The Best of Creative Computing Volume 1 (published 1976)
Surveys, The Census, and Privacy (examples of surveys, survey exercises)
A new learning activity from Creative Computing ....
Surveys, The Census, and Privacy
by David H.Ahl
Every 10 years, the United States government takes a census of every person in
the country. This serves a number of very useful purposes. First, it tells how
many people there are in the country. Second, it gives data on living and income
patterns and answers questions on whether the quality of life is improving,
indicates the decline (or growth) of disadvantaged sectors of the population,
and on economic growth. Also it gives valuable information on educational
attainment. It also yields vital statistics on population mobility, mortality,
birth rates, etc.
Private industry, various government bodies, colleges, and other groups also
take surveys from time to time. Here are some examples of recent surveys:
The Department of Transportation surveyed passengers on the NY-Washington
Metroliner about passenger rail services.
Educational Systems Research Institute surveyed the graduates of career
education programs in 15 cities for the U. S. Office of Education.
Ohio State University surveyed its students on a number of issues including the
reaction to their black studies program.
General Mills Corporation surveyed consumers about their preferences for various
snack and cereal products.
Consumer Mail Panels (for several insurance companies) surveyed a cross section
of people involved in auto accidents to see how well their insurance claims were
handled.
EXERCISE 1
Take a survey of the following items in class. Make a little table to put the
results like this:
Number of
Students Percent
A. Number of Children in
Family
1
2
3
etc.
B. Age
13
14
15
etc.
C. Does mother work?
Full time
Part time
No
D. Number of letters in last name
5 or fewer
6, 7 or 8
9, 10 or 11
12 or more
E. Rank the performance of the
President
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
F. Do you like raisin bran?
Yes
No
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