Once, Only Once, and in the Right Place Residence Rules in the Decennial Census (2006) / Chapter Skim
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8 Operations, Research, and Testing
8 Operations, Research, and Testing
Pages 249-272
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From page 249... ...
It is also true that improvements to census operations and methodologies depend critically on an effective and vigorous program of research and testing. The types of research that we believe are essential to the determination of accurate resident counts -- and to census quality, generally -- can be roughly partitioned into groups: · quantitative, analytical work on diverse living situations to improve un derstanding of the context of residence in the census; · a program of experiments to accompany the 2010 census, to evaluate the efficacy of major changes to residence data collection in 2020 and beyond; · improved research on the conduct of relevant census operations, such as group quarters enumeration, address list development, and undupli cation methods; and · testing and experimentation at an intermediate level -- between small sample cognitive testing and full-scale test censuses -- that improves un derstanding of operational concerns.
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From page 250... ...
Inaccuracy in MAF and TIGER detracts from the quality of the decennial census, produc ing errors of inclusion and omission. A full analysis of MAF and its construction is beyond the scope of this panel, but it is germane because residence rules concerns should be reflected in several ways: · Scope: Work on MAF should make use of local area expertise in building a full list of residence locations, especially for irregular housing stock such as converted apartments, multi-use buildings, and small multi-unit structures.
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From page 251... ...
. In particular, the Bureau should continue to find ways to obtain help from local and tribal authorities in obtaining information on unusual housing stock, such as multiple housing units inside family homes and leased hotel or motel quarters.
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From page 252... ...
Another National Research Council panel is currently studying the emerging coverage evaluation program of the 2010 census, and we have viewed the exact mechanics of unduplication as the province of that panel. However, we briefly offer some suggestions and comments on emerging unduplication methods as relevant to our charge.
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From page 253... ...
Internal evaluations from the first few months of the year compared the count of housing units on the MAF to estimates generated by using building permits and other sources; those analyses suggested sizable duplication in the MAF records. The operation flagged 2.4 million housing units (containing 6 million person records)
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From page 254... ...
, as well as name and date of birth. 8C CLASHING RESIDENCE STANDARDS: THE CENSUS AND THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY Estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS)
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From page 255... ...
While a complete examination of the ACS is the purview of that panel, and not ours, it is necessary to have some overview of the basic structure of ACS data collection and estimates in order to understand concerns about the residence concept of the ACS. We describe two basic concepts of the ACS design in brief; for additional detail, see National Research Council (2004b)
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From page 256... ...
The rule also differs from a de facto standard because it permits people to be counted at the household even if they are temporarily away. As long as people "are away from the housing unit for two months or less," they are considered current residents; however, "people who have been or will be away for more than two months" are not deemed current residents.
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From page 257... ...
The basic idea behind the ACS current residence concept is that everyone who is currently living or staying at a sample address is considered a resident of that address, except people only staying there for a short period of time. People who have established residence at the sample unit and are away from this unit for only a short period of time are also considered to be current residents.
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From page 258... ...
. We have described the ACS residence concept in theory, but it is critical to consider how this concept is conveyed on the ACS questionnaire itself.
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From page 259... ...
. As articulated in Box 8-2, the ACS' current residence standard is arguably as intricate as the usual residence standard of the decennial census, and it includes explicit handling of particular living situations.
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260 ONCE, ONLY ONCE, AND IN THE RIGHT PLACE Figure 8-2 Excerpt of household roster question and instructions, 2005 American Community Survey NOTE: Space is provided for full data collection for five household members; additional space to write names of an additional seven household members is provided under the main List of Residents.
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From page 261... ...
Regarding the presentation of basic residence concepts on the questionnaire itself, two additional points should be made. First, the Bureau provides a companion booklet -- "Your Guide for the American Community Survey"-that is intended to walk respondents through the questions.
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From page 262... ...
However, by its design, the question falls well short of being able to provide information on a fundamental underlying question: the extent to which individuals' "current residence" coincides with their "usual residence." The ACS is intended to provide information on social, economic, and demographic characteristics of geographic areas, not population counts for those areas. As a result, it could be argued that there is less of a need for an absolutely complete accounting of "current residents" in the ACS.
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From page 263... ...
OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND TESTING 263 Figure 8-3 Excerpt of household roster question and instructions, 19961998 American Community Survey NOTE: Space is provided for full data collection for five household members; additional space to write names of an additional seven household members is provided under the main List of Residents.
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From page 264... ...
The ACS is more properly thought of as a new and vital data collection system: it must be able to satisfy current uses of long-form census data, but it has unique properties, strengths, and limitations that should be examined but not impeded by complete adherence to census norms. However, the Census Bureau is now in a position where two flagship products -- the decennial census and the ACS -- follow two complex residence
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From page 265... ...
The same line of reasoning holds for the ACS: it is unclear how well the ACS "current residence" concept or "2-month rule" fits with respondents' own notions, and our review above raises considerable uncertainty as to how well the ACS questionnaire items and instructions match the survey's own residence concept. For the decennial census, we recommend that the Census Bureau collect "any residence elsewhere" information.
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From page 266... ...
We also recommend question-based structure for eliciting resident listings and counts as ultimately more effective than the current instruction-based approach. Recommendation 8.4: A major test of census residence concepts, conducted in conjunction with the 2010 census, should be the basis for postcensal development leading to the 2020 census.
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From page 267... ...
8E THE CENSUS BUREAU RESEARCH AND TESTING PROGRAM The most prominent components of the Census Bureau's research program are the suite of formal experiments and tests that accompany each decennial census, the evaluation reports of various census operations that are produced after the decennial count, and the set of large-scale tests scheduled regularly between census years. These tend to be large and complex activities -- indeed, one of the usual census tests is a dress rehearsal that tries to
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From page 268... ...
; it varied both the wording of the race and Hispanic origin questions as well as different cues to respond to the test by mail, Inter net, or telephone. · The 2005 National Census Test included a variety of coverage probe questions related to residence (see Chapter 6)
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From page 269... ...
, identifies the major focus areas of cognitive testing, grouped by the basic cognitive task being performed by respondents: 1. Comprehension of the Question (a)
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From page 270... ...
To be clear, we do not suggest by this finding that there is anything necessarily wrong with tests that operate at these extremes. In particular, we do not mean in any sense to malign small-sample cognitive testing as a research tool by the Census Bureau; cognitive tests are definitely worth doing, since they are an excellent diagnostic process (and generator of research hypotheses)
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From page 271... ...
; · the difficulty and advantages of including a reference date or time frame; · multilingual and linguistically isolated households; and · whether the Census Bureau standard of "live or sleep most of the time" is consistent with respondent notions of "usual residence." Sustained research needs to attain a place of prominence in the Bureau's priorities. The Bureau needs to view a steady stream of research as an investment it its own infrastructure that -- in due course -- will permit more accurate counting, improve the quality of census operations, and otherwise improve its products for the country.
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From page 272... ...
Looking ahead, over the long term, the Census Bureau research program needs to consider broader shifts that lie ahead -- the impact of the Internet and e-mail and the diminished importance of traditional mailing addresses (and paper mail) in people's lives, more transitory living arrangements, and the changing need for census data as private and public databases grow in completeness.
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