Producing Maps and Data Files
for the Census

and Post-Census Geographical
Products

Dafna Barak

GIS Division

Tel. 972-2-655 3563

FAX 972-2-655 3531

e-mail: gis@cbs.gov.il

The geographic census products are of two kinds:


	the products for the census field-work, including maps and address files,
	the post census products

The census maps were designed for field work - to assist in covering the entire
population and to support the management and control of the enumerators' work.

Once the basic information for the maps was fed into the GIS and redistricting of
enumeration areas (EA) and sections had been carried out, the map production phase
was implemented.

Two types of computerized maps were produced:

1. Enumeration area maps - for the enumerators

2. Section maps - for the supervisors

General control maps of larger areas, regions and sub-regions, were produced
manually because the GIS system did not include mapping with continuous area
coverage of the entire country, only those localities with over 2,000 inhabitants.
Each locality was held in a separate database, and there was no computerized
mapping of the areas between localities.

1. Enumeration area maps

A map was prepared which described each EA:


	Streets in the EA - were drawn in according to their width, and their names and codes were written in the middle.
	Buildings in the EA - including details of their shape.
	Addresses of each building, facing out onto the street to which they belong.
	Boundaries and names identifying public buildings, public and private parks and other landmarks.
	EA boundary.
	EA number - each EA received a unique 9-digit number, which included the number of the region, sub-region, EA section and a control digit.

	We assumed that the enumerator is unskilled in working with maps, so the maps had to be simple and user-friendly, yet it had to be detailed for orientation purposes.

2. Section maps

These maps were designed for the supervisors and included all the EAs under his
control (5-8 EAs), and were designed to help him plan the work of the enumerators
and supervise them. The map indicates:

all the EAs, including streets and building, but without addresses. The boundary of
EA area was indicated, and its number was written inside the section. Based on this
map the supervisor could verify that all the buildings in his area of control were
enumerated and that there was no overlap between EAs.

Addresses files

After the database had been input into the GIS, and redistricting of localities into
EAs and sections had been completed:


1.	An addresses file was generated for each locality, which included all addresses in the locality and their ascription to their respective EA, section, statistical area, unique ID number in Israel, and coordinates.
2.	The GIS addresses file was linked to the Population Register. This linkage enabled production of a file of individual adhesive labels for those persons living at the addresses within the EA. For each EA, these labels were attached to the questionnaires by the enumerator at the pick-up stage, when they were collected from the homes of the respondents.
3.	The enumerator's work was monitored and controlled by computer. By comparing the file of addresses that had been ascribed to the EA with the Enumerator's Report Book (ERB), it was possible to monitor the pace of the enumerator's work and the rate at which he covered the addresses located within the boundaries of his EA.

Updating map data during the census

The database for the GIS maps, the streets with their names, the buildings with their
addresses and their use definitions, were all examined in the field by the
enumerators and their supervisors.

During the work process, the supervisors and the enumerators were required to
update the maps and indicate in the ERB if any different information was added
(street name or address that had been changed, a building that had been torn down
or whose use was changed), and to add any missing information (a new building, new
street name, etc.).

The census enabled examination and updating of the maps at the building level, using
a comprehensive field survey of the entire national mapping. Following the
completion of the field work, the maps and ERBs were returned to the Bureau, and
the updates in the maps and ERBs were checked manually. A new application was
created which was designed to input the field updates. This new application was
based on the applications that had been used to input the preliminary data. The
updated data was coded separately, indicating the source and the date they were
input. Following the updates input procedure, an addresses file, updated as of the
census, will be newly generated for each locality. Similarly, the GIS addresses file
and the file of addresses from the questionnaires will be linked in order to create
an updated and complete census file, which contains, for each questionnaire, an
address linked to a building with a unique ID number in Israel, and coordinates, so
that the census information can be linked at the level of a single building.

Preparing geographical products from the census data


1.	The census data enable updating of the geographical divisions; therefore, following the census, updated geographical maps will be produced which represent the census data in statutory divisions at the national level - districts and regions, and at the individual locality level - statistical areas, quarters and sub-quarters.
2.	Tables of the data in census publications will be accompanied by thematic maps presenting the main topics taken from the census data in geographical format.
3.	Since the census data were assigned to a building with a specific geographic location, queries can be made on this data based on a variety of aggregates, and can be presented in geographical format.
4.	As part of the process of distribution of the data that was collected in the census and providing the opportunity for various agencies to utilize this information, we can produce a variety of geographical products, - maps and data files in various aggregates as requested by the customer, both internally for units within the Bureau, and externally for entities outside the Bureau.

Producing Maps and Data Files for the Census