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Government Information Quarterly Contents

Government Information Quarterly

Volume 2, Number 4,1985 (Index)

CONTENTS

SYMPOSIUM ON THE DECENNIAL CENSUS, U.S. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS

Introduction
Hon. Robert Garcia................................................ 337

Increasing Reliance on the Decennial Census
John G. Keane..........................................................341

Historical Perspectives on the Decennial Census
Theodore G. Clemence.........................................................355

Plans For and Issues Facing the 1990 Decennial Census
Peter A. Bounpane............................................................. 369

Drawing the Lines-By the Numbers:
The Statistical Foundations of the Electoral Process
Penelope E. Harvison, Robert C. Speaker, and
Marshall L. Turner, Jr....................................................... 389

Census Confidentiality: Then and Now
Sherry L. Courtland........................................................ 407

Making Decennial Census Data Available
Paul T. Zeisset..................................................419

The Challenge of Census Taking in Developing Countries
Robert R. Bair and Barbara Boyle Torrey ................................. 433

Contributors ...........................................................453

Forthcoming......................................................... 455

Index for Volume 2 ............................................... 457

Increasing Reliance on the Decennial Census
JOHN G. KEANE

Comparatively few people realize the scope and significance of the Census Bureau and its most important program--the decennial census. Only when a nation is denied its population census is that nation likely to understand the true worth of such a census. Sprinkled with examples, this article provides a descriptive perspective on the decennial census and spans the major uses of decennial data.

A decennial census is vital to civilized society if it is to comport itself on some national basis. This article explores the how and why of that assertion.

Historical Perspectives on the Decennial Census
THEODORE G. CLEMENCE

A brief review of the American census begins with the framers of the Constitution assembled in Philadelphia in 1787. When the delegates agreed on State representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House, they wrote a census clause into the Constitution to ensure periodic adjustments. During the nineteenth century, the volume of census questions increased dramatically, provoking criticisms of census accuracy and calls for a permanent Census Bureau, established in 1902. In recent times, major innovations in census work have improved accuracy and timeliness, along with more popular interest in the enumeration. For the 1980 census, many people wanted to help set the stage for the census, and most people want to be counted, continuing the best traditions of 200 years.

Plans For and Issues Facing the
1990 Decennial Census
PETER A. BOUNPANE

Planning for the 1990 census has been underway for some time and many important decisions must be made in the near future. In making these decisions, the Census Bureau will be guided by six criteria or goals, which are described in this article. The article also discusses current Census Bureau thinking in several specific areas: (1) automation, which is the key to completing the census in a timely manner; (2) basic methodology, which will likely be-possibly with modifications-the mail-out/mail- back method used in the 1980 census; and (3) content, where the Census Bureau's challenge is to balance the needs for data against the need to keep questionnaire length reasonable. Other issues discussed are personnel management, outreach and publicity, and adjustment and coverage improvement. The article also describes the process the Census Bureau is using to get ideas to plan the census.

Drawing the Lines--By the Numbers:
The Statistical Foundations of the Electoral Process
PENELOPE E. HARVISON
ROBERT C. SPEAKER
MARSHALL L. TURNER, JR.

T'he Constitution establishes that the apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives shall be based upon an enumeration of the population. Every 10 years, the Bureau of the Census conducts that enumeration, and using the Method of Equal Proportions designated by the Congress, furnishes to the President the number of Representatives to which each state is entitled. "Rules of residence" have been developed to determine who should be counted and where persons should be counted in the census. Following the 1970 census, because of the Supreme Cotul's decisions requiring population equality in districts used for electoral purposes, census data became vital to the redistricting processes carried out by the individual states. The Congress enacted Public Law 94-171 which authorized the Bureau of the Census to make special preparations for the provision of redistricting data needed by the 50 states. The 1980 program established by the Census Bureau enabled state redistricting to be accomplished far more smoothly than in the 1970s. The Census Bureau is already working with the states on its 1990 program, an essential element of which is based upon its plan to provide block data for the entire country.

Census Confidentiality:
Then and Now
SHERRY L. COURTLAND

The Census Bureau protects the confidentiality of census records with fervent adherence to the law and with sensitivity to public opinion. Within this framework, the Bureau uses advanced technology to store, transmit, and tabulate data. Because of the responsible manner in which the Bureau applies the new technology, no history of computer abuses exists in connection with the decennial censuses. Our intent in planning the upcoming census is to keep that record intact. This article describes how the agency assures the confidentiality of census information and what it knows about the public's perception of census confidentiality.

Making Decennial Census Data Available
PAUL T. ZEISSET

Data from the 1980 census were published in printed reports, computer tape files, and microfiche. This article discusses the various attributes of these media, how they came into their current forms, and the mechanisms in place to help these products reach the people who need them. The article closes with some speculations as to what may be in store for users of data from the 1990 census.

The Challenge of Census Taking
in Developing Countries
ROBERT R. BAIR
BARBARA BOYLE TORREY

Census taking is a special challenge in the developing countries of the world. The collection of census data varies considerably depending on the conditions of the country. Data processing, however, requires similar technologies around the world. Fortunately, new and inexpensive technologies being developed by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and discussed in this article will help many third world countries meet these challenges in the 1990s.

Contributors

Robert R. Bair is Senior ADP Management Consultant under contract with the office of the Assistant Director for International Programs. He has been a Census Bureau employee for many years and has extensive experience designing and implementing computer information systems for statistical offices in developing countries.

Peter A. Bounpane joined the Census Bureau in 1965 following his graduation from Georgetown University. He served as Assistant Chief of the Statistical Methods Division, Senior Demographic Advisor, and Chief of the Decennial Planning Division prior to his current position.

Theodore G. Clemence joined the Census Bureau in 1959. He completed his undergraduate work and received his B.A. from Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 1956, and his M.A. in Demography from Brown University in 1959. As a staff member in the Office of the Director for the past 13 years, he has performed assignments for five Directors and three Deputy Directors.

Sherry L. Courtland heads the Census Bureau's Program and Policy Development Office. She holds a B.A. in psychology from Pennsylvania State University and has done graduate work in demography at Georgetown University. She has been a statistician with the Census Bureau for 19 years and is participating in her third decennial census.

Honorable Robert Garcia was elected in 1978 to the U.S. House of Representatives from the 18th Congressional District of New York. As a member of the Post Office and Civil Service Committee, he chaired the Census and Population Subcommittee during the 1980 census, and also now chairs this subcommittee, which has oversight responsibility for the 1990 census. He also is a member of the Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs Conunittee.

Penelope E. Harvison holds a Master's Degree from Georgetown University, was a Congressional staff member for a number of years, and was active in state and local politics. She joined the Bureau of the Census in 1970 and, following ten years as Congressional Liaison Officer, is presently Senior Planning Policy Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Director for Demographic Censuses.

President Reagan nominated John G. Keane as Director, Bureau of the Census on November 16, 1983. The Senate confirmed him the following March 8. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor swore him in as the 17th Director on March 20, 1984. Before joining the Census Bureau, Dr. Keane was president of Managing Change, Inc., of Barrington, Illinois. He founded this strategic counseling firm in 1972. Prior management positions were with such diverse corporations as Booz, Allen & Hamilton, J. Walter Thompson, and U.S. Steel.

Robert C. Speaker received his B.A. from Miami University of Ohio and joined the Bureau of the Census in 1964. He is presently Chief of the Population Distribution Branch of the Population Division which has responsibility for the general area of residence rules and Congressional apportionment. Other Branch responsibilities include technical planning and developmental work pertaining to the collection, compilation, and analysis of statistics related to the geographic distribution of the population.

Barbara Boyle Torrey is the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Director for International Programs. She is an economist who has worked and lived in several developing countries.

Marshall L. Turner Jr is Assistant Chief of the Census Bureau's Data User Services Division. An honors graduate of the University of North Carolina, he joined the Bureau in 1965, managed tabulations of 1960 census data, and did sabbatical work in demography from 1967 to 1968. As Assistant Chief of the Decennial Census Division, he coordinated development of the 1980 census questionnaires. Mr. Turner has served as liaison with state legislatures concerning data for redistricting since 1969.

Paul T. Zeisset is Assistant Chief of the Data User Services Division of the Census Bureau. During his career, Mr. Zeisset has played a key role in the development of reference materials on the 1970 and 1980 censuses, the design of census data products, the development of policy on statistical disclosure, and other data dissemination and marketing activities. Best known as architect of the 1970 and 1980 public-use microdata samples, Mr. Zeisset recently designed the Bureau's first major data products on floppy disk.