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Census Undercount: An Historical and Contemporary Sociological Issue *
Author(s) -
West Kirsten K.,
Fein David J.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-682x.1990.tb00134.x
Subject(s) - census , disadvantaged , sociology , social science , regional science , economic growth , economics , population , demography
As the public policy uses of U. S. census data have expanded in recent decades, census undercount has become a contentious public issue. Concern centers on the fact that persons that are economically and socially disadvantaged are omitted at higher rates than others. In this paper we outline some of the contributions which sociologists can make to the undercount debate. First, the uses of census data are reviewed, with emphasis on how coverage errors affect social science research. Next, a conceptual model of the census enumeration process is offered, and its social system and census process components are described.