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[Table of contents is omitted here]

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1. Why a Population Census is taken
Detailed and up-to-date information is vital for the development of a society and the welfare of its population. The scope and objectives of the 1995 Population Census has been settled after thorough discussions with main users of census information. The purpose is to provide information on the population and its living conditions, which will be used for planning purposes in most sectors of our society, e.g. education, labour market, housing and construction, water and electricity supply, etc.

In the first Population Census in Laos, taken in 1985, the population was found to be approximately 3.5 million people. A population head count in 1990 showed a population growth to ... million persons. The second Population Census in Lao P.D.R. will now, in line with United Nation recommendations for a ten-year span between censuses, be taken with March 1, 1995 as the reference date.

2. The enumerator's task
The quality of work of enumerators largely decides the quality of the census results. It is therefore important that you follow the instructions in the manual and closely observe and apply the definitions of various concepts used in the census.

Some of the key concepts in the census are:

The definitions of those concepts are found on page 12 - 14 in this manual. Study those concepts carefully.

Enumerators will be assigned so called Enumeration Areas (EAs), which are small areas exclusively created for census data collection purposes. One enumerator might be assigned one or more EAs, depending on the size and the population of the areas. One EA has normally about 500 inhabitants.

The enumerator has various tasks and obligations before, during and after the enumeration. The enumerator is reporting to the supervisor in all the three stages. A summary of the tasks is presented in Section 2.1 -2.3 in this manual.

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2.1 Tasks before the start of the enumeration

2.2 Tasks during the enumeration

Among these activities the most important one for the enumeration is to carry out careful interviews and properly record the responses. Every effort must be made to obtain complete and accurate responses and to record them correctly.

2.3 Tasks after the enumeration

2.4 Place of work
Provincial Census Offices, headed by Provincial Census Officers (PCOs), have been established in the provinces. Districts Census Offices have likewise been established in the Districts. These are headed by the District Census Officer (DCO), who will be in charge of several supervisors. A supervisor will be in charge of six enumeration areas or more.

The enumerators will spend most of their time in the field. Each enumerator will be assigned one or more EAs and your responsibility will be to visit every household in your assigned area and record, as accurately and neatly as possible, ail the particulars required of every person and household.

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2.5 Training of enumerators
One can only become a good enumerator through experience. The training will consist of class room training and field work (practical exercises). Before each lesson, you must carefully read the manual along with the questionnaire and note down the questions that you might want to ask. You can ask questions at any time so as to avoid errors in the actual practice.

Your supervisor will be present during training and it is important that you get to know him/her. During the training you will be informed how to conduct an interview and observe a simulation of interviews. There will be explanations of each section and question in the questionnaire. The class session will be followed by a series of workshops. You will also do some field practice interviews. Mock questionnaires will be used for practice interviews, these questionnaires must not be mixed up with actual census questionnaires.

2.6 Supervision and support
Next step will be the actual field work in which you will carry out the actual enumeration for the Population Census. You will be working together with supervisors who will again check your completed questionnaires, make corrections and help you during the enumeration period of the Census.

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3. General guidelines
Successful interviewing is an art and not a mechanical process. Although the art of interviewing develops with practice, below are some basic principles on how to conduct an interview.

3.1 How to establish contact with the respondent
You must contact the Village Chief and the Village Committee before approaching the households. You should also make appointments with the households before the actual enumeration. The following may be helpful in establishing contact:

3.2 Hints on conducting the interview

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If a given answer is not relevant to the question, do not prompt by saying something like "I suppose you mean that... Is that right?". Probe in such a way that the respondent comes with a relevant answer on his/her own. You should never read out the list of response alternatives.

Ask questions clearly to ensure understanding by the respondent, pause after each question. Work steadily and make sure answers are complete and correct before you write anything down. Do not accept at once any statement you believe to be mistaken, but tactfully probe in a neutral way to obtain the correct answers.

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4. Field procedures

4.1 Material and equipment
Each enumerator must ensure that s/he has sufficient materials and equipment and is aware of the role to be performed.

Each enumerator will be provided with the following documents and equipment:

4.2 The duration of the enumeration
The enumeration will last for about five (5) days; this is the time limit within which interviewing of households in the EA assigned to you must be completed. If, for any reason, you think it will take longer, inform your supervisor early, so arrangements for help arc made. Also, if you catch ill or cannot continue for other reasons, you must let your supervisor know at once, (how? - to be discussed)

4.3 How to schedule the enumeration
To be able to enumerate efficiently, planning ahead is necessary. Bear in mind that the best times of interviewing households vary with the economic activity of the household members. The best time for interviews is often in the early morning, before people start work, and in the evenings when they return for the day. There will however be households that are present during daytime. You must plan accordingly to create an even workload during the day.

4.4 Confusion over boundaries
Confusion over boundaries may occasionally arise. If you or your colleague in another EA have mistakenly enumerated a household in another EA, take careful note of the identities of the households mistakenly enumerated and inform your supervisor. Do not enumerate the households a second time but continue with the other households in the area.

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5. General procedures for completing the questionnaire
To be able to undertake the duties of an enumerator, you must know

5.1 Asking questions and probing
When asking questions, follow the order on the questionnaire and ask them exactly as in the questionnaire. Speak clearly for the respondent to have no difficulty in hearing and understanding; at times you may have to repeat the question. You should rephrase the question only as a last resort, (to be discussed)

5.2 Recording responses
The recording of answers on the questionnaire should be done using blue ballpoint pens. The types of questions to be encountered on the questionnaire include those with:

It is important to record answers neatly. Write legibly where you are required to write.
Some questions may not be applicable to some persons or a response may not be known. In such cases entries should be made as follows:

For example: for columns under questions on number of children ever born, write "N/A" in the lines for all men (since men obviously can not be pregnant and deliver a baby) and for women below and above age range for the question;

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This recording, if done properly, will simplify the work of other persons, for example supervisors checking your work and data entry personnel.

5.3 How to correct mistakes
If you make a mistake in entering an answer or the respondent changes response, cross out the incorrect response and enter the correct one. Use two horizontal lines through the wrong response and write the correct one next to it, in the same column. Do not erase or obliterate the wrong entry.

If you make several mistakes for one person in the household, cross out the whole line neatly with a single stroke and record the entire information using a new line.

If you make a mistake involving a whole household, draw a diagonal line across the questionnaire and write "Spoilt" along it. The spoilt questionnaire should not be removed from the booklet but handed in together with the rest of the correctly completed questionnaires. (Instructions not to split booklets must be entered somewhere, maybe here)

None of the questionnaires are to be destroyed, as you will have to account for all the questionnaires issued to you, whether they are filled in or not.

5.4 Irrelevant questions
Care must be taken not to ask questions which have become irrelevant. In cases where a particular response makes subsequent questions irrelevant, an instruction is written on the questionnaire. However, a "N/A" must be entered.

5.5 Action in case of non-response
Report to supervisor and/or the village chief, (to be discussed, reasons can vary)

5.6 Do not re-copy
Do not re-copy a questionnaire as long as it is readable. Re-copying increases the risk of errors and the quantity of questionnaires produced is not enough for other than very occasional re-copying.

6. How to fill in the booklet cover
The questionnaire is a one-page questionnaire bound in booklets of 36 questionnaires. Every booklet has an unique control-number printed on the cover. This number will help to keep track of the booklets during the whole enumeration process. Some information on the cover is to be filled in before enumeration, while some information must be filled in when the booklet is finalised.

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6.1 Geo-codes and other codes
First of all, geo-codes should be filled in the box at the upper left comer of the cover sheet of the booklet. Geo-codes give the geographical situation of your enumeration area.

6.2 Information for urban/rural classification
In order to be able to classify villages as urban or rural at a later stage during the census, you must fill in the information regarding marketplace and access road to the village to which your EA belongs.

6.3 Summary table
When an interview with a household is finished, the number of males/females/total should be entered into the summary table on the cover; see also under section H on page 36 in this manual.

6.4 Box for comments
The box for comments should be completed by writing observation about the census, for instance problems encountered, cooperation of the local authorities and people,

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understanding of the questions by respondents and any other irregularities occurred, ethnic groups not found as pre-coded alternatives, etc. The box at the lower left corner of the cover sheet is for use by the data processing section at NSC and should not be filled in.

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7. Key concepts and definitions
Before going into how to fill in the questionnaire, some key concepts and definitions must be explained.

7.1 Household and family - two different concepts
The population census is focusing on registration of persons in households, which means that household is not identical to the concept family; the latter concept is not used at all in the census.

7.2 Who is to be enumerated and in which household?
The 1995 Population Census is a so called de jure census. This means that persons are to be enumerated as belonging to their usual place of residence, not to the place where they are actually interviewed in the census. Consequently, you must i) at first decide whether each person is to be enumerated at all in the Laotian census and ii) next whether it is your task to enumerate or if enumeration will be done by another enumerator.

Those to be enumerated by you are to be found in the shaded box in the graph below.

[The graph is omitted here]

These are the guidelines to follow when deciding who are to be enumerated by you. Apply them when you address the head of household at arrival in the household.

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7.3 Two household types: Private and collective households
The distinction between a private and a collective household is sometimes very difficult to make. Private households can sometimes also be found at the premises of an otherwise collective household.

Private households
The households in your enumeration area will mostly be private households. They can be single person or multi-person households.

A single-person household comprises of one person living in a part or the whole of the dwelling unit, arranging for food and other life necessities on his own without joining other persons and possessing his own civil registration book.

A multi-person household comprises of two or more persons living in a part or the whole dwelling unit, and who together arrange for food and other life necessities and share a common registration book.

Collective households
Occasionally, a collective household will however be found. Collective households would consist of accommodation units of an enterprise, factory, school, temple, hospital, etc. Examples of collective households are KM 62 Orphanage House, Middle Level Medical School hostel, Dongdok University hostel, a temple where the monks live. The pre- conditions for being enumerated in the collective household are;

Otherwise, the persons found in the collective household are to be enumerated in their respective private households.

Although tied accommodation and collective households might look similar, a clear distinction must be made between the two. In tied accommodation occupants usually live in private households and maintain separate registration books, which is not the case in a collective household.

7.4 The head of household
The head of household will be the chief respondent to most of your questions.

In the Lao society, the husband will often be the head of household. In case of his absence, someone else must speak for the household and assume the head of household role. Therefore, interview another knowledgeable senior member of the household who lives up to the definition, (i.e. the wife, a grown-up son or daughter, etc.) and who is selected by the household.

Questions on children born should, as far as possible, be addressed to the mother of the children.

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8. How to fill in the questionnaire
The sections of the questionnaire are the following:

Completion of the questionnaire, that is sections A to H, should follow the above order.

Section A: Identification
Before beginning an interview, fill in the identification in the upper left hand corner of the questionnaire. The identification numbers for province, district, village and enumeration area shall be the same as the one on the cover of the questionnaire booklet and on the sketch map. In addition, a household serial number is to be entered by the enumerator as work is progressing.

The household number within the enumeration area must always have three digits. It must be entered by the enumerator in a sequence (001, 002, 003 etc.) within the EA.

Special numbers are allocated to collective households. The first collective household in your enumeration area should be given household number 801, the second should be given 802, etc.

Section B: For all persons

Question 1: "Who was the member of this household on March 1, 1995?"
The purpose of this question is i) to identify the household and to give the structure for the interview, ii) to identify the head of each household and iii) to list all members of the household.

How to list and enumerate a collective household
Persons staying in collective households in your enumeration area will basically be enumerated by you according to the same procedures you enumerate a private household. Some differences should however be observed:

Remember: One questionnaire can only be used in one household but one household can use several questionnaires

Question 2: What is [the respondent's] relationship to the head of household?
The purpose of this question is to collect information on the composition of the household.

Circle the appropriate answer. Adopted children and step-children to the head of household will be recorded under "Son/Daughter". Nieces, nephews, grandsons will be included under the "Other relative" category.

These not related to the head of household by blood or marriage will be recorded as "Not related". Where several persons who are not related by blood or marriage constitute a private household, code one of them as a head and the rest as "not related".

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Question 3: Is [the respondent] male or female?
Sex is one of the most important questions as much analysis of data depends on respondent's sex. It also determines whether certain questions are to be answered or not. Circle the correct response, i.e. either "1" for male or "2" for female.

If the person is around, you can observe the gender without necessarily asking the question, but avoid inferring the gender of the person from names as there are names used by both genders. In case the name is preceded by title, namely "Thao" and "Nang", sex of respondent can readily be determined.

Question 4: How old was [the respondent] at his/her last birthday?
Age is one of the most important questions as much analysis of data depends on respondent's age, for example, fertility rates are calculated by age of woman etc. Age also determines whether certain questions are to be answered or not. Be careful not to round ages up to the next birthday.

Entries should be made in completed years as follows:

If the age is not known, probe to try to estimate age. This is time-consuming and sometimes tedious. But it is important to take time to try to get the best possible information. There are several ways which can be used to probe for age:

You may use the calendar of events found in Appendix 3 to improve the reporting of age data. A person's age can sometimes be better assessed in relation to events which he/she can recall or which occurred near to his/her birthday. The age of the person's relatives is sometimes a useful indicator.'

If probing does not help, you may have to estimate the age as a last resort when all other efforts failed. The use of the code "999" (viz. not known) is for rare cases.

In case the respondent knows the year when he/she was born only in Lao year or lunar calendar, or he/she gives date of birth in solar calendar, you must refer to tables for age conversion in the Appendix 4 of this manual.

Question 5: Where was [the respondent] born?
The purpose of this question is to get a measure of "life-time" migration.

Birth place refers to the place where the birth actually occurred. For those born in Lao P.D.R, enter the code referring to the relevant province/district and for those born outside Lao P.D.R, the code of country of birth.

A list of the districts and countries is shown in Appendix 2 and at the back of each questionnaire. For not known use code "9999".

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Question 6: Where was [the respondent] living at last census in March 1985?
The purpose of this question is to get a measure of "inter-censal" migration.

Enter Province/District code if the person was living in Lao P.D.R. in March 1985, otherwise the country code. A list of the districts and countries is shown in Appendix 2 and at the back of each questionnaire.

For children below the age of ten, record N/A. For not known, use code "9999".

Question 7: What is [the respondent's] citizenship?
Do not deduce someone's citizenship from the language an individual speaks or his/her country of birth. Record what the respondent tells you.

A list of the country codes for citizenship is shown in Appendix 2 and at the back of each questionnaire. For not known, use code "99".

Question 8: What is [the respondent's] ethnic origin?
The purpose of this question is to establish the respondent's ethnic origin if a Laotian citizen. Ethnic origin for persons from other countries is of little interest and is not to be collected at all.

This question is just for Lao citizens, that is when the answer to question 7 is "00". For all other citizenships in question 7, record "N/A" in question 8.

A list of the codes for ethnicity (47 different codes) for Lao citizens is shown in Appendix X
and at the back of each questionnaire. For "not known", use code "99".

Record what the respondent tells you. In some cases you may have to probe culture, religion, and traditions. If the respondent comes up with an ethnic origin that cannot be coded with one of the 47 codes, probe if the answer is a sub-group to one of the pre-coded alternatives. If there is a local "ethnic representative", contact him/her. If ethnic origin remains unclear after probing, enter code "48" and take down the response in the comments box on the questionnaire.

Question 9: What is [the respondent's] marital status?
People who live together as husband and wife or who so regard themselves without being formally married, should be recorded as married. Thus in the main, the answer must be accepted as given by the respondent and the legal aspect of the marital status should not be questioned. It is the respondents who define their marital status.

If a person has been widowed but has since re-married, s/he should be recorded as married.

A divorce does not have to have gone through the court or other formalities for it to be considered an actual divorce in census terms.

Please note that "never married" is not equivalent to "single" as the latter includes those who have never married and those who have been married but are currently divorced/separated or widowed. "Never married" strictly refers to those who have never entered any marital union. In the very few cases of not known, write "9" in the column for this question.

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Question 10: What is [the respondent's] religion?
Enter relevant code from code list. The categories are:

The list of religion codes is also shown at the back of each questionnaire. For not known
use code "9".

Note that all members of the same household might not have the same religion. If a respondent gives a branch of religion that you do not recognise, probe to find out to which main religion (of alternatives 1-4 above) the branch belongs.

If a person's answer is "no religion", enter code "5 - Other".

Section C: For persons aged 6 years and above
Section C deals with education questions. These questions shall be asked to all who is 6 years and above. For small children, less than 6 years, section C, D and E should be marked "N/A".

Question 11: Can [the respondent] read and write in Lao language?
The purpose of this question is to measure the literacy rate.

For a person to be considered literate (able to read and write) he/she must at least be able to read a newspaper or a bill-board and also at least be able to write a simple letter in official Lao. Note that both conditions (read and write) must be fulfilled for a positive response to be entered and also that the question refers to Lao official language.
Circle the appropriate answer. For not known, enter "9".

Question 12: Has [the respondent] ever attended school?
The purpose of this question is to establish the degree of school enrolment.

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Question 13: What is [the respondent's] highest level of education completed?
The purpose of this question is to establish the respondent's highest level of education completed. Make sure that all respondents understand that the question refers to completed education.

Enter code from code list. A list of the codes for highest level of education completed is shown in Appendix 3. The list of codes is also shown at the back of each questionnaire. For not known use code "99".

Check with question 4 for consistency, particularly for children. Probe, if discrepancies between the answers are found.

Section D: For persons aged 10 years and above
Section D deals with employment questions. These questions shall be asked to all who is 10 years and above. For children, less than 10 years, section D and E should be marked "N/A".

Three different questions are asked to collect labour market information. The questions are interrelated and the purpose of each question must be clearly understood. Explain to the respondent that you will start by asking information on his/her employment status, then his/her profession and lastly about the sector s/he was working in.

Question 14: What was [the respondent's] main activity the last twelve months?
The purpose of this question is to collect information on whether s/he was working or not, studying, retired, etc.

Enter code from code list You may need to probe to reassure that the respondent understands the concept of economic activity.

The response categories are:

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Question 15: What was [the respondent's] main occupation during the last twelve months?
The purpose of this question is to collect information on the occupation of the respondent.
This question is put to persons coded 01 to 07 in question 14, i.e. paid employees, employers, own account workers and unpaid family workers. Record "N/A" for all others.

Occupation refers to the type of work, trade or profession performed by an individual during the last 12 months, irrespective of the industry or status in employment of the individual. Where multiple occupations are common, the main or usual occupation should be determined. This is done by determining the duration of work in each occupation during the last 12 months.

For persons with more than one occupation at the same time, record the persons main occupation - where s/he spends most of the time.

Write a short description of the type of work the person performed for most of the last twelve months preceding the census night. The type of work should be recorded as fully as possible, e.g. grocery retailed seller, wood carpenter, key punch operator, motor vehicle

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mechanic panel beating foreman etc. Avoid unclear descriptions as operator, foreman etc. If the occupation in very rare cases is not known, write "999".

Question 16: In which industrial sector was [the respondent] mainly working during the last twelve months?
The purpose of this question is to collect information on the industrial sector the respondent was working in.

This question is put to persons coded 01 to 07 in question 14, i.e. paid employees, employers, own account workers and unpaid family workers. Record "N/A" for all others.

Industrial sector refers to the activity performed, that is what is made or done at the work place (by the establishment) where the person mainly worked during the last 12 months, irrespective of the occupation of the person. Where a company has multiple activities (makes or does many things), the main activity should be determined. This is done by determining the activity which occupies most persons at that workplace.

For persons working at more than one place during this period, record the industrial sector where s/he spends most of the time.

Write a short description of what is made or done at the workplace where the person worked for most of the last twelve months preceding the census night. The activity should be recorded as fully as possible, e.g. primary school teaching, retail trade of clothes, motor car repair, rice growing. Avoid unclear descriptions as teaching, trading etc. If the industrial sector in very rare cases is not known, write "99".

Section E: For women aged 15 - 49 years
The purpose of questions 17 and 18 is to collect information for estimating fertility and infant and child mortality, preferably directly from the woman concerned.

Information on live births (fertility) should be obtained for all women aged 15 to 49 years. For all others, i.e. for women less than 15 years and those more than 49 years and all males, "N/A" should be recorded.

Information should be requested of all women 15-49 years, irrespective of their marital status or whether you think they have borne children or not. Efforts should be made to get responses from the women themselves and permission to do so should be obtained from the head of household. If the woman concerned is not present, someone else - preferably the head of household - should be used to answer the questions.

Definition of live birth
A child born alive is one who cries after being born. Thus, a live birth is a birth which results in a child that shows any sign of life irrespective of the time of period within which these signs are manifest.

Question 17: Children ever born
Identify all eligible women using the age of the woman. Check with question 2 for consistency; the number of children in question 2 must be equal or higher than the number in question 17 (the higher number in question 2 accepted because foster children also are eligible in that question).

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There are four parts to this question and the order of asking them is as follows:

Question 18: How old were you/name when you/she had your/her first live birth?
The question refers to the age of the mother at the time of the first live birth {not first pregnancy), and to be recorded in completed years:

actual age in completed years

"99" for not known (very limited cases)

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Check the consistency with question 4 and 17.

Section F: Deaths in the household
The data on deaths required here refers to deaths in the last twelve months of members of the household. Deaths which occur after the census night are not to be recorded. Remember that respondents will be reluctant to talk about deaths and become sad or upset that you are asking such questions. Be very tactful in such situations.

Question 19: Did any deaths occur in the household in the last twelve months?
Circle the appropriate answer.

If the answer is "no" write "N/A" on the rest of the section. If the answer is "yes", obtain, for each death, the following details:

If more than four deaths occurred in the household in the last twelve months, then proceed to the next questionnaire to complete the information. Remember to fill in Section A: Identification in such cases.

Section G: Housing characteristics
Responses to questions 20 to 22 and 24 to 26 are pre-coded. Circle the correct response. Write a "9" for not known.

Question 20: What is the tenure status of the household?
This refers to the arrangements under which the household occupies its living quarters in the nature of its right to be there. The categories, for which you are to circle the appropriate one, are:

Question 21: Type of dwelling unit
The purpose of this question is to collect information on the type of housing occupied by the household, defined by the type of material used for the household's dwelling unit.

Question 22: Is this dwelling unit electrified?
The response alternatives are:

Alternative 1 and 2 above refers to public utility procurement of electricity, while alternative 3 refers to electricity produced locally by a co-operative or a household.

Question 23: What is the living area of the dwelling unit?
The purpose of this question is to capture the living area of the dwelling unit and to enable calculations on living area averages. The living area is not identical to building area, but comprises rooms, kitchen (remains to be defined)

Enter the living area in square meters, e.g.:

At most 3 digits are allowed, "998" is to be recorded for living area of 998 m2 or more. If the living area is not exactly known, make an estimate.

For not known, use "999".

Question 24: Water for drinking and cooking
The question asks for information on:

The response alternatives are:

If the main source of water varies during the year, record the source that supplies the largest quantity of water.

Question 25: What type of toilet facility is mainly used by this household?
This information can be used in obtaining a measure of sanitation level of the household since these facilities are important for disease control and health improvement. Please note that it is access to a toilet facility which is referred to here and not the ownership.

The response alternatives are:

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Question 26: What is the household's main source of energy and cooking?
This refers to type of energy most often used during the year.

If the household uses electricity, check if the dwelling is electrified.

Section H: Total number of persons
Check the totals for males, females and grand total for the household and record these in the appropriate boxes in section H.

Fill in the totals for the household on the first empty line of the summary sheet on the cover of the booklet. The households are to be filled in on the cover in the order they appear in the booklet. In the case a booklet contains less than 36 households, there will obviously be empty positions in the summary section on the booklet cover.

9. Control of completed questionnaires

9.1 Check your work
Check your work for completeness in order to avoid a renewed visit to the household and ensure that:

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9.2 Census wall-mark
When the check shows that the interview with the household is complete, use the piece of chalk to mark the wall at the main entrance to the house with a cross as information for the supervisor or other officials that the household has been enumerated. Explain to the household that this cross must not be removed until the census period is over.

Thank the household for their participation.

10. When enumeration is terminating
The village headman will certify that the workload has been completed before you are allowed to leave the EA.

Once you have received this certification, you travel back to the District Centre and hand in your workload for checking by the district office staff and/or your supervisor. When the work has been accepted, your mission is completed.