'HURSDAY
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"EMBER 20,
1990
THE QUESTIONNAIRE TO BE USED IN THE (MING CENSUS WILL BE OF TWO TYPES, A SHORT FORM AND A LONG FORM.
AMONG ALL THE HOUSEHOLDS TO BE ENUMERATED, SIX OUT OF SEVEN WILL BE RANDOMLY SELECTED FOR ENUMERATION BY A SHORT FORM COVERING BASIC INFORMATION OF EACH FAMILY MEMBER. THE OTHER ONE-SEVENTH OF HOUSEHOLDS WILL BE ENUMERATED ON A LONG FORM.
THOSE SELECTED TO ANSWER THE SHORT FORM WILL RECEIVE A SIMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE MAILED TO THEM BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CENSUS.
FOLLOWING THE
THE HOUSEHOLD SHOULD COMPLETE THE QUESTIONNAIRE INSTRUCTIONS THEREIN (THAT IS SELF-ENUMERATION). THE COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE IS TO BE COLLECTED BY THE ENUMERATOR PERSONALLY DURING THE CENSUS.
"THE SELF-ENUMERATION METHOD HAS BEEN ADOPTED IN MANY DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, AND THE FEASIBILITY OF ITS ADOPTION FOR HONG KONG HAS BEEN CONFIRMED IN A SERIES OF
TESTS, WHICH INDICATED THAT THE SELF-ENUMERATION METHOD IS ACCEPTABLE TO THE PUBLIC," MR HO SAID.
HOUSEHOLDS SELECTED TO BE ENUMERATED ON LONG FORMS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY LETTERS FROM THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT PRIOR TO THE VISIT OF ENUMERATORS.
THEY WILL BE ENUMERATED BY THE TRADITIONAL "INTERVIEWER" METHOD, THAT IS ENUMERATORS WILL CONDUCT PERSONAL INTERVIEWS TO COLLECT THE REQUIRED DATA. HOUSEHOLDS SHOULD, IN ADDITION ΤΟ BASIC INFORMATION, SUPPLY MORE DETAILED INFORMATION.
MR HO EXPLAINED THAT THE "INTERVIEWER" METHOD WAS PREFERRED FOR LONG FORM ENUMERATION BECAUSE THE QUESTIONS WERE MORE COMPLICATED. ENUMERATORS WHO WERE FORMALLY TRAINED AND HAD A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE QUESTIONS COULD PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO THE HOUSEHOLDS IN ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS DURING THE INTERVIEWS.
"THE DESIGN OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE HAS ALSO GONE THROUGH CAREFUL CONSIDERATION AND CONSULTATION,' HE SAID.
TI
IN ORDER TO COPE WITH SUCH A COLOSSAL PROJECT, THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT WILL EMPLOY ADVANCED COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY AND THE LATEST "OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION" TECHNOLOGY FOR DATA INPUT.
THESE INCLUDE THE SETTING UP OF FILE OF LIVING QUARTERS, WITH WHICH ENUMERATION COULD BE AVOIDED.
A COMPREHENSIVE COMPUTERISED OMISSION OF ANY QUARTER FOR
PROCESSING
ANOTHER COMPUTER SYSTEM IS DESIGNED FOR APPLICATIONS OF TEMPORARY CENSUS STAFF AND FOR ASSISTING THE SELECTION AND TRAINING PROCEDURES. IN ADDITION, SYSTEM ALSO HELPS TO LINK UP ALL DISTRICT FIELD THE PROGRESS AND QUALITY OF THE FIELDWORK.
THE COMPUTER NETWORK CENTRES AND MONITOR
/WITH THE