With the opening of a Centre for Census Studies and Application (CCSA), vast opportunities have opened up for researchers, students and others to utilise Census micro-data, said State Director of Census Operations Bishnupada Sethi.
As information is power and collection of information itself is very costly, many countries allow researchers the access to such a huge dataset as in Census for individual research, said he.
As the Indian Census authorities decided to extend this facility to researchers with the approval of the Planning Commission and the Government of India for setting up 18 Workstations for research on micro-data from Census in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), these facilities are now being opened,said Sethi.
Additional Chief Secretary Finance UN Behera has opened the State’s Workstation on May 31 here at the Nabakrushna Chaudhury Centre for Development Studies (NCCDS) premises.The Workstation at the NCCDS is the fifth in order of establishment in the country, the first being at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; the second at the Punjabi University, Patiala; the third at the Kerala University, Thiruvanantapuram; and the fourth at the Goa University, Panaji.
In Odisha, it is the first and only workstation established in the Eastern Region, said Sethi.As the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India has embarked upon an ambitious Plan Scheme under the 12th Five-Year Plan for Modernising Data Dissemination Activity in Census wherein it has been decided to set up 18 workstations at different universities/institutions across India.
Sethi said the CCSA would facilitate and support micro-data research with a view to encouraging knowledgeable researchers to become familiar with Census data products and data collection methods in order to improve their utility and quality.CCSA will add value to demographic research projects which leverage the data that has already been collected.He said that by exposing to the light of research the conceptual and processing assumptions that are embedded in the census micro-databases constitute an important element in improving the quality of data.
An in-depth study might also contribute towards improving the methodology of data collection during census as well as identify strengths and weaknesses of the micro-data, said Director Census Operations Odisha.