The decennial census was the federal government's largest and most complex peacetime operation. This report of a panel of the National Research Council's Committee on National Statistics comprehensively reviews the conduct of the 2000 census and the quality of the resulting data. The panel's findings cover the planning process for 2000, which was marked by an atmosphere of intense controversy about the proposed role of statistical techniques in the census enumeration and possible adjustment for errors in counting the population. The report addresses the success and problems of major innovations in census operations, the completeness of population coverage in 2000, and the quality of both the basic demographic data collected from all census respondents and the detailed socioeconomic data collected from the census long-form sample (about one-sixth of the population). The panel draws comparisons with the 1990 experience and recommends improvements in the planning process and design for 2010. The 2000 Census: Counting Under Adversity will be an invaluable resource for users of the 2000 data and for policymakers and census planners. It provides a trove of information about the issues that have fueled debate about the census process and about the operations and quality of the nation's twenty-second decennial enumeration.


Table of Contents


Front Matter
Executive Summary
1 Introduction and Overview
2 Census Goals and Uses
3 The Road to 2000
4 Assessment of 2000 Census Operations
5 Coverage Evaluation: Methods and Background
6 The 2000 Coverage Evaluation Program
7 Assessment of Basic and Long-Form-Sample Data
8 Race and Ethnicity Measurement
9 Management and Research
10 Detailed Findings and Recommendations
Appendix A: Panel Activities and Prior Reports
Appendix B: Questionnaire Items on the 2000 and 1990 Censuses and
Census 2000 Supplementary Survey
Appendix C: Census Operations
Appendix D: Completeness of Census Returns
Appendix E: A.C.E. Operations
Appendix F: Methods for Treating Missing Data
Appendix G: 2000 Census Basic (Complete-Count) Data Processing
Appendix H: 2000 Census Long-Form-Sample Data Processing
Appendix I: Census 2000 Evaluations and Experiments
Glossary and Abbreviations
Bibliography
Biographical Sketches of Panel Members and Staff
Index to Chapters 1-10