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DATA COLLECTION

Individuals and organisations collect data because they or someone else require information. They may want information to keep records, make decisions about important issues, or be required to pass information on to others. So, whatever the specific reason, data is collected to provide information.

But who in society wants or needs information? The answer to this question could be simply stated as ‘many people and organisations’. Some of the groups that use statistics include:

GOVERNMENT	Federal, state and local governments need information on the population and economy, among other things. This information helps them to make decisions on issues such as where to build hospitals, locate services, or how much money to raise through taxation. It also allows the public to hold a government to account by measuring its performance.
BUSINESSES	Most Australian businesses require information. This information may be about the economy, the profile of a local population or various social trends. It helps them to make decisions about employing people, where to market their products and where to open new offices, warehouses and factories.
COMMUNITY GROUPS	These organisations need information about a wide variety of subjects, for example: Aboriginal health and population distribution, or the number and location of people with poor English proficiency. Sporting clubs may want information about attendances at matches or the number of young people in their local area.
INDIVIDUALS	Everyone, from students to pensioners, needs information at some time. It may be needed to complete an essay, a major project or simply to satisfy one’s curiosity.

• Whether the topic was of major national importance. The Census is a large and costly operation imposing a burden on householders who are required to answer questions. It is essential that every question has a specific purpose.

• Whether the topic was suitable for inclusion. Census topics should not cause an adverse reaction from people by unacceptably invading their privacy.
  They should not require an overlong explanation or instruction to ensure an accurate answer, and should not refer to things people are unlikely to remember.

• Whether the Census was an appropriate method of collecting the data. Consideration should be given to the alternatives to a Census. In some cases the information being sought may already exist; it may be collected by another organisation, or administrative records may provide the required data.

• Need to limit the number of questions on the form so it won’t take too long for the public to complete.
  

SELECTED CONTENT OF CENSUSES (a), 1911 TO 1996

TOPIC

1911

1921

1933

1947

1954

1961

1971

1976

1981

1986

1991

1996

Name

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Age

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Sex

*

Orphanhood

*

Birthplace

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Birthplace of parents

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Citizenship

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Disability

*

Ethnic origin

*

Blindness, deaf-mutism

*

*

*

Religion

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Educational qualifications

*

*

*

*

*

*

Holidays

*

Income

*

*

*

*

*

*

Occupation

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Journey to work

*

*

*

*

*

*

Mode of travel to work

*

*

*

*

*

CENSUS: A GLOBAL HISTORY
BC
3800	BABYLON	Carried out every six or seven years. It counted asses, oxen, butter, milk, honey, and wool.
2500	EGYPT	Carried out to assess the labour force available for building pyramids.
1491	ISRAEL	Carried out to count people liable for military service and taxation purposes.
550	CHINA	Carried out by Confucius to obtain information on the nation’s agricultural, industrial and commercial state.
AD
1719	PRUSSIA	Europe’s first systematic census.
1790	USA	America’s first census.
1801	ENGLAND FRANCE	England’s and France’s first census.
CENSUS: AN AUSTRALIAN HISTORY
1788		‘Musters’ of convicts began. During this year they were held weekly because of the colony’s dependence on public stores and dread of famine. These ‘musters’ were also held on Sundays at the church parade. Families of convicts and free settlers were required to attend. Punishment of up to 500 lashes could be enforced for non-attendance.
1828		The colony’s first regular census was held in NSW.
1881		The colony’s first Australia-wide census was held. This was part of a simultaneous census of all British Empire colonies.
1911		The first census held under the Census and Statistics Act of 1905. This was followed by censuses in 1921, 1933, 1947, 1954, 1961 and thereafter at five yearly intervals.

LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATES (%): 15-19 YEAR OLDS, AUGUST, AUSTRALIA
	1967	1972	1977	1982	1987	1992	1997
FEMALES	61.1	56.2	57.6	56.1	53.6	54.2	53.6
MALES	64.7	58.5	62.1	62.4	57.4	54.0	52.9

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

PERSONAL INTERVIEW:

• Face to face: involves trained interviewers visiting people to gain data. It is good for ensuring a high response rate to a sample survey or census, and trained interviewers should be able to gather accurate data. The ABS conducts face to face interviews for its Labour Force Survey during the respondent’s first month, and by telephone for subsequent months. However, it is costly to train interviewers, occasionally respondents are unavailable, and travel costs could be high.
• Telephone: involves trained interviewers phoning people to gain data. It is quicker and cheaper than face to face interviewing. However, only people with phones can be interviewed, and the interviewed person can end the interview very easily!
• Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI): involves a phone interview as above, but with the interviewer keying respondent answers directly into a computer. This saves on time involved in processing data, but can be expensive to set up, and needs interviewers with computer and typing skills. The ABS uses CATI for its Retail Survey.

• Postal survey: a common method of conducting ABS economic surveys. It is a relatively inexpensive method of collecting data, and one can distribute large numbers of questionnaires in a short time. It provides the opportunity to reach difficult to contact people, and respondents are able to complete the questionnaire in their own time. Postal surveys do require an up-to-date list of names and addresses. Added to this is the need to keep the questionnaire simple and straightforward.

• Hand-delivered questionnaire: a self-enumerated survey where questionnaires are hand-delivered to people and collected later. This method usually results in better response rates than a postal survey, and is particularly suitable when information is needed from several household members. This method is used for the ABS’s Census of Population and Housing.
• Hand-delivered mail-back questionnaire: a combination of hand-delivered and postal methods, which reduces the cost of collecting completed forms. It gives a greater sense of privacy for respondents concerned with someone entering their home or business to collect forms.

• use of a car and telephone,
• good communication skills,
• a confident and professional appearance, and
• the freedom to work evenings and weekends.

• give the respondent their name,
• explain that a survey is being conducted and by whom,
• provide identification and give the person time to read it,
• explain that the respondent’s household or business has been selected in the survey sample, and
• explain the survey’s purpose.

• the ability to listen attentively,
• keeping the interview short,
• asking questions the same way for each respondent interviewed, and
• NOT suggesting any answers for the respondent.

1.	Suggest reasons why data would be collected on the following topics:
	a) Burglaries
	b) Causes of death
	c) Climate
	d) Forests
	e) Immigration
	f) Schools
2.	When collecting data, why is it sometimes better to conduct a sample survey than a census?
3.	List some of the reasons why the ABS may decide not to include a question in the Census of Population and Housing on:
	a) Health
	b) Marital status
	c) Sports participation
4.	List some of the things you would need to consider when choosing a data collection method.
5.	Given some of your answers to question 4, decide as a class which method of data collection you would employ to gather data on the following topics:
	a) favourite rock or pop group in your class,
	b) average height of your class,
	c) time your parents spend each week doing housework, and
	d) attitude of Australians toward the environment.
6.	Are there some topics for which data should not be collected? For example, data on people’s health or political beliefs? Discuss as a class where you would ‘draw the line’ in deciding if issues are too sensitive to ask about. What factors would help you make your decision? For example, is the information you need from the data of national importance?