Evaluation of the Innovations Implemented in the 2009 Canadian Census Test

• Activity Number: 185
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 2, 2010 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): Jean-Francois Rodrigue*+ and Danielle Lebrasseur and Jennifer Taylor and Jean-Pierre Morin
• Companies: Statistics Canada and Statistics Canada and Statistics Canada and Statistics Canada
• Keywords: census ; collection ; internet

Abstract

The 2009 Canadian Census Test was officially held on May 12th. It is a key element in the planning of the 2011 Census. Among the innovations tested were a wave collection methodology designed to maximize Internet response, a voice message broadcasted to encourage responses, a process to identify unoccupied dwellings early in the census collection process and a computerized system for field activities management. The sample for the Test consisted in a set of 110,000 dwellings selected in two sites of Canada and a set of 25,000 dwellings selected randomly across the country. The Test sample showed a high Internet response, an improved coverage and a streamlined collection process. In this paper, we will describe some of those new collection methods and present details on the results of their evaluation. We will also give an outlook of how this will be used for the 2011 Census.