Advantage and Disadvantages of Census - Paper Sample

Introduction

Census is the practice where the questionnaires are sent to collect data and count the number of people and properties within a period. Many countries around the world do involve in the census at a particular point in time. Census is mainly carried out based on a given interval of years. For most countries, the census is carried out every ten years. Census in the United States is a command by Article one, section two of their constitution, and it is practised after every ten years. The data collected by the census govern the number of seats which is held in the United States.

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Citizens of the United States are very strict concerning the census, and their participation in the census is compulsory. In case someone refuses to complete the practice of census, penalties are applied because everybody is expected to be cooperative and complete the census. When everyone completes this practice, it will be advantageous to them because, for example, when the country is offering some help, it will estimate the number of people in the United States. Everybody will receive the offer without any miscalculation. Census has both merits and demerits, and therefore, the discussion in this research will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of the census in the United States.

Advantages of Census in the United States

Census is essential to citizens of the United States because it tells them who they are and where they are going to as the nation. Resources allocation is the critical role of the government. In this regard, the census helps the communities of the United States to quickly determine where to build structures, for example, from schools to market, and from home to hospitals. As a result of that, it helps the US government to decide on how to distribute resources to the citizens of the United States. Public resources are of the essence to the citizens of any nation, and through having census, the government understand the given available resources to benefit the public.

Usually, the census is the most accurate procedure of counting of country's population on which authorized planning can be founded upon. Therefore, the citizens of the United States are practising census frequently so that they will get an accurate population of their country to enhance planning for the government which directly or indirectly benefits the citizens. The direct benefits to the citizens are evident from the development of amenities such as urban centres that allows the citizens to run a business which finally earns income to sustain the family.

Census also is an excellent procedure for collecting data because it captures a wide range of United States population statistics and characteristics (Bell, Arrington, & Adams, 2015). Census can be done in a wide range within a short period since many people can be hired to practice census because it does not need any experience. One is only needed to know how to count and know how to socialize with the people you meet with them. The quicker process of census enables the United States government to understand the behaviours of its citizens with ease within a short period.

The United States uses the system to capture the data in the census. After they complete the counting, they convert the data obtained in the census to a set-up that computers can interpret easily. The United States has remained to be an advanced country because it has discovered how to capture data efficiently, which in many countries, they are still facing many challenges on how to cope up with these technologies. One of the cause is that they lack good preparation or even sufficient knowledge on how to avoid numerous drawbacks that are faced during the census.

Census has a broader coverage on United States population like other variables, for example, housing, revenue, and hygiene. In the past years, the United States distributed a series of worldwide principles and commendations on population and housing census so that could support national statistical offices and also assist officials of census all over the world. The housing census, for instance, was issued in the year 1958 because the statistical commission of the United States requested it. The process was necessary simply because the statistical commission need a response on how to develop intercontinental standards and the foundation of the world population and housing census program.

Disadvantages of Census in the United States

Just like any other process, the census as well is faced with some limitations. The challenges that come from the census do vary from one country to another. Unites States is one of the countries that do experience some of the census challenges. The census is very expensive to the US government because some of the census cost keeps increasing because of the growth of the country. The population of the United States is substantial, and so it is very costly, unlike other countries that have a small population. The cost of the census is directly proportional to the size of the population. In this case, the US government usually spend more funds to ensure a successful census process.

The cost of census mainly depends on the expenditures of conveying questionnaires to a household or having an appointment of having a housing component; it is realistic to recount cost growth to the rise in the sum of housing units relatively than to populace growth. When the housing unit is increased, the cost increases. The cost of the census is affected mostly by increasing authorized demands for correct small data. In most cases, large populations are costly because many questionnaires have to be employed, and this requires a lot of money.

The efforts made in surveying the population's size in the United States are too costly as many funds need to be invested by population surveyors conducting counts of people in the United States. Many computers will as well be needed to enhance the accuracy of the data collected. The computers are some of the electronics that are expensive and the numbers of computers required increase, the cost also increases (Watts et al., 2017).

Moreover, the large geographical area of the United States that needs to be covered by population surveyors makes the spending in the census to be too high as high transport cost used in travelling activities are incurred. Also, the electronics used in collecting and keeping the collected data are very expensive as making the spending in the census to be too costly as such machines need to be afforded to be used during the collection of population data.

Census operations are time-wasting. Conductions of total counts of people living in the United States seem time-consuming as many tasks need to be done by census agents. For example, the counts are based on a person per person strategically aged over hundred years and below, couples and those who have established families together with their kids and adults who have no relationship, employees, and settlements and related factors need to be recorded despite the fact that the operations might take longer time while collecting the related data.

Conclusion

Census results are sometimes biased. The feedback from the population survey and total counts of people living in the United States can be inaccurate as errors can occur when the census recorded data are being summed and entered into electronics like computers for easy reference and access by ordinary citizens. The inaccuracy may also occur when during processing and analyzing the population data as a result of human errors like failure to count all people as some people have no specific homes as they live in streets.

References

Bell, N., Arrington, A., & Adams, S. A. (2015). Census-based socioeconomic indicators for monitoring injury causes in the USA: a review. Injury Prevention, 21(4), 278-284.

Watts, N., Adger, W. N., Ayeb-Karlsson, S., Bai, Y., Byass, P., Campbell-Lendrum, D., ... & Depoux, A. (2017). The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change. The Lancet, 389(10074), 1151-1164.