2011 UK Census

The first such topic concerns printed products.

For the 2001 Census a range of printed reports were produced. Most reports containing data involved the Key Statistics set of predefined tables. Supplementary products containing supporting information included the ever popular definitions volume and general report.

From the survey results posted we see that, depending on country of use, between about a fifth and a third of users made use of 2001 Census printed products

Given the increased acceptance and growth in use of online and other electronic media, it is not surprising that these figures show a decline compared to the comparative use of printed products from the 1991 Census.

With the expanding functionality, ease of access, and ease of use exhibited by continuing developments in electronic delivery of all forms, we would expect a further decline in the volume of printed products used and needed from the 2011 Census.

But - we still want to hear your opinions about which are the key products that you would want to see in print, and exactly what form those printed products should be produced, available and delivered in.

So, if you have used printed products in the past, we would like to hear your views about what might be needed for 2011 results.

Printed data products
If we initially concentrate on just the printed products that contained data, here are some things to consider…….

Did you use 2001 printed products?

If so, why did you use printed products in preference to other media? What did you use them for that made the print form the best choice?

Did printed output produced provide what you wanted from a printed product? If not, then what was lacking?

Would you be more interested in printed products if the content were altered or improved? If so, what changes would you want?

Would you be happy to see the scope of printed products reduced in favour of more or new types of electronic media?

Would you prefer an alternative approach to printed products - for example perhaps only a couple of key core volumes supplemented by some form of print on demand service?

To perhaps prompt some opinions, here is a snippet of information from a future detailed results posts - the survey results indicate that almost 40 per cent of users feel that it is not at all important for the Census to produce printed reports of predefined tables that are also produced in other media. Only 6 per cent thought it was very important.

As we said above, a decline in the need for printed products for 2011 compared to 2001 is expected, but 6 per cent seems very low indeed. Do so few users still need printed reports? Does this reflect your view? Let us know.

Printed supporting products
The survey asked a specific question about whether a definitions volume should be produced in print and electronically, or just electronically. As another preview of future detailed results posts - the responses indicated that three out of every four people were happy with only an electronic version.

So, does this match with your views specifically for a printed definitions volume?

Do your views about printed forms of meta data and supporting information products differ from those about products that just contain data?

Let us have all your opinions on this topic, by adding comments on this page, or beginning a discussion in the forum.

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