People polled during early research into the possibility of adding of an online channel to the 2011 census were overwhelmingly positive, says Statistics SA.
However, more research needs to be done before a firm decision can be taken.
The state-owned entity has done two sets of research. The first saw a questionnaire posted on its Web site and subscribers to its newsletters were invited to participate. The second saw attendants of workshops, conducted around the country, polled on their thoughts.
"The response to the idea of an online option was really positive. We received 1 194 responses to our online questionnaire, of which 97% said they would be willing to complete the census questionnaire online. Through our national workshops, we received 425 responses and 90% of those said they would use the online option," says Stats SA marketing manager Nireen Naidoo.
Only 6.7% of respondents to Stats SA`s research efforts said they did not have Internet access. Some 28.8% said they had access at home, 53.8% at work, 5.9% at a school or college, 2.8% at an Internet caf'e and 2.2% said they had access to the Internet elsewhere.
International adoption
Naidoo says the agency has been gathering input from other countries.
"We are looking at how Australia, New Zealand and Canada conducted the online portions of their censuses, the challenges they faced, the results they received and lessons learnt. The information has been very interesting and is giving us guidance on how best to structure our efforts," she explains.
Australia`s 2006 census saw 9% of households use its online option and produce higher data quality. However, Stats SA says it is mindful that the improvement in quality may have been due to the socioeconomic status of these respondents. Australia also saw the costs of the census increase as it chose to distribute the paper questionnaire to all households.
Canada targeted an Internet response rate of 20%. Although 22% of the initial response to the census was via the Internet, only 18% of respondents actually used the online channel to deliver their forms. Like Australia, the quality of its Internet-delivered content was higher than its paper response.
However, Canada was able to access savings on the cost of the census through not mailing paper questionnaires.
Looking local
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says the inclusion of an online response option to SA`s 2011 census is a great idea, but will require significant investment in citizen confidence-building.
"Providing an Internet channel is an excellent way of reaching those upper-income groups who commonly hide behind high walls and gates. However, Stats SA will still need to address the tremendous resistance to sharing personal information online. Security will be a major issue - not on the implementation side, but rather persuading people that the security measure implemented are adequate," he explains.
Another aspect Stats SA will have to consider is the country`s Internet penetration rate.
Last year, World Wide Worx`s Internet access report suggested around 3.7 million South Africans had access to the Internet. The 2007 report, due to be released next month, is expected to reveal this number has increased less than 3%, says Goldstuck.
Last year, Stats SA estimated the country`s population was approximately 47.4 million. If SA`s Internet penetration rate increases at around 3% per year, by 2011 it still will not have reached 10% of SA`s total population.
Naidoo admits Stats SA has "no idea" how many people will make use of the online channel, but says the organisation is positive about any technology that can improve its reach and data quality.
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