Asking Demographic Questions

Abstract

This monograph is based on a number of seminars given in the Demography Department of the Australian National University in 1982 and 1983. A major justification for the series was the feeling that when demographic questions were included in an interview schedule or questionnaire researchers were often unaware of all the advantages and disadvantages related to particular forms of these questions. Chapter 1 on household identification uses questions on relationship to the head of household to identify the members of a household. Chapter 2 on personal names begins with a discussion of whether names are needed at all. To know the sex of the respondent is a basic requirement but chapter 3 explains gender which refers to cultural rather than biological differences. Chapter 4 deals with age. Chapters 5 and 6 discuss nuptiality and fertility. Chapter 7 covers mortality. Chapters 8 9 and 10 discuss birth intervals breast feeding and current use of contraception. Chapter 11 and 12 cover reasons for migration and internal migration. Chapter 13 deals with education and literacy chapter 14 considers occupation and chapter 15 covers ethnicity.