Lynn Killick
The census as an information source in public policy-making
Killick, Lynn; Hall, Hazel; Duff, Alistair S; Deakin, Mark
Abstract
This paper provides an assessment of the value of national population censuses as information sources with specific reference to
UK census data and its use in policy-making. Mixed methods were adopted to collect quantitative and qualitative data from two
sources: (1) a content analysis of policy documents, and (2) interviews with policy-makers in Scotland. The findings highlight that
although the general value of the census is recognised, policy-makers are not necessarily closely engaged with the census as a tool
for directing the development and implementation of policy. This is evident, for example in a lack of awareness of proposed changes
to the census, and infrequent deployment of available data. The opportunity to change perceptions among policy-makers, and to
expand the application of census data in public policy, is identified. With a novel focus on the deployment of censuses as sources of
evidence for policy-making that includes the views of policy-makers from both within and beyond government, this work
contributes to an established body of global research on international censuses.
Citation
Killick, L., Hall, H., Duff, A. S., & Deakin, M. (2016). The census as an information source in public policy-making. Journal of Information Science, 42(3), 386-395. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551516628471
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Dec 23, 2015 |
Online Publication Date | Feb 2, 2016 |
Publication Date | 2016-06 |
Deposit Date | Oct 12, 2015 |
Publicly Available Date | Feb 2, 2016 |
Journal | Journal of Information Science |
Print ISSN | 0165-5515 |
Electronic ISSN | 1741-6485 |
Publisher | SAGE Publications |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 42 |
Issue | 3 |
Pages | 386-395 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551516628471 |
Keywords | census; evidence-based policy; population census; public policy; Scotland; social policy; United Kingdom; UK |
Public URL | http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/9156 |
Publisher URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0165551516628471 |
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