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