9. 9
Implications of census approach Implications of sample approach
• Data collection becomes part of regular business. Staff
may need to take on extra responsibilities
• Initial costs (training and any IT changes) may be high,
but these will generally reduce over time
• All staff to be trained initially
• Staff ownership – should be seen as business as usual
• Continuity – High chance of continuity
• Robustness – more robust for trend analysis
• Data management can be overwhelming at the
beginning, but should become easier over time as
process is embedded into operations
• Project management should be smoother and become
easier over time as this process becomes business as
usual. Only small changes may be needed over time
• The effectiveness of a census approach is high as data
collection and processes are business as usual
• Separate time allocation for data collection which can be
inefficient.
• Generally each sample data collection approach will
cost the same over time.
• Only a few staff to be trained – loss of these staff may
require further training in the future
• Staff ownership – may be seen as separate activity and
therefore less ownership taken
• Continuity – easier to stop
• Robustness – Less robust for trend analysis
• Data management may be easier with smaller amounts
of data
• Project management can be difficult it requires effective
resource allocation and constant attention.
• The effectiveness of a sample approach may be low to
moderate as the data collection is a separate activity
