Anabela Delgado Carlota Amorim
Statistics Portugal - Census Unit
« Simply2010 Ghent 2-3 December 2010
E-CENSUS: A new data collection system for the 2011 Census in Portugal
«
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
E-census: Background
Portugal has been adopting policies that foster internet use as a preferential platform for the relationship of the public administration with citizens and enterprises.
In 2009 over 3.7 million (around 80%) electronic tax returns of natural persons were submitted.
To prepare the 2011 Census there is a clear concern as to modernising collection methods and processes, reaping the benefits of the use of information and communication technologies, of which the possibility of answering the 2011 Census online poses the main challenge.
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
E-CENSUS Strategy E-CENSUS Strategy
Placing people first!
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
«
E-CENSUS Strategy E-CENSUS Strategy
Easy, secure and beneficial
1. Online form
2. Online validation rules
3. Authentication and security
4. Notification of enumerators
5. Helpline
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
Online form User friendliness Simple and clean screens
Limited number of questions by screen
Tick-box and listbox
Questions’ instructions through a window system
Web navigation similarities with other websites
Similarities with paper questionnaire
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
Online form
Reduce complexity by limiting functionalities to the absolute necessary
Forward
Back
Save SendSave and return later
Next screenPrevious screen
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
Online validation rules Compromise between easy completion and data quality
Validation rules were kept to a minimum
Messages appearing during form completion are posted at the top of the page, but never identifying cases requiring users to move to other screens
Types of validation rules Compulsory responses
Absence of multiple responses
Navigation and skip rules
Cross-validation rules based on the variable age
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
Autentication and security
Access to the public area
1. ID Code + PIN
Acess to the private area
2. Dwelling’s geographic code
3. Fill in the form
www.censos2011.ine.pt
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E-Census: Fill in the form
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
Notification of enumeratorsSMS
SMS allows to control online responses
Enumerators are notified by SMS daily
SMS identifies dwelling’s geographical identification code
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Helpline
Free telephone answering service every day from 9 am to 8 pm
Personalized help
Visualization of the online questionnaire simultaneously
Automatic solving and forwarding system via e-mail (BackOffice)
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
E-Census Tests Statistics Portugal conducted three survey tests in 2008,
2009 and 2010 with a population sample of around 7,000, 17,000 and 45,000 dwellings respectively.
The population had two modes of response options available:
The traditional one by filling in the paper questionnaire themselves, with subsequent collection and checking by enumerators;
The online form (E-Census) with recourse to a secure authentication system. Upon distribution of the questionnaires, the enumerator would also leave a closed envelope containing the access codes to the online
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
Impact on Fieldwork Organisation and Management
Three stages for data collection
Census day
2 weeks for door-to-door distribution
4 weeks for paper collection
3 weeks for online data collection
1ª 2ª 3ª 4ª 5ª
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E-Census: Data collection system
Helpline
SMS
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
Results
Response rate
14
9
14
2008 2009 2010
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0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Ope
ning
Cens
us D
ay
Clos
ing
2008 Test 2009 Test 2010 Test
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
2008 Test 2009 Test 2010 Test
Online response by day
Online response by hour
Results
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Results
42 minutes was the average time spent to complete the online form
83% of the households filled it in in a single session and the remaining did so in more than one session, by saving it and returning on a later stage
Less than 1% of users have abandoned the session after concluding the authentication process, which is a rather positive result.
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
Opinion Survey
1,7 1,1 1,9 0,7
95,0 95,9 97,0 98,3
Security Easy to answer Pleasant Use the internet in the
2011 Census
NO Yes
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
Conclusions
Positive results confirm the strategy followed easy, secure and beneficial
Over 98% of respondents intend to answer 2011 Census online
Data collected online are of higher quality than those of paper questionnaires
2011 Census online have a great potential, especially among the younger population with a higher educational level
Advertising campaign will be of crucial importance to motivate people to answer online
SIMPLY2010 Ghent, 2-3 December 2010
Thank you for your attention!