PAPP102 - S01: Censuses and vital registration

Population registers (cont.)

The advantages and disadvantages of population registers

There are both advantages and disadvantages associated with moving to a population register based systems, rather than having regular, infrequent censuses.

Advantages	Disadvantages
The continuous nature of data collection (or supply) for population registers means that the information available is current, whereas information from decennial censuses may be many years out of date. Population registers can be updated almost instantaneously, meaning that there is no long waiting period for the data to be collated and analysed as there is with decennial censuses. There is a potential for linked records, meaning that (anonymised) individuals can be followed through the life course for research purposes.	The type of data available is determined by the nature of the administrative departments collecting it. On a census, additional questions can be easily added to give data on a specific area of interest. When first established, the quality across different departments or regions may be of uneven quality. Events occurring before the start of registration, or occurring while the individual was abroad, may be excluded. The fact that the record is permanent, follows you through life, and is linked between departments, may be unacceptable to some with concerns of a “Big Brother” style society. There are also concerns regarding the potential for data leaks.

Advantages

Disadvantages

The continuous nature of data collection (or supply) for population registers means that the information available is current, whereas information from decennial censuses may be many years out of date.
Population registers can be updated almost instantaneously, meaning that there is no long waiting period for the data to be collated and analysed as there is with decennial censuses.
There is a potential for linked records, meaning that (anonymised) individuals can be followed through the life course for research purposes.

The type of data available is determined by the nature of the administrative departments collecting it. On a census, additional questions can be easily added to give data on a specific area of interest.
When first established, the quality across different departments or regions may be of uneven quality.
Events occurring before the start of registration, or occurring while the individual was abroad, may be excluded.
The fact that the record is permanent, follows you through life, and is linked between departments, may be unacceptable to some with concerns of a “Big Brother” style society. There are also concerns regarding the potential for data leaks.