make a general investigation or survey

Census (Census) refers to a one-time comprehensive survey specially organized for a specific purpose, which is used to investigate the total amount of social phenomena at a certain time or in a certain period. It is suitable for collecting some statistical data that cannot or is not suitable for regular comprehensive statistical reports to find out the important national conditions and national strength. For example, the seventh population census in China is to find out the national conditions of China’s total population at 0: 00 on November 1, 2020.

Census can not only find out a country’s national conditions and national strength, but also understand and master the situation of human, financial and material resources and their utilization, and provide a reliable basis for the country to formulate long-term plans and policies. The basic requirements of the census are:

(1) There should be strict organization and high-quality census personnel;

(2) There should be strict time requirements. In the census, the standard time point of the census should be specified, that is, the registered objects should be based on the unified time point specified in advance, and all the survey data must be reflected at this time point;

(3) The registration of census should be carried out at the same time in the whole scope of census, so as to ensure the timeliness and accuracy of census data and avoid the delay in data collection;

(4) The survey items and indicators must be centralized and unified;

(5) The contents and time of similar censuses should be as consistent as possible in previous censuses.

In general, the census work should be carried out according to a certain period as far as possible, so as to make a dynamic comparative analysis of previous census data and understand the objective development law. It can be seen that the characteristics of the census are: it is a comprehensive survey with the advantages of comprehensive, detailed and systematic data; It is a one-time special survey with high accuracy and standardization. Due to the heavy workload, long census period and high cost, it is generally not appropriate to hold it frequently.