2006 Census of Population and Housing – Output Strategy Siu-Ming Tam IMODBC, the Hague, 5-9 September 2005

What am I going to cover? A brief overview of the Census output strategy A demonstration of the Census Community Data and Table Build(time permitting) My main contention is: . Need to design our website and web based products and services to maximise communication . This talk will outline principles and strategies for doing this.

Census Output Strategy Previous census data strategies Small population groups/ area data Community profiles - A highly popular small area data series since 1996 Census -1 to 3 dimensional tables from CDs to States Basic, Expanded, Time series, Ethnicity, Usual Residence etc. profiles CDATA – bundling of profiles, GIS and digital boundaries Communication is defined as the conveyance of information from statisticians to users in such a manner that the messages are understood. Increase use – the primary reason for our existence. If stats are not used then very quickly we become irrelevant Increase informed use – to minimise misuse. This is our mission – informed decision making. Duty of care. Dissemination is a much more inwardly focussed act – our job is done once we published the information. Communication is more outcome focussed – our job is not done until the messages are read and understood.

Review of 2001 Census Outcomes 1,000,00 plus visits 600,000 plus downloads One size fits all or none Difficult paths to data Lack of flexibility to subset profiles Snapshots are very popular Stories about the local area Significant load on ABS to manage diverse range of release platforms – CDROMs, web and paper If there is only one piece of information, need only to be concerned about the selection of content (relevance) and how to present (to maximise communication). If more than one piece, inter relationship between the pieces and how they are structured together (Sklar Design – 3 column is becoming the international standard) To maximum communication, we need to understand how the mind comprehends information. We have undertaken research into cog psychology literature, and have developed design principles and strategies. Our research suggests that “Hos” has three crucial components.

Proposed 2006 Census strategy User consultations Preliminary views on strategy Preliminary views on content State/Territory seminars Internet is the principal release platform Increase flexibility for download profiles Selecting subsets of profiles Selecting data via topics On line slicing and dicing of data cubes Self helped customised table generation service – Table Build CDROMs to be redeveloped as web products Whilst our theory is of general applicability, bear in mind two special issues when we design for web communication. . On screen reading – a lot of skim reading, and hence satisficing. Eyes get tired easily. No cues on the physical size of the documents. Eg to come later. Non-linearity (through doclinks) . Diverse range of users – tourists, miners and harvesters. Need to cater for all needs.

Detailed Area Data Areas can be located by: Typing in an address, using the geographic hierarchy, using the map…

Detailed Area Data - search Areas can be located by typing in a street address or area name…

Detailed Area Data - hierarchy The geographic can be expanded by clicking on the arrows, as the areas are selected they are shown in the map…

Detailed Area Data - map Areas can also be selected from the map. Low levels of geography can be shown to assist with location...

Detailed Area Data – select table Tables can be selected via a Topic or Word Search…

Detailed Area Data – Table loaded The table is loaded for the areas selected…

Detailed Area Data – Change table Dimensions can be collapsed and variable removed/added or grouped…

Detailed Area Data – Totals and persents Calculation can be added to the table…

Detailed Area Data – Charts The table can be graphed…

Detailed Area Data – Maps The table can be mapped – this is equal distribution mapping…

Detailed Area Data – Maps The table can be mapped – this is equal division mapping…

Detailed Area Data – ColourVIEW For the people who live in the area selected, are their any relationships between peoples age and country of birth?

Detailed Area Data – ColourVIEW ColurVIEW shows the strength of the relationships between variables in a table. The RED cells show a very strong positive relationship…

Table Builder Online access to Census micro data

Table Builder – Full micro data access Household and person records are available. User simple select the fields they wish to use…

Table Builder – select any variables We can select all the Labour Force Status values and add them to the table…

Table Builder – add variables to the table Sex can be added to the column…

Table Builder – select specific values Never married and Now married from the Marital Status field can be added to the columns…

Table Builder – re-arrange table The table can be re-arranged by dragging and dropping…

Questions?