Implicazioni tecnologiche delle innovazioni censuarie

1
An online system for multi-channel,
register-based census data collection
Giuseppe Sindoni, Istat, Italy
2
Italian Census 2011 organization context

• European regulation
• N. 763/2008, 09/07/2008
• Variables and classifications
• Deadline for data delivery
• 1 April 2014

3
Whats new for the 2011 Population Census?

• Use of street numbers in field operations
• Business and household geocoding to the census
  tract
• Use of administrative archives
• New questionnaire delivery process
• Personalised questionnaires
• Mail out
• New methods and survey techniques
• Census areas
• Short and long form
• Multi-channel collection
• Flexible organisation network
• Downsized municipal front-office gt Stronger
  back-office
• Population-based differentiation
• Enumerator guidance

4
Census pilot

• Started 25 October 2009
• Stratified sample
• 31 municipalities
• About 80,000 households
• About 195,000 people
• 6 survey schemes to be tested on different types
  of municipalities

5
This presentation

• Architecture of the web-based collection and
  management system
• Technical characteristics
• The online questionnaire
• The Census Management System

6
System architecture
7
On line questionnaire main features

• Generalized system for questionnaire structure
  definition
• Web application framework
• Implements rule-based validation, both client and
  server side
• Java script and server-side based customization
• Platform independent

8
The management and monitoring system

• Aimed at simplifying back-office work
• Needed to
• manage the day-to-day work of enumerators
• monitor multi-channel data collection

9
Management system access modes

• Access through a web site
• Access management allows to define user profiles
  with authorizations depending on user tasks, also
  by territorial level
• Each user will be given a role, that is a set of
  allowed functions

10
Management system users

• ISTAT Central and Regional officers
• Census organizations Municipal Census Back
  Office, coordinators and enumerators
• Other organizations e.g. the company in charge
  of printing and mailing questionnaires

11
Management and monitoring system main functions

• Census tract status
• Summary reports
• Operator management
• Questionnaire management
• Documentation

12
Suppressed
Suppressed
13
Technical features

• Three layer architecture
• RDBMS - application server - browser
• Model-View-Controller pattern
• Java Enterprise Edition 5
• Servlet Java Server Pages

14

• Final thoughts
• Very difficult to assess the right usability
  issues for the questionnaire
• The pilot will probably provide a lot of feedback
  on user satisfaction, from both households and
  municipal back offices

15
Generalized system for questionnaire structure
definition

• Desktop application
• Interactive editor for section structure,
  questions and fields
• Prerequisite DB to store microdata
• Automatic generation of
• JSP pages
• .jar package

16
Web application framework

• Basic functions to run an on line questionnaire
• User interaction flow control
• Validation rule configuration
• Validation rule execution
• DB interaction

17
Rule-based validation

• Basic validation
• Field format
• Mandatory fields
• Business rules
• Range checks
• Inter-field logical rules
• Client-side validation based on Javascript
• If JS disabled -gt server-side validation

18
Customization

• Java script and server-side based customization
• JSP pages can be customized client-side
• New modules can be added to the web framework

19
Platform independence

• Based on Java and relational technologies
• Runs on any platform where the Tomcat application
  server is available

20
Management system operator management

• The following functions are provided
• Adding and modifying personal information of
  municipal enumerators and coordinators
• Assignment of census tracts to enumerators
• Assignment of enumerators to coordinators
• Assignment of roles to operators
• Monitoring operators activity
• Account management
• Municipal Census Office supervisors can
  autonomously organize their work

21
Management system operator management

• ISTAT will provide Municipal Offices with the
  supervisor/s accounts, which will be enabled to
  all operator management functions
• Each account will be linked to an individual
  operator

22
Management system census tract status

• The following functions are available
• Census tract journal visualization and printing
• Census tract journal update
• Auxiliary form visualization
• Auxiliary form update
• Enumerators daily work can be guided and
  targeted through census tract status control.

23
Management system summary reports

• The following functions are provided
• Visualization of summary reports on collection
  progress at the census tract level of detail
• Monitoring multi-channel collection
• Visualization of aggregated data on collection
  results

24
Management system questionnaire management

• The following functions are provided
• Personal data change visualization
• Individual questionnaire visualization
• Questionnaire or additional individual form print
  
• Postal reception registration
• Monitoring postal delivery status

25
Management system on line documentation

• The following documents will be available
• Survey instructions
• User manual
• FAQ
• Training materials
• ...