Questionnaires, delivery, completion and return
Planned enumeration methods for the 2011 Census are a mix of new and traditional. Delivery will be by hand or post. Return will be by post, doorstep collection, Internet, and possibly telephone.
In the 2007 Test there was a full enumeration of all households in the selected Enumeration Districts (EDs). EDs are groups of 200-300 addresses. A temporary field force was recruited to carry out the work.
The posting out of questionnaires is a new procedure for the Census Test which, if successful, could be adopted across much of the country in the 2011 Census. One of the key aims of the Test was to assess whether or not the Office for National Statistics (ONS) can send out questionnaires using a postal delivery service.
Posting out can only be successful if ONS has a complete and accurate address register from which to work. Such a list will be used in the Test for both delivery methods because all questionnaires, even those to be delivered by enumerators, will be pre-addressed.
To help ensure that the address register is up to date, ONS carried out an address check between 4 September and 13 October 2006. Trained staff checked approximately 100,000 addresses in the selected EDs to make sure that the addresses on the street matched details on the existing register.
Checkers either called at the address or conducted a visual check, depending on the circumstance. They established which properties were residential (identifying communal establishments separately) and distinguished those that were inhabited, vacant or derelict. The checkers also identified newly-built properties, conversions, shared dwellings and any demolished buildings that could be removed from the register.
