QUALITY ASSURANCE OF CENSUS PRODUCTS
User consultation
Decisions about how and what is released from each Census are influenced by feedback from users of Census data. Extensive user consultation is being carried out for the 2006 Census. Feedback from users has indicated they would like more information about data accuracy, consistency, comparability and accessibility; non-response rates; and undercount and overcount measures. Based on this feedback, the ABS has reviewed its methods of providing information on Census data quality and is committed to providing a clear explanation of Census operations. This includes providing general data quality information such as this, and providing at least some basic data quality information such as non-response rates with every table of data on the Internet.
Introduced random adjustment
Individual Census records are confidential. Before Census data are released, small random adjustments are made to allow the maximum amount of detailed Census data possible to be released without breaching confidentiality. Consequently, care should be taken when interpreting cells with small numbers, since randomisation, as well as possible respondent and processing errors, have a greater impact on small cells than on larger cells (see also 'Introduced random error' in the Glossary section).
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