms for their intelligibility and clear arrangement, and to try the new data scanning technologies. ”Population and housing censuses in our territory have been performed regularly since 1869. This year the electronic completing of on-line census forms on the Internet has been tested for the first time in the history,” points out Mr Stanislav Drápal, the CZSO vice-president. “The questionnaire information itself is not the most important thing in the census test, we are mainly focused on clarity of questions and forms. The output is also a report about processes which need to be improved for real censuses and about weak points of new systems.”

What was a success in the census test

  • Trouble-free operation of the personal data protection system was achieved for the CR citizens from distribution through collection up to conversion of questionnaires into electronic form.
  • It was confirmed that the information system of prompt warning in case of suspected occurrence of a security risk works well. In was tested in practice by real announcements from citizens. For example, a lady from the Moravskoslezský Region called the info-line of population and housing censuses and informed the CZSO that probably she had a visit from a fraudulent census taker. The system of security processes started to operate immediately. It was discovered that it was a mistake. The suspected person was not a fraud but the true inquirer from the CZSO who made another survey not related to population and housing censuses. This trivial case was very important because it helped to test the correct functionality of all processes in case of a security risk announcement.
  • The CZSO security managers performed a number of inspections in branches of the Czech Post where they tested how the post office protects the personal data of persons involved in the census, how IT networks are secured, and they also examined the physical security at collection points where completed forms are stored. No security problems were discovered by the CZSO experts in any of tested post offices, only technical details not directly connected with census forms were solved. The Czech Post received a recommendation from the CZSO experts to train the postal clerks more thoroughly.

What will need to be improved before real censuses
  • The elderly people sometimes do not understand the term of registered partnership. Therefore, census takers who will go for instance to old people's homes will be instructed by the CZSO to explain the term of registered partnership thoroughly. At the same time, statisticians will adjust the forms and explanatory notes relating to questions about marital status and registered partnership so that everybody could understand them.
  • The Czech Statistical Office received from two citizens the comments regarding user friendliness of electronic forms. It concerned a quicker and easier sending of the Internet form and eliminating the necessity to click several times in many dialog windows. Another comment related to programming of easier control links in forms. The CZSO deals with all comments so that electronic forms should be clearer and user-friendlier.
  • In three cases minor problems with logistics of forms occurred. Now, the CZSO negotiates with the Czech Post about measures to be adopted in order to ensure timely distribution of forms.

Novelties relating to censuses

Population and housing censuses in 2011 will bring a whole range of novelties connected with development of information technologies and social circumstances, taking into account the experience gained from previous censuses:

  • The forms will newly contain a question about registered partnership.
  • From now on, neither the household equipment nor the household income and expenditure will be surveyed in any way. So, the forms contain no questions about possession of a refrigerator, car, cottage, TV set, or other items.
  • Newly, it will be possible to complete electronic census forms on the Internet and send them on-line or through data boxes.
  • 95% of census takers will be workers of the Czech Post.
  • The CZSO will send the house and dwelling sheets to legal persons in most cases through data boxes.
  • During the 2011 census there will be a call centre available to everybody where operators will be prepared to help with all questions relating to censuses.
  • In autumn 2010, schools all over the republic will arrange so-called Mini-census where pupils and students will try to work with statistical data in an entertaining manner.


For more information, please contact:

Ondřej Kubala
spokesperson for the Population and Housing Censuses 2011 project
Phone: +420 274 053 163
Mobile: +420 602 604 086
E-mail: ondrej.kubala@scitani.cz
www.scitani.cz

  • TZ_10_06_17.doc