• by Charlene Weisler , Op-Ed Contributor, March 31, 2021

As someone who is conducting genealogical research, I am aware of the discrepancies in past census records. Further, with the focus on the accuracy of recent political polls and the politicization of the recent census, especially during the pandemic, I was curious to know how challenging the data collection process was for a census taker. 

Steve Edgeller, who has worked with population data in his career, appreciates the importance of having a comprehensive and reliable census base for population/household demographics to inform his work in urban development. He was committed to working the census because, he explained, “Running my own business gave me the flexibility to work afternoons, evenings and weekends, which were the ideal times to catch people on their doorstep. The census period only lasted a couple of months, which gave me the opportunity to make some pocket money ($20 an hour).”

Charlene Weisler: Was this your first time working the census?

Steve Edgeller: This was my first time, but a lot of my co-workers in the field were doing it for the second, third or fourth times, some well beyond their normal retirement age.

Weisler: Where did you work --  what state, areas, etc.?

Edgeller: Most of my casework was located within half an hour drive from home in northern New Jersey, some in my own street!  I did need a car to get to the locations, and in most cases, to drive to the next address -- which weren’t always next to each other. Some of my co-workers in city centers managed to do theirs on foot or by bus, especially when they were surveying whole apartment blocks at once.

As the census deadline approached, however, we were offered the chance to work out of state, and I joined a group of around 30 people who were flown from New York to Columbus, Georgia where there was a massive undercount that they needed to resolve. We spent three weeks in a hotel with rental cars, taking it from around 20% response up to nearly 80% response.

Weisler: What were you asked to do, and how difficult was it to achieve at this time?

Edgeller: The job entailed knocking at predetermined addresses, where there had been no response received to date, and asking a household member to complete the full survey with me. I asked the questions and entered the answers straight into a smartphone app. They equipped me with an iPhone and language identification cards to use if English was not the first language.

A simple survey could be completed in a couple of minutes, but it took a lot longer if there were more occupiers, children, relatives etc. -- sometimes 15 minutes or more.

Weisler:  What data did you need to collect?          

Edgeller: The data collection was straightforward: name, date of birth, origin/race and relationship to other members of the household. There was a follow-up survey in some cases which went into employment, income, disability etc., although I wasn’t involved with that stage.

Weisler:  How did COVID-19 impact your work -- or not?

Edgeller: The pandemic delayed the start of enumeration while new protocols were developed. It was a 100% no-contact process though, and we were required to wear a mask at all times. We certainly couldn’t let respondents enter their names/data into the smartphone app, and it often took some time to ensure correct spelling.

They did trial the option of enumerating by telephone, but this didn’t work, as the numbers we were given were never accurate or up-to-date.

Weisler:  Did you see a pattern as to who cooperates and who doesn't? If so, what was the pattern?

Edgeller: I found on average that 50% of respondents were open and willing, or even insistent to ensure the survey was completed. The other 50% either didn’t answer (when you knew someone was home) or would refuse, often forcefully or with prejudice. The patterns weren’t related to age, gender, race or income, and I had some heartwarming interviews with busy single parents, people with very limited English and the elderly. 

In others, there was deep distrust of the process, the government or just people’s civil liberty.  Some people were polite and said they had already completed the survey (when I suspected they hadn’t) but others were extraordinarily rude or confrontational.

We were encouraged to mark these respondents as dangerous to avoid repeated encounters by future enumerators.  Some of my co-workers were threatened with guns.

Weisler:  Do you think you were able to get truthful responses from people?

Edgeller: There were some people who were clearly reluctant to explain how many household members were staying there, particularly if they might not have been lawful residents. On the whole, if someone was going to submit to the questions, they seemed to give truthful responses usually without hesitation.

Weisler:  Do you think that you were able to achieve the most accurate information for an accurate census?

Edgeller: It wasn’t always easy to ensure information was 100% accurate, as people sometimes skipped family members if they thought there were too many to list. We were encouraged to at least record the total number of occupiers, even if someone refused to give names and ages etc.  Sometimes it could be difficult to complete the survey if somebody had moved since the census date (1st April 2020).

Fortunately, I had a lot of single-family addresses which were easy to enumerate, but some of my co-workers had multifamily apartment blocks or even areas with a significant homeless population.

It was very difficult to get into gated communities or secure apartment blocks without speaking to a superintendent or building manager.