2901.0 - Census Dictionary, 2006 (Reissue)  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/08/2007  Reissue
   Page tools: Print Print Page  
Contents >> Short Definitions and Classifications - 2006 >> Imputation Flag for Registered Marital Status (IFMSTP) - Characteristics 2006

Imputation Flag for Registered Marital Status

On this page:
Classification
Quality Statement



Classification

This variable indicates if a person's registered marital status was imputed.

Applicable to: Persons aged 15 years and over

1 Marital status not imputed
2 Marital status imputed
@ Not applicable

Total number of categories: 3

More Detailed Description


Quality Statement - Imputation Flag for Registered Marital Status (IFMSTP)


There are many aspects which can affect the quality of Census data; the following information should be considered when viewing data on Imputation Flag for Registered Marital Status (IFMSTP).

For 2006, the number of persons who had their marital status imputed was 863,613 (5.4%), compared with 513,701 persons (2.7%) in 2001. Most of the imputation in 2006 is attributable to the 4.3% of persons (applicable to Registered Marital Status (MSTP)) in dwellings which were occupied on Census Night but did not return a completed form. Person counts for these dwellings are imputed as well as some basic demographic data such as MSTP.

Before imputation occurs checks are made to ensure that IFMSTP has identified the correct records (that is, all records where marital status is "not stated") for imputation.

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.




Previous PageNext Page