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Abstract:
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Statistics and the Census - An Historical Journey Lynne Billard, University of Georgia The ASA was born in 1839 from concerns with proposals for conducting the 1840 census. Since then, the conduct of the census process has changed many times; e.g., the collecting of population details has progressed from enumerators on horseback, to housewives, to mailed questionnaires, to what-is-next? Statistical methodology has made its own progress, from e.g., the collection of the counts into simple tables, to analyses of collected data, to summary statistics, to the development of new techniques (especially estimation methods), recognition of undercounts (Jefferson in the First Census, but more urgently so in the 1940s), among numerous other issues. Geographers were added in the 1880s to assist in mapping the lay of the land, Hollerith computers aided in the recording process in the 1890s; both are still indispensable today. It is the U.S. Constitution which dictates a decennial census be undertaken; this reflects a microcosm of that population. Developments over the years provide for a fascinating but not always a smooth ride. We look at some of the highlights.
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