Application of Information Technology in the 2011 Population Census of Macao, China Government of Macao Special Administrative Region Statistics and Census Service

2011 Population Census Conducted in August 2011, for the duration of 15 days 13 work branches, distributed geographically A total of around 240,000 building units covered, in which 28,000 using long forms

Data collection Short form:  Paper-based questionnaires, scanned and recognized at each work branch  Web-based e-questionnaire Long form:  Interactive enumeration software system

Application of Information Technology (IT) CATI call centre OCR & marks recognition SMS E-questionnaire Tablet PC

E-questionnaire Immediate validation Submission through SSL encryption 9% of the building units using e­ questionnaire for data submission

Benefits: e-questionnaire At the convenience of households No more time restriction Higher response rate Better data quality

Use of tablet PC Feasibility study started in 2009 Tablet PC processing power Wi-Fi reliability Battery life Data security

Tablet PC: hardware Dual Core low power CPU 10.1” touch screen Solid state storage drive Wi-Fi connectivity 0.97kg weight Battery life is enough for a full work shift

Integration of the subsystems

Test data for demo purpose Completed Partially completed Could not be contacted

Test data for demo purpose

Benefits: tablet PC Improving data quality Facilitating skip pattern of the questionnaire Maps and photos of entrances Tight integration with other subsystems to get up-to-date information (e.g. appointments, remarks) More efficient work and progress monitoring

Challenges: tablet PC Data security Battery life User interface

Data security Data at rest stored on the tablet PC storage media Data in transit during synchronization

Data at rest Login password protection (OS and enumeration system) Basic user privileges for census officers  Use of the enumeration software system  Data synchronization File system level encryption of the local database files Census officers do not have access to the decryption key USB flash drives disabled

Data in transit From tablet PC to work branch  Wi-Fi n WPA2  IPsec/L2TP VPN using digital certificates From work branch to HQ  Private network infrastructure  IPsec VPN tunneling

User interface Colour-coded questions Appropriately distanced buttons for touch operation Touch friendly keyboard Questions grouped in tabs instead of scrolling Experience and feedback from pilot census

Data dissemination Printed reports Digital reports Geographic Information System (GIS)

Future development Possibility of full time connectivity  Reduce use of SMS  Speed up notifications  Two-way communications Broader use of tablet PC  In other surveys Devices of other form factors