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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
Below are some frequently asked questions about CensusAtSchool. The CensusAtSchool team will continually update this page with additional questions as they arise.
The CensusAtSchool Project
Getting Involved in CensusAtSchool
CensusAtSchool In Action
The CensusAtSchool Project
CensusAtSchool is a non-compulsory education project brought to you by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). It is a FREE Internet based data collection and analysis project for students in years 5 - 12. Students respond to questions of interest about themselves by completing the CensusAtSchool online questionnaire. The questionnaire response data is then released back to teachers and students providing real, relevant data, for use with the supporting activities across the curriculum.
For more information please visit the Project description page.
- Who is the CensusAtSchool project for?
The CensusAtSchool project is free for students and teachers across Australia to participate in. Upper primary through to senior secondary school students will find the data invaluable. Attention has been paid to ensuring the questionnaire and supporting materials were designed in line with the national and state curriculum outcomes for students enrolled in years 5 to 10, however its educational value spans into the senior years too. The project takes an integrated approach to allow for its use in Mathematics, ICT, Physical Education and Health, Studies Of Society and its Environment (SOSE) as well as Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE).
CensusAtSchool allows students to increase their statistical literacy and understand how to work with information by collecting and analysing data that interests them. They will also gain a heightened awareness of the role of the Australian Bureau of Statistics within our society.
Senior students will find the continuous data samples to be a goldmine of analysis possibilities for trend analysis, variation, correlation, normal and binomial distribution, and much more. Best of all, they will be able to undertake statistical analysis on real, raw data that is relevant to them.
- When is the CensusAtSchool project being held?
The CensusAtSchool online questionnaire is open every Term 1 and 2 for students to submit their responses. Once the questionnaire closes at the end of Term 2 every year, the new response data is pooled together to be returned to students via the Random Sampler facility. With each consecutive project year, new data will be added to the Random Sampler to remain available on the ABS website on an ongoing basis. Previously, the project was run in 2006 and 2008.
 Term 1 and 2 : New Questionnaire opens
Australian school students access and complete an annual on-line questionnaire that contains questions about their everyday lives and relates to their experiences, opinions and interests. The 2010 Questionnaire is now available for students to submit their data until 2 July 2010.
 Term 3 and 4: New data is available on the Random Sampler
After every live questionnaire closes, new data will be added to the CensusAtSchool database. The database contains the responses to the online questionnaire completed by Australian students, and can be accessed via the Random Sampler for ongoing use. This means students can access data from previous project years AT ANY TIME throughout the year. Using the Random Sampler, teachers and students can take samples of raw, Australian-wide data to investigate questions that interest them! The 2010 data will be added to the Random Sampler in July next year.
- What is on the CensusAtSchool web pages?
The CensusAtSchool web pages are designed to provide all the materials required for teachers to conduct and manage a successful CensusAtSchool project within their classrooms. For students, the web pages contain information resources and interactive elements to support statistical literacy. Teachers can also use this area to set assignments and demonstrate statistical concepts to students.
To find our more about the web pages, please explore the CensusAtSchool web guide
- How does CensusAtSchool relate to the Census of Population and Housing?
The CensusAtSchool project aims to raise awareness of the Australian Census of Population and Housing while providing an opportunity for students to collect and analyse real data about themselves. Students will not only be modelling their parents role in the Census process, but they are also placed in the role of the statisticians that collect and compile data into meaningful information. Exploring the stories in real data helps make the process more meaningful and relevant to students.
Some of the questions on the CensusAtSchool questionnaire relate directly to questions being asked on the Census of Population and Housing, allowing for comparisons to be made by students.
For more information about the National Census please visit the Census page.
- What systems are in place to protect privacy and confidentiality?
Respecting privacy and safeguarding confidentiality are fundamental components of the ABS business, and have been core to its success over the 100 years of its history. The ABS has a very sound reputation in this regard. For CensusAtSchool all reasonable measures have been made to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of schools, teachers and students participating in the project.
Please refer to the CensusAtSchool Privacy & Confidentiality page for full details.
- Is the student's parent/guardian consent needed to participate in the project?
Parent/Guardian consent may only be required for the questionnaire phase of the project. Schools are responsible for informing parents/guardians and, if they deem necessary, seeking consent before a student participates in completing and submitting the questionnaire. You can download a sample letter to send to parents/guardians explaining the non-compulsory nature of the questionnaire from the Project Reference Documents page.
- Can schools participate without Internet access?
There are still ways for schools to be involved in the project, even if their participation in the project may have some technical barriers.
For students to be part of the CensusAtSchool database the questionnaire will need to be completed online, but it does not need to be completed by every student on one particular day. Other options such as local libraries or setting the questionnaire as a home task can be explored.
However if internet access is not possible then you can print out a sample copy of the questionnaire and an answer sheet, to complete manually in class. Your students will not be part of the national database, however they can access all available forms of CensusAtSchool data from the CensusAtSchool Data page. This means they can still compare their data to other Australian students.
Please visit the CensusAtSchool Data page for more information about what resources are available.
Getting Involved in CensusAtSchool
- Is there a cost to participate in CensusAtSchool?
No, the CensusAtSchool project is FREE to all schools, teachers and students in Australia.
- How can my students participate in the CensusAtSchool questionnaire?
To be eligible to participate in the questionnaire, teachers need to set up a Teacher Account. To set up a Teacher Account, teachers should agree to inform the principal of their student's participation in the project. Once the set up is complete, teachers will receive an information pack via email and be notified of project updates and phases.
Teachers will be able to set up online accounts from October.
For more information please visit the How To Get Involved page.
- What is a CensusAtSchool Teacher Account?
For students to participate in the CensusAtSchool questionnaire, teachers need to create a CensusAtSchool Teacher Account. A Teacher Account is the facility to create, access and manage Student Access Numbers (SANs) for your school or class.
- What is a Student Access Number (SAN)?
A Student Access Number (SAN) is a randomly generated number distributed by teachers to their students in order for them to access, complete and submit the CensusAtSchool online questionnaire. These numbers are generated and managed by teachers from within their Teacher Account. Teachers can view and print SANs, generate more SANs and monitor SAN usage as students complete the questionnaire.
You will need to provide students with their Student Access Number (SAN) as a cut-out from your printed list of SANs. This way, students have a hard copy in front of them when they complete the questionnaire. A good way to do this is to copy the SAN column from your account into a spreadsheet that already has a list of student names. You will then have a record of the SAN that each student has been allocated. You may wish to give students the SAN only (no student names) to ensure confidentiality. Note that this list is never provided to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), so your students cannot be identified from their SAN. Please ensure that you do not allow students to find out the SAN other students have been allocated.
When a student completes the questionnaire and submits their responses, their SAN status changes to "used" and they cannot use that SAN again. If they do not submit their responses, the SAN status remains "unused" and consequently they can use the SAN again to access the questionnaire and submit their responses. SANs serve to comply with the strict privacy and confidentiality principles upheld by the ABS, to ensure students' identity is protected and cannot be identified from their responses.
- Can I receive updates about CensusAtSchool? If so, how?
CensusAtSchool In Action
- Is there a sample copy of the questionnaire I can download and review? If so, where can I find it?
Copies of CensusAtSchool questionnaires are available in PDF format for download. You can download the 2010 Questionnaire as well as previous copies of the 2006 and 2008 CensusAtSchool Questionnaires from the Project Support Materials Page.
Please note that this document is best viewed in Adobe Acrobat Read version 6 or above. If you do not have the reader please visit our download page.
- Can my Year 11 and 12 students participate in CensusAtSchool and use CensusAtSchool data?
Yes. CensusAtSchool can used at senior secondary levels as well as in primary and middle year classrooms. All students are encouraged to participate and use the questionnaire response data. The real, raw data is an invaluable resource for senior students to undertake analysis relevant to their year level.
- I am a teacher and need information about how I can use CensusAtSchool, where do I go?
All information for teachers is in the Teacher Area. This area provides practical advice, Microsoft Excel training units and access to information, advice and classroom activities provided by teachers who are part of the CensusAtSchool community. The CensusAtSchool Data within the Teacher Area provides access to the questionnaire response data and classroom activities written by the CensusAtSchool team.
You can also contact the CensusAStSchool team who are move then happy to take you through the project and help you get started.
- I have a question that is not answered on the web pages, who do I contact?
Please send your question via email to the CensusAtSchool team censusatschool@abs.gov.au.
- My browser freezes when I try to open an Excel Workbook.
The solution to this problem is to save the Workbook to your computer. Close the browser and start Excel. The workbook can now be opened in Excel.
This problem arises because the computer tries to open the workbook inside the browser. A problem may occur depending on your network and browser settings.
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This page last updated 20 January 2010 |
