Finally caught up! This picture and post every day thing gets somewhat pressure packed. I need to be taking more pictures during the day!

Today was supposed to be mixed rain and snow with a high temperature of 39°. By 8:30 am it was already past the forecast high and they skies were partly cloudy. Good enough for me … and off to the reservation I went. I had a new area available to work on (giving me three assigned areas) so I went there first. I found most people home and was able to call on every house and only have a few callbacks to do in that area. Tomorrow I’ll be working in a different part of the reservation in an area where I’ve just started canvassing.

The Census process is actually rather laborious. I spend about three times as much time on paperwork as I do actually doing the canvassing and filling out the Enumerator Questionnaire (EQ). When I’m assigned an area, I’m given a binder with the information about the area to be canvassed. The binder contains maps (which aren’t very accurate) of the area so I can find where I’m supposed to be working. Some time last year someone else went through the area with a handheld computer and logged the coordinates of each residence. Those became spots on my map with each spot numbered. In the binder is are pages with one line for each map spot with an address (if known … most places on the reservation don’t have an address) and a physical description of the house. Most descriptions are fairly terse, so the computer must not allow much space. They are something like “gray double-wide blue trim”.

Also in the binder is an EQ for each map spot. The label on the EQ identifies the area, the census block, the house identifier and the map spot.

So, my job is to efficiently travel around the area I’m assigned, stop at each house, identify the house to the physical description, match up the map spot, pull out the proper EQ, and then interview someone 15 years of age or older in the house to fill out the EQ.

The EQ is a tri-fold front and back questionnaire, completely scripted. I’m supposed to exactly follow the script which starts as,

“Hello, my name is <insert your name> from the U.S. Census Bureau. Is this <read address from the EQ>?”

And here comes the first problem. Most places on the Reservation have no address, so the first question doesn’t work.

After filling out the questionnaire part of the EQ, then back in the car I fill out additional information on the EQ and make sure that my writing on the EQ conforms to the standard so that the EQ can be optically scanned. Then in the binder I correct any information on the map spot line, and fill out additional information about the house. Then that particular house is complete.

If no one is home, I log on the EQ the date and time I was there. I fill out a “Notice of Visit” form and put it in the door in a way that it can’t be readily seen from the street. We don’t want to tip off any bad guys that the house is unoccupied. There is space on the EQ to log six callbacks. I’m supposed to come back on different days and different times of the day in hopes of finding someone home.

If I can’t get someone home in the six callbacks then I’m supposed to gather as much information about the household from a neighbor. I’ve needed to do that twice so far, but I haven’t been able to get much information from the neighbor other than a couple of names and how many people might be living there.

The work is actually quite interesting. I’ve met a lot of very nice people, most of whom are ready and willing to give me the answers to this very benign questionnaire. This is the data gathered:

• First name, middle initial, and last name of everyone living there
• Relationship of each person to the first person listed
• Sex of each person
• Age and birthdate of each person
• Whether or not each person considers themselves to be Hispanic
• What is each person’s race
• Is the house owned with a mortgage, owned free and clear, rented, or occupied without paying rent
• Telephone number in case followup is needed

The specific data for each household is confidential and will not be released for 72 years. I get reminded often that I’ve also sworn an oath (punishable by a fine up to $240,000 and imprisonment) to keep the information confidential as well and the oath goes for a lifetime.

So, that’s what I’m doing out there on the Reservation!

TTFN!