A Data-Centric Approach to the US Census

A group of university researchers believes that the data gathered and analyzed by the US Census Bureau can be found in existing sources without sending any forms or people out into the field. Actually, the researchers argue that the government can collect much more data and more timely data using sources like tax returns, state websites, even Google search data.

"The costs of a census are pretty large, $17.5 billion. That’s based on these paper forms. That’s really the driver behind our research," says Murray Jennex, a professor focused on knowledge management at San Diego State University. "The Census Bureau has spent a lot of money for technology to analyze data, but very little on collecting data," he added during a recent interview.

James M. Connolly

https://www.informationweek.com/big-data/a-data-centric-approach-to-the-us-census/d/d-id/1333021?_mc=NL_IWK_EDT_IWK_review_20181012&cid=NL_IWK_EDT_IWK_review_20181012&elq_mid=87149&elq_cid=20082287