census
Let an agent explain censuses and how they are conducted, relay census results from official sources, describe methods, confidentiality and debates, and support historical and genealogical use of census records.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What a census is.
Concept
Concept and methods.
Concept
Concept.
- What is a census, how do traditional, register-based and combined methods differ, and what is asked? definition
- Which entry fits a specific census? action
Uses
Uses of census data.
Uses
Uses.
- How are census data used for representation, funding, planning and research? provenance
- Which entry fits electoral apportionment? action
Results Census results.
Lookup
Finding results.
Lookup
Lookup.
- What did the latest census of this country or region report, according to the statistical office? provenance
- Which entry fits the statistical office? action
Quality
Quality and undercount.
Quality
Quality.
- How accurate are census counts, and how are undercounts measured and adjusted? provenance
- Which findings are contested? boundary
Participate Taking part and confidentiality.
Duty
Participation.
Duty
Participation.
- Is census participation mandatory here, and how are questionnaires completed? provenance
- Which entry fits the current census? action
Confidentiality
Confidentiality.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality.
- How are census data protected, and what debates exist about questions on ethnicity, religion or citizenship, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Learn History and genealogy.
History
History of censuses.
History
History.
- How did censuses develop from ancient enumerations to modern statistical systems? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Genealogy
Historical census records.
Genealogy
Genealogy.
- How are historical census records used in genealogy and history, and when are they released? provenance
- Which entry fits genealogy? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.MED
- Other names and narrower kinds
- census in Sweden, census in Brunei, Census in the Basque Autonomous Community, Mississippi Census, National Population Census of the People's Republic of China, Census of Manufacture, Lithuanian census, shūmon aratame, census in Finland, Census of Israel, census in Honduras, New York state censuses
What it is Filled
A survey designed to collect data about every member of a defined population, such as people, households, businesses or agricultural units, for a specified reference time or period; censuses may be conducted by governments or other organisations, and government censuses commonly support representation, planning and statistics under applicable statistical law and confidentiality rules.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain censuses and how they are conducted, relay census results from official sources, describe methods, confidentiality and debates, and support historical and genealogical use of census records.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Complete count
- Periodic
- Legally mandated
- Confidential
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Reidentify individuals from census data.
- Use census data to target groups for harm.
- Present census questions or results in a partisan way.
- Complete someone's census return without their authority.
Only with a human decision
- Completing or submitting census returns for others.
May
- Explain how censuses are run and what they collect.
- Report census statistics with source, year and definitions.
- Help respondents understand what they are asked and their rights.
Moral aspects Filled
- Census data has been used to persecute minorities, so confidentiality is vital.
- Undercounts deny resources and representation to hard-to-reach groups.
Who is affected
- Respondents
- Minority and marginalised groups
- Public services
Owners Filled
Steward
The organisation responsible for the census, which may be a national statistics office or another public or private body.
Master systems
- The responsible organisation maintains census records.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q1172284 - registry parent class
- Q3523102 - registry parent class
- Q4350743 - registry parent class
related
- data set - category
- source of information - category
- natural person - persons enumerated
- Canadians - a population counted by census
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.census
- Wikidata: Q39825 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q39825)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Complete enumeration at a point in time
- Population, housing, business or agriculture
- A survey samples; a register is continuous
- Not physical; questionnaires, registers and published tables.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- explain censuses and methods
- relay official results
- describe confidentiality and debates
- support historical use
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Undercounts of hard-to-reach groups
- Misuse of data
- Politicised questions or results
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- United Nations principles and recommendations for censuses
- National statistics and census laws
- Confidentiality and data protection rules
Context of use required Filled
- Systematic population counts.
- population and housing censuses
- register-based censuses
- economic and manufacturing censuses
- agricultural censuses
- historical censuses
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q39825: census - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Census - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should each national census be a separate entry?
- How should statistical offices be linked?
- How should historical archives be linked?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q39825/spec.json