Las limitaciones y perspectivas de la Información sociodemográfica a escala comunitaria. El caso de Nuevo Horizonte

Abstract

In the context of a project carried out by the Escuela de Sociología of the Universidad Central de Venezuela, the communities of a settlement called Nuevo Horizonte were accompanied in the different tasks they have to develop regarding their census. They received support in direct enumeration of 20 censuses. 7197 people distributed in 1901 households were interviewed. Once the data was collected, conjectures were made on the quality and reliability of it. This article presents the procedures that were followed by researchers of the project in order to review and correct the data. An analysis of the non-response questions made by urban sectors and variables is exposed. A procedure to impute missing data on age is also exposed considering that it is an important input for the structure and composition analysis of the settlement´s population and their urban sectors. Finally, there is an explanation on the tests used to review and correct ages, such as Whipple, Myers, Bachi and sex ratio. As a conclusion it can be said that the data gathered between the people from the communities and the people from the university are precise and reliable, but carrying out censuses without technical and methodological support is questioned since it is a complex activity.