Census Agent Manual

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September 2006

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Table of Contents

Foreword -- 5

Chapter 1: General Information on the General Population and Habitation Census -- 6

Chapter 2: General Instructions -- 8

Chapter 3: Fundamental Definitions -- 12

Chapter 4: Procedures of Counting and Filling out the Questionnaire -- 14

Chapter 5: Filling Out the Agricultural Section -- 36

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Chapter 6: End of the Work -- 40

Conclusion -- 40
Appendix 1: Numbering Form for Concessions and Households -- 41
Appendix 2: Counting Zone Summary Table -- 42
Appendix 3: Clearance Certificate -- 43
Appendix 4: Appointment Letter -- 44
Appendix 5: Receipt of Materials Form -- 45
Appendix 6: Household Visit Card -- 46

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Foreword

From December 9-23, 2006, Burking Faso will perform the counting of its fourth general population and habitation census. The agriculture census will also be associated with this project.

This manual was developed to serve as a guide and a reference for you who take part in the fieldwork portion of this national-scale statistical operation. It contains information on the organization and proceedings of the work so as to ensure the census is a success.

This manual is therefore a precious and indispensable work tool that you should read with attention. It should always be in your possession during the entire duration of the survey to be used when needed. Consult it every time you have a question.

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Chapter 1: General Information on the General Population and Habitation Census

1.1 Definition

The General Population and Habitation Census (RGPH) is a methodical and exhaustive inventory (without omissions or repetition) of the population and habitations of a country at a given moment, following specific social, economic, and demographic characteristics. It is a counting of the population that is carried out according to a well thought out collection method in order to avoid omissions and repetition.

The execution of a population census begins with the preparatory phase and ends with the diffusion of results.

The United Nations recommends that a population census is performed every ten (10) years. This allows the evolution of a population and its principal characteristics to be measured.

1.2 General Population and Habitation Census objectives

The 2006 General Population and Habitation Census (RGPH) seeks a better understanding of the country's demographic situation and dynamic in order to better assure the integration of demographic variables into the management of the economy as well as the development and strengthening of the capacities of the National Institute of Statistics and Demography (INSD) concerning the collection, handling, analysis and distribution of census information.

In order to achieve such a global objective, a certain number of specific objectives have been assigned to the RGPH, principally:

-- to know the total number of the population, its structure by sex and age, and its spatial distribution according to the different administrative units and place of residence, as well as its evolution;

-- to contribute to a better understanding of the demographic, socio-economic and cultural characteristics of the population and its subcategories through the updating of the country's demographic information practices;

-- to determine the levels and trends of birth, mortality and migration as well as the population's natural and overall growth;

-- to update national survey practices, keeping subsequent surveys in mind;

-- to strengthen the national capacity concerning planning, collection, processing, data analysis and the dissemination of results.

1.3 Legal foundation of the census

Due to its national scope, the General Population and Habitation Census of 2006 was instituted by Decree N°2005-394/PRES/PM/MEDEV/MFB/MATD/MD/MEBA of July 19, 2005 which also created its organs of coordination and execution, the National Census Committee (CNR) an the Central Census Bureau (BCR). This text constitutes the legal foundation of the General Population and Habitation Census of 2006.

1.4 Obligation to respond and confidentiality of gathered information

The law N°040/96/ADP of November 8, 1996 concerns the obligation to respond and the confidentiality of gathered information. It is thus an obligation of all persons living on Burkinabe soil to submit to the RGPH, with the exception of members of consular and diplomatic corps. On the other hand, you shall not, under any pretense, communicate any of the gathered information on individuals to a third party foreign to the RGPH under penalty of law.

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1.5 General Population and Habitation Census organization

Given its size and complexity, the carrying out of the census necessitates that the work is highly organized from the ground up. Considering this, the following organs were created in order to drive the RGPH:

-- the National Census Committee (CNR): this is the organ tasked with studying all of the census problems at the institutional and administrative levels. The national committee handles all of the initiatives it deems pertinent to the smooth execution of the census;

-- the Central Census Bureau (BCR): this is the organ tasked with the planning and execution of the census on national soil. It handles the methodological conception, coordination, operation and publication of the General Population and Habitation Census results;

-- regional committees, provincial committees, departmental or communal committees and village committees: they are responsible for the carrying out of the RGPH-2006 on a local level.

On the ground, the principal census players are the members of the CNR, regional delegates, provincial delegates, neighborhood/community delegates, supervisors and census agents. Each of these operates within very well-defined boundaries:

-- members of the CNR are responsible for studying all of the census problems at the institutional and administrative levels;
-- census agents are responsible for census counting within counting zones (CZ);
-- supervisors oversee the work of the census agents within control zones (ZC);
-- delegates have the responsibility of census organization and execution within regions (regional delegates), provinces (provincial delegates), communities or neighborhoods (community/neighborhood delegates);

The control zone, which is a grouping of counting zones, is a geographical area without any administrative significance in which the population numbers around 5,000 inhabitants. The counting zone (CZ) is the smallest operational unit of the census. It is made up of one or more villages, part of a village, or part of a community or neighborhood and has approximately 1,000 inhabitants.

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Chapter 2: General Instructions

The success of the General Population and Habitation Census greatly depends upon you, notably your conscientiousness, your behavior toward the population being counted, and the interest you give to the national cause.

2.1 Role and duties of the census agent

Throughout the entire duration of the operation, your work will always be performed within the counting zones (CZ). Your work principally consists of:

-- scouting the counting zone that has been assigned to you; to do this, you will be accompanied by your supervisor and a local representative. You should cover all of your CZ in order to know its exact borders;
-- numbering the concessions and households; filling out the concession and household numbering form;
-- visiting each household in the CZ with the aim of recording information concerning the household and each member of the household in the census booklet while conforming to the procedures outlined in the present manual;
-- household awareness of the validity of the General Population and Habitation Census.

2.2 Conduct when interacting with the population

The success of the census depends in large part upon the people being counted, especially upon their willingness to answer questions and the quality of the responses given, but equally, upon your conduct. Therefore, you shall:

1) present yourself at the household in proper dress;
2) clearly explain the goal of your visit, present your badge and, if needed, your ID card;
3) use a comforting and respectful tone of voice;
4) adopt a friendly and sympathetic attitude while adapting to various situations and accepting all types of welcome;
5) politely decline any offer of food or drink;
6) not refuse potential pleasantries, but not let yourself be lead into conversations that separate you from the goal of your visit;
7) not present yourself at a household while accompanied by a friend, relative, etc.;
8) be polite and courteous towards all persons being counted;
9) only pose those questions indicated in the questionnaire or manual according to the instructions given to you.

2.3 The census agent's professional obligations

In order to be a good census agent:

1) you are obligated to attend meetings for the entire duration of the training period;
2) you should study with seriousness the questionnaire and other reference documents, notably the identification form and the household and concession numbering form;
3) you should thoroughly study this manual so that, at any moment, you have the instructions contained within in your memory and at your disposal;
4) you should work in an intense fashion, sometimes during irregular hours when necessary, in order to gather information about all of the households in your CZ within the time period specified for the execution of the census counting;

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5) you should explain as often as necessary, and in a clear and simple manner, the goal of your visit and respond politely to all questions asked of you by the public in regards to the General Population and Habitation Census;
6) you should completely respect the customs and religious practices of members of the household and above all be polite and respectable;
7) you should only concern yourself with the census and not engage in useless discussions that compromise your mission;
8) you should fill out the questionnaire forms yourself, according to the responses you will have collected during the interview;
9) you should contact a local representative in the case of reticence or refusal to respect the obligation to respond;
10) you should avoid gatherings of people that might annoy the person being interviewed; avoid being followed by curious people;
11) before leaving a household, you should verify that the questionnaire is filled out correctly and everyone who should be counted in the household has been included;
12) don't forget to thank the members of the household for their patience and willingness to respond to the questions asked, and inform them of a possible return visit for supplemental information;
13) if you are not able to obtain information on all members of the household due to a momentary absence, you should schedule a meeting for a later time to obtain information from those who are absent;
14) you must show respect to your superiors, notably your supervisor and the various delegates no matter what their age, sex or appearance;
15) you should regularly submit the completed census forms to your supervisor, so they may check them, follow your supervisor's advice and instructions, and notify them of any problem encountered and any possible solution you may envision;
16) you should respond to any summons from a superior (a supervisor or delegate), follow their advice and instructions, and notify them of any problem encountered and any possible solution you may envision;
17) you must turn in all folders and forms, both completed and empty, and all fungible material to your supervisor at the end of the census counting period;
18) notify your supervisor immediately in the case of illness or another incapacitating event;
19) remember that all census agents under one supervisor form a single team; if you finish your work early you should help the other agents in your team.

2.4 Behaviors not allowed for the census agent

It is strictly forbidden to:

1) delegate your work as a census agent to other individuals;
2) share or comment upon individual or collective information gathered during the census;
3) show census documents to anyone other than your superiors within the hierarchical structure of the census;
4) ask questions that are not in the questionnaire;
5) write false, fantastical, illogical or improbable information on the questionnaire;

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6) be aggressive or show menace toward citizens, for whatever reason;
7) have conversations with the population that have nothing to do with the census;
8) devote yourself to activities other than the census during the period of your enlistment;
9) abandon your counting work before the end of your enlistment.

2.5 Disciplinary measures

All ground personnel are subject to disciplinary measures, particularly those responsible for collection and verification. The quality of the information gathered depends upon the quality of the census agents' work. Any negligence on their part, however minor, will be severely punished. This punishment can range from pay reduction to termination. It depends upon the faulty act committed.

Examples: any half-day absence during training will lead to the expulsion of the person involved.
Three late arrivals during training will also lead to expulsion, as will any day missed during the recording period.

2.6 Census agent's folder

The census agent should verify that his/her census folder is complete. It contains documents and supplies necessary to the completion of your work. These are:

-- the census questionnaires to be filled out according to the information relative to each individual in each household;
-- the census agent manual which contains the instructions for filling out the census forms and other forms;
-- the concession and household numbering forms;
-- the summary table TR1 which is a form created in order to summarize information at the level of the CZ;
-- ballpoint pens;
-- chalk;
-- a cartographic folder;
-- a plastic bag for the CZ questionnaires;
-- the map or outline of the CZ;
-- a notebook to record members of the household before recording them on the questionnaire, and also for taking note of difficulties encountered or meetings scheduled;
-- an official census agent card;
-- household visit cards;
-- meeting forms.

2.7 Recording period

The recording period for information relating to each member of the population is from December 9-23, 2006, throughout the country. It is imperative that the counting is achieved during this period.

However, the census agent's work will begin as soon as he/she is hired.

2.8 Collection method

The chosen collection method is door-to-door with direct population interview, meaning the census agent will ask questions to the members of the household. He/she will fill out the questionnaire (household questionnaire) on the basis of the willing testimony of each person capable of responding to the questions asked.

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It must be absolutely clear that it is you, the census agent, that must travel from one household to another in order to complete your work. In no circumstance must inhabitants come to you in order to be counted.

The information must be gathered concession by concession at the level of the CZ, household by household at the level of the concession, and individual by individual at the level of the household.

The census agent must identify the household and ask to speak to the head of the household in order to gather information. The head of the household may call on another person in order to help them furnish information on the members of the household. If the head of the household is absent, you may address the questions to any other member of the household that is capable of providing answers.

NB: If you cannot find a member of the household capable of furnishing you with information, continue your visits to other concessions or households, stopping back from time to time to see if the household is home. It is absolutely necessary that you repeat your visits as many times as is necessary to find a member of the household who can supply you with the necessary information. If, despite multiple visits, no household member is available to provide the household information during the recording period, you will complete the questionnaire with the help of neighbors, relatives, or others who are familiar with the household.

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Chapter 3: Fundamental Definitions

3.1 Reference date

The reference date for the counting of the population and the recording of its characteristics is the night preceding the census agent's visit to the household; this is therefore a mobile date.

3.2 Reference period

-- Reference period for economic activity: the reference period for information regarding economic activity is the week that precedes the census agent's visit to the household. This reference period is one week (7 days).

Example: If a household is counted on December 10, 2006, the reference period for the activity falls between December 3, 2006 and December 9, 2006.

-- Reference period for births and deaths: the reference period for births and deaths is 12 months, that is to say the twelve months preceding the census agent's visit to the household.

Example: A household that is counted on December 15, 2006 has a reference period for births and deaths in the last 12 months between December 15, 2005 and December 14, 2006.

-- The reference period for immigration is the last five years preceding the census, that is to say January 1, 2002 to December 2006.

-- The reference period for living abroad is eleven years. These are the eleven years preceding the census, that is to say January 1, 1996 to December 2006.

3.3 Concession

A concession is a housing unit formed by a grouping of buildings, sometimes but not always enclosed by a fence, where one or more households reside. The inhabited buildings will be considered to be concessions.

In a rural setting, a concession may also consist of an ensemble of enclosed buildings around which there exist one or more houses, the occupants of which claim to belong to the enclosed ensemble of buildings.

The head of a concession is an individual who is responsible for the concession. This person may be the owner, a relative of the owner, or the person who deposits the rent for the owner. This individual may or may not live in the concession.

3.4 Dwelling

The dwelling is a specific and independent place located within the concession, if there are several, or if it exists as part of the concession itself, is the place used as a living space.

3.5 Household

The household is the fundamental unit of the census. The census distinguishes between two types of households:

-- the ordinary household
-- the collective household

The meaning of the word household within the context of the census is fundamentally different from that of family, with which it should not be confused.

3.5.1 Ordinary household

The ordinary household is generally considered the base socio-economic unit within which the members are blood-related or not. They live together in the same concession, combine their resources and work together to satisfy their essential

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nutritional and vital needs. They generally recognize the authority of one of the members as the head of the household, regardless of the sex of the person.

In general, a household is comprised of a man, his wife or wives, his non-married children, and other non-married relatives and domestic workers that live with them.

Very important: in concessions or houses inhabited by parents and their married children, you should treat the parents as being a different household from that formed by their married children: each married son, his wife or wives, and his non-married children constitute a household. On the other hand, if one or both parents depend on their married child, they belong to that child's household.

Some examples of households:

-- a person that lives alone;
-- a man, his spouse, and his non-married children;
-- a single, widowed or divorced woman and her non-married children;
-- a single, widowed or divorced man and his non-married children;
-- a man married to several women (polygamist), all living in the same concession, and their non-married children;
-- two or several people who are not related who live together and rely on common resources to provide for their needs and who recognize one of them as the head of the household.

If the wives of a polygamist husband do not live in the same concession, each woman constitutes a separate household. Nevertheless, the polygamist husband is not counted more than once, that time being the household in which he spent the night prior to the survey agent's visit.

3.5.2 Collective household

A collective household is made up of a group of people who generally share no familial relation but live together under special conditions, that is to say principally using the resources furnished to them by an establishment to provide for their essential needs (food, lodging, care).
Collective households may be:

1. members of the military residing in barracks;
2. students residing in a public or private boarding school/dormitory at the time of the census reference date;
3. students residing on a university campus;
4. persons lodged in tourist establishments (hotels, motels, etc.);
5. sick persons staying in a public or private hospital the night of the reference date;
6. members of a religious community living in a convent, monastery, mission, etc.;
7. persons detained in penitentiaries;
8. workers staying in the rudimentary camp of a temporary construction site;
9. all persons living in an establishment with similar conditions.

NB: On occasion, in the establishments described above, one finds an individual or a group of people that stay there in an autonomous and separate fashion, and who take their meals independently or outside of the establishment. This person or group of people constitute an ordinary household living within the confines of the establishment and should be counted as such.

Example: A guard or caretaker of an establishment (high school with boarding facilities, for example) living within the walls of the establishment, whether alone or with members of his family, makes up an ordinary household and should be counted as such. It is the same for a member of the military who lives in the barracks with his wife and children.

3.6 Emigrants

The following are considered emigrants:

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-- persons who have been outside of the country for more than six months.
-- persons who have been outside of the country for less than six months but have the intention of staying there for more than six months.

NB: For the recording of emigrants, you should verify that the emigrated person actually belonged to the household before their departure. Insist upon this so as to avoid recording one emigrant in two or more (related) households. Women who left the household due to marriage before emigrating are not counted in their household of origin.

Chapter 4: Procedures of Counting and Filling out the Questionnaire

4.1 Preparatory work

4.1.1 Contact with the population

The work in your counting zone will begin by contact with the local delegates. On this occasion, you will explain to them what your work consists of and, at the same time, you will inform them of your work program. You will solicit their help in raising the population's awareness of the census.

This awareness campaign is very important because the success of the census depends upon it. Therefore, before interviewing a person, it is necessary to explain the census objectives to them and insist upon the fact that the information given is confidential and will not be able to be used in any case involving financial motives, legal prosecution, or others. This preliminary interaction with the person being interviewed is necessary in order to gain their trust and obtain sincere answers.

4.1.2 Scouting the Counting Zone

The map and/or sketch of the CZ that will eventually be given to you is the only way in which you will recognize the boundaries of your CZ: this map includes information such as:

-- the names of inhabited areas (villages in rural setting, sectors for urban setting);
-- communications (roads, trails);
-- the dispersion of the habitat;
-- public areas, such as the market;
-- buildings for communal use (churches, mosques, schools, tc.);
-- other places and buildings, other symbols.

You will scout the CZ with your supervisor. This work is important because it will help to update the map of your CZ as well as the village list.

4.1.3 Update of the map of the CZ

It can never be repeated enough that, without an accurate map of the CZ, the census might as well be done in a fog. With this in mind, during the scouting of the CZ the census agent must verify that no location is forgotten or counted twice.

Here is what you should do, in unison with your supervisor:

-- in the case that an inhabited area was forgotten on the outline, draw a circle to indicate the location of the non-represented area situated within your CZ. Write the name of the locality or village next to the drawn circle.
-- in the case where an inhabited area was erroneously subdivided into several villages, cross out the excess village names on the map or outline.
-- the new elements you add to the map or outline should be legible.

You should take very good care of the map or outline throughout the duration of your work, since this document must be given back to the Central Census Bureau at the end of your work period for a definitive updating.

4.1.4 Update of the list of villages in the Counting Zone

One of the objectives of the census is to have a national file of villages. From this stems the importance of updating the list of villages of the CZ that you are responsible for counting.

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The CZ's village list is established by the CCB and updated during cartographical tours. Nevertheless, it is possible that there may have been changes since the last time the cartographers visited or errors during the last cartographic operation.

Instructions to follow:

-- In the case where the name of a village has changed, and after having obtained confirmation from local delegates or superiors, cross out the previous name and write the correct name in capital letters next to it.
-- In the case that there are more localities on the ground than on the map, write the missing localities on the map in capital letters.
-- In the case that there are less localities than indicated on the map, cross out the extra localities.

You should carefully guard this file. At the end of your work, you will return it to your supervisor along with the census documents.
An evaluation form of the cartographical materials will be given to you in order to assess the cartographical work. You will fill it out and return it to your supervisor at the end of the work period along with the other documents.

4.1.5 Numbering of concessions and households

After having updated the map and the CZ village list, you will continue on to the step of numbering.

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