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Assessing the 2020 Census Final Report (2023) / Chapter Skim
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Abstract
Pages 1-4

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From page 1...
... The Census Bureau successfully carried out a census under exceptionally difficult circumstances not only because of the hard work of its staff, but also because it had honed its development efforts for 2020 on a small number of innovation areas. These key innovations were enabling self-response via the internet, shifting most precensus Address Canvassing work from field visits to in-office review of imagery and other data, reengineering field management and case handling systems, and permitting the use of administrative records data to provide enumerations for some nonresponding households.
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From page 2...
... Moreover, lingering questions about both the simulated database reconstruction attack that motivated the new DAS and the degree of confidentiality protection that was ultimately realized through final parameter settings have arguably harmed 2020 Census data products, some of which are not set to be released until late 2024, and the reputation of the Census Bureau. Envisioning the 2030 Census and beyond, we echo the general guidance of previous National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine panels: to effect major change in census conduct, the Census Bureau should focus its primary attention on a small and manageable number of major innovation areas and pursue a rigorous program of testing and systems development to address them.
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From page 3...
... That movement, if desired, is a much longer-term proposition for which the research, evidentiary, and legal base must be carefully developed. In the panel's judgment, goals and designs for the 2030 Census should be developed in true partnership with census data users and the myriad community of stakeholders and state, local, tribal, and federal government partners that make the census the vital, grand civic ceremony that it is.
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Key Terms

  • census bureau
  • data products
  • confidentiality protection
  • population census
  • census production

  • census planning
  • census approached
  • resulting census
  • census context
  • census amidst

  • census conduct
  • database reconstruction
  • late stages
  • nonresponding households
  • including reduction

  • unceasing array
  • provide enumerations
  • operations due
  • grand civic
  • scope adjustments

  • disclosure avoidance
  • rigorous program
  • adverse conditions
  • difficult circumstances
  • simulated database

  • reconstruction attack
  • proxy reporting
  • records data
  • successfully carried
  • major change


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