[Measuring accuracy in a post-enumeration survey].

Area of Science:

• Demographic research
• Survey methodology
• Statistical analysis

Background:

• Accurate census coverage is crucial for fair representation and resource allocation.
• The U.S. Census Bureau historically uses post-enumeration surveys (PES) to assess census completeness.
• Previous PES methods faced challenges in achieving desired accuracy levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate novel procedures for the 1990 Decennial Census post-enumeration survey.
• To enhance the overall accuracy and reliability of census coverage measurement.
• To detail error categories and evaluation techniques for PES.

Main Methods:

• Development and testing of new survey procedures for the 1990 Decennial Census PES.
• Analysis of error types inherent in post-enumeration surveys.
• Implementation of evaluation methods to assess the accuracy of survey results.
• Application of these methods in a recent test post-enumeration survey.

Main Results:

• The paper details the newly developed procedures for the 1990 Decennial Census PES.
• It outlines methods for identifying and evaluating sources of error within the survey.
• The effectiveness of the new methods was demonstrated through a test survey.

Conclusions:

• The revised post-enumeration survey methods are designed to improve the accuracy of 1990 Decennial Census coverage measurement.
• Rigorous evaluation techniques are essential for validating PES results.
• The tested procedures represent advancements in census data quality assessment.