Introduction
1995 Census Test
Documentation Chapters
User Notes
Appendixes
Field Names
This chapter serves as a guide for data users to both the file and the technical documentation. Novice users trying to understand how to use the documentation and the file should read this chapter first.
Census Day was Saturday, March 4, 1995. The 1995 Census Test was conducted in two urban sites and one rural site. The two urban sites were Oakland, California and Paterson, New Jersey; the rural site consisted of six parishes in Northwestern Louisiana (Bienville, De Soto, Jackson, Natchitoches, Red River, and Winn).
The primary objectives of the 1995 Census Test were to research ways to more accurately count population groups that historically have been hard to count (i.e., reduce the differential undercount), to test new approaches to conduct a more cost- effective 2000 Decennial Census, and to make it easier to be counted.
The strategies to accomplish these objectives consisted of the following:
The Abstract chapter in this documentation provides a quick overview of the file, including the formal title, subject coverage, geographic coverage, file availability, and purchasing information.
The Subject Locator is an aid to finding which tables provide the information needed. The List of Tables (Matrices) and the Table (Matrix) Outlines provide two types of presentations for the tables available in the file. The List of Tables (Matrices) has the table titles and universes. The Table (Matrix) Outlines offer a detailed presentation of the tables. When reviewing the tables, remember that a colon (:) following an entry indicates the entry is a heading, not a data cell.
Information about file or documentation changes sometimes becomes available after the documentation has been printed. User Notes inform the user community about these changes. These are issued in a numbered series. If there are technical documentation changes, revised pages usually accompany them. The revised pages should be inserted in their proper location, but the user note cover sheet should be filed in the User Notes chapter.
Detailed information on geographic areas is in appendix A, followed by subject-matter definitions in appendix B. Appendix C provides detailed statistical information about the data. Appendix D contains the code lists used in processing the race and Hispanic origin data. Appendix E on the CD-ROM provides CD- ROM specific technical information.
On the CD-ROM, fields in numeric data tables are named according to a convention which identifies the tables and the sequence of the data item within the table. The 10 data items in P6, for example, are identified as P0060001 through P0060010. The one data item in table P1 is labelled P0010001.
Components of the Field Name
Character 1 P Character 2-4 Table number; right justified with leading zeroes Character 5 Sub-table letter; zero if not applicable Character 6-8 Item number; right justified with leading zeroes
