2901.0 - Census Dictionary, 2006 (Reissue)  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 29/10/2007  Reissue
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Contents >> Short Definitions and Classifications - 2006 >> Place of Usual Residence Five Years Ago (PUR5P) - Characteristics 2006

Place of Usual Residence Five Years Ago

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Description
Image of Question
Classification
Quality Statement


Description

This variable identifies a person's place of usual residence five years before the Census, and is coded to SLA level. More Detailed Description


Image of Question

2006 Household Form - Question 10


Classification

Applicable to: Persons aged five years and over

The following categories are also included:

Undefined capital city 0099
Overseas 9299
No usual address 9499
Migratory, off-shore and shipping 9779
Undefined state 9899
Not stated &&&&
Not applicable @@@@
Overseas visitor VVVV

Total number of categories will depend on the geographic level chosen.

More Detailed Description
Quality Statement - Place of Usual Residence Five Years Ago (PUR5P)

There are many aspects which can affect the quality of Census data; the following information should be considered when viewing data on Place of Usual Residence Five Years Ago (PUR5P).

This data was captured as check box responses for most persons (that is those persons whose address was the same as five years ago or one year ago or who were overseas five years ago). Around 31% of persons had their written "elsewhere" address information coded. (In addition a further 7% were same as their usual address or their address one year ago and that address was coded from written "elsewhere" address information). Sample checks of the data are undertaken of both processes to ensure an acceptable level of quality.

The non-response rate for 2006 was 7.4% compared with 4.9% for 2001. Part of this non-response is attributable to the 4.1% of persons in dwellings which were occupied on Census Night but did not return a Census form. Persons are imputed into these dwellings together with some demographic characteristics. However the values for Place of Usual Residence Five Years Ago (PUR5P) remain not stated. In 2001, 2.1% of persons were imputed into dwellings for which no form was received.

In 2006, a change was made to the way SLA codes were obtained from the "elsewhere" address information for both PUR1P (Place of Usual Residence One Year Ago) and PUR5P. In 2001, SLA codes were initially obtained by using locality information and if this was not successful then lower level street information was used. In 2006, SLA codes were obtained in the first instance by using street name rather than the less reliable locality name. This more precise matching process should produce better quality PUR1P and PUR5P codes for 2006.

The ABS aims to produce high quality data from the Census. To achieve this, extensive effort is put into Census form design, collection procedures, and processing procedures.

There are four principal sources of error in Census data: respondent error, processing error, partial response and undercount. Quality management of the Census program aims to reduce error as much as possible, and to provide a measure of the remaining error to data users, to allow them to use the data in an informed way.

When completing their Census form, some people do not answer all the questions which apply to them. In these instances, a 'not stated' code is allocated during processing, with the exception of non-response to age, sex, marital status and place of usual residence. These variables are needed for population estimates, so they are imputed using other information on the Census form, as well as information from the previous Census.

The processing of information from Census forms is now mostly automated, using scanning, Intelligent Character Recognition and other automatic processes. Quality assurance procedures are used during Census processing to ensure processing errors are kept at an acceptable level. Sample checking is undertaken during coding operations, and corrections are made where necessary.

The Census form may be completed by one household member on behalf of others. Incorrect answers can be introduced to the Census form if the respondent does not understand the question or does not know the correct information about other household members. Many of these errors remain in the final data.

More detailed information on data quality is available in the 2006 Census Dictionary (cat. no. 2901.0), in the section titled Managing Census Quality.





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