Date: 21 June 2009
The pilot census, started on May 10, was completed successfully on June 10, as part of the preparation for the country’s General Census of Population, Housing and Establishments to be conducted in April 2010.
Senior official at QSA said the pilot census covered four municipalities, namely Doha, Al Rayyan, Al Wakra and Umm Slal. The field assignments include enumeration of buildings, identification of housing units, households and establishments, and enumeration of establishments. "During the field works, pilot census enumerators visited residents in the said municipalities and collected data on family status, demographic, social and economic characteristics", the official said.
According to the officials, new methodology (personal digital assistant - PDA), known as palmtop computer, was introduced for the first time in the history of census taking in Qatar to collect and capture data. This method will ensure data validation and quick delivery of results.
QSA official said that a group of researchers and enumerators involved in the census enrolled in intensive training programme before the field assignments of the pilot census to help the authority achieve effective results. The working group consists of 41 researchers (inspectors, supervisors and enumerators) working under close supervision of experts and specialists.
"The pilot census plays an important role in testing different equipment and tools used for data collection during the pilot census", the official said. He added that the pilot census is useful experience and the authority will benefit from the information collected in designing final version of questionnaires according to international recommendations.
The QSA praised the effective cooperation and support of families and individuals during the pilot census and their positive response to the enumerators, which has greatly facilitated their field assignments that focused on collecting required data.
"The success achieved during the pilot census will help QSA to move forward in its preparation for Qatar's General Census of Population, Housing and Establishments to be conducted in April 2010, which coincides the GCC member states" , said the official.
