The 2016 Population By-census will be conducted from June 30 to August 2. Notification letters have been sent out today to about 300,000 randomly selected households.
Households can choose to provide information by answering an e-questionnaire or through personal interviews.
Announcing details of the by-census at a press conference today, Commissioner for Census & Statistics Leslie Tang said the e-questionnaire account information uniquely assigned to each household will be printed on the notification letter, which is contained in purple envelopes.
From June 30, households can complete and submit the e-questionnaire through the by-census website or a dedicated mobile app downloaded from the website.
With the introduction of the e-questionnaire, household members can use desktop computers, mobile tablets or smartphones to submit anytime and anywhere, making it more convenient and environmentally friendly, Mr Tang said.
From July 16, the department will arrange census officers, who will work in pairs, to conduct interviews with households that have not yet submitted the e-questionnaire.
Census officers will wear a purple uniform and a by-census badge, and carry a certificate of identity and a red satchel with a logo.
Mr Tang said it is the first time census officers will use mobile tablets to collect information, which will be transmitted in an encrypted format to the data centre.
Using mobile tablets allows immediate computer validation of answers, so the quality of the collected data is guaranteed and the need to contact the households again to verify data is reduced. As transient information stored in mobile tablets will be erased automatically after transmission, data security is also enhanced.
Households are reminded to carefully check the identity of census officers and call the by-census service centre on 18 2016 to verify their identity, if in doubt.
People can also call the hotline for queries related to completing the e-questionnaire, or to make an appointment for a face-to-face interview.
