MODERNIZING THE SINGAPORE CENSUS

Abstract

The cost of conducting a Population Census and the timeliness of data release are issues that are of prime concern to the government and data users. An introduction to the topic of this thesis and its aim are given in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, the possibility of collecting census data via mail questionnaires is suggested, since it is probably the cheapest way to do so. Further, with rapid developments in information technology, much can be reaped from making use of various related innovations in collecting census data. Thus, we want to examine the usage of telephones and the Internet to help in completing the count. The administrative records census, an entirely new approach of conducting the decennial census, is already being used in several countries, with Denmark being the leader. In Chapter 3, we will discuss the possibility of applying this census taking methodology in Singapore in the near future. The post-enumeration survey was planned and carried out as an integral part of the census operations for the first time in the 1970 Population Census. Its purpose was to provide an independent means of assessing the coverage of the census and the quality of information collected. In Chapter 4, there will be a further discussion on this topic, with suggestions of ways to improve on the quality of such a survey. Finally, we round up the discussion with some concluding remarks in Chapter 5.