Application of Information Application of Information Technology in the 2011 Technology in the 2011 Population Census of Population Census of Macao, ChinaMacao, China

Government of Macao Special Administrative Region

Statistics and Census Service

2011 Population Census2011 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 collectionData collection

Short form:Paper-based questionnaires, scanned and

recognized at each work branchWeb-based e-questionnaire

Long form: Interactive enumeration software system

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

E-questionnaireE-questionnaire

Immediate validation Submission through SSL encryption 9% of the building units using e

questionnaire for data submission

Benefits: e-questionnaireBenefits: e-questionnaire

At the convenience of households No more time restriction Higher response rate Better data quality

Use of tablet PCUse of tablet PC

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

Tablet PC: hardwareTablet 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 subsystemsIntegration of the subsystems

Private network

Internet

DSEC LAN

人口普查的專頁及網上填報伺服器

分站01

人口普查資料庫伺服器

分站02

分站14

. . .

Primary database server

CATI centre

Branch 01

Branch 02

Branch 13

Web server fore-questionnaire

SMS dispatch server

IT equipment and network structure - Headquarter

Private network

彩色打印機 黑白打印機

工作站

掃描器工作站

Storage server

Application serverOCR recognition

Uninterrupted power supply

Wifi access point

Scanning workstations

Workstations

Color printer B&W printer

IT equipment and network structure - Branches

Tablet PC

Test data for demo purpose Completed

Partially completed

Could not be contacted

Test data for demo purpose

Test data for demo purpose

Test data for demo purpose

Test data for demo purpose

Test data for demo purpose

Benefits: tablet PCBenefits: 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 PCChallenges: tablet PC

Data security Battery life User interface

Data securityData security

Data at reststored on the tablet PC storage media

Data in transitduring synchronization

Data at restData 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 transitData in transit

From tablet PC to work branchWi-Fi 802.11n WPA2 IPsec/L2TP VPN using digital certificates

From work branch to HQPrivate network infrastructure IPsec VPN tunneling

User interfaceUser 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 disseminationData dissemination

Printed reports Digital reports Geographic Information System (GIS)

Future developmentFuture development

Possibility of full time connectivityReduce use of SMSSpeed up notificationsTwo-way communications

Broader use of tablet PC In other surveys

Devices of other form factors