Census Publication of Results
Conducting a Census: Publication of Results
Note: See Census Conducting.U.S. and Canadian censuses publish only general statistical information and keep individual responses confidential. By law, the U.S. Census Bureau and Statistics Canada are prohibited from releasing individual responses to any other government agency or to any individual or business. Census workers in both countries must swear under oath that they will keep individual responses confidential. Employees who violate this policy face a monetary fine and possible prison term. If an individual’s personal data were not kept confidential, people might refuse to participate in the census for fear that their personal information would be made public or used by the government to track their activities. In the United States, individual census responses are stored at the National Archives. After 72 years, the original forms are declassified and opened to the public. These original responses are frequently used by people researching the history of their families or constructing genealogies. In Canada, census responses from 1906 and later are stored at Statistics Canada. Microfilmed records of census responses from 1901 and earlier are stored at the National Archives of Canada; these are the only individual census responses currently available for public use.
Until the 1980s, census agencies published their results in large volumes of numeric tables-sometimes numbering in the hundreds of volumes. Today, the majority of census data is distributed electronically, either through the Internet or on CD-ROM, diskette, or magnetic tape. The Web sites of the U.S. Census Bureau and Statistics Canada provide online access to hundreds of statistical publications and data sets. The U.S. Census Bureau planned to disseminate results from the 2000 population census primarily via its Internet site. Both the U.S. Census Bureau and Statistics Canada continue to distribute printed publications for the most commonly requested demographic information. The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published annually by the Census Bureau, is an important statistical compendium on the social, political, and economic aspects of life in the United States. This publication includes data from decennial censuses as well as from other sources, such as surveys taken between censuses. Statistics Canada publishes a similar annual volume on Canadian statistics called the Canadian Year Book. (1)
Census
- Census
- Census Information
- Census Conducting
- Census Planning
- Census Information Collection
- Census Processing and Analysis of Data
- Census Publication of Results
- Census in the U.S.
- U.S. Censuses Origins
- U.S. Early Censuses
- United States: Censuses Breakthroughs in Automation
- Modern Censuses in the United States
- Census in Canada
- Early Censuses in Canada
- Modern Censuses in Canada
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