DEMOGRAPHY

Demography is the science of human population. A Belgian name of ACHILE GLUILLARD first used the term in 1855 when he published his book in FRENCH named “Elements of Human Statistics or Comparative Demography”. He defines it as the natural and social history of the human species or the mathematical knowledge of population, of their general changes and of their physical civil intellectual and moral conditions. Population analysis is more or less used as synonymous to demography. However population analysis has more mathematical and numerical analysis. The term demography has been derived from two Greek words DEMOS meaning to human population and GRAPHY means to measured. Demography has further defined in different senses and levels. We have narrowest sense, broadest sense and widest sense.

MEASUREMENT OF ERRORS IN DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

Methods of measurements of errors have been developed for census statistics; however can equally be used in vital statistics registration.

Response error is a broad term which includes both errors of coverage and error of content. The sampling theory assumed the census or survey or VSR records collected at time period are regarded as one of the series of trials, collection of responses which would vary from trial to trial. This hypothesis further assumed that the trials have been conducted under the same conditions and that they are independent of each other.

Various indices, measuring levels of errors can be calculated through this table:

ERRORS IN DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

Despite the care taken to ensure the quality of the data collected by enumeration and registration, it will some time give obvious indications of errors in basic information. Usually errors in censuses and vital statistic registration (VSR) are of two types: