Lammas 96

Why the Pagan Census Takes So Long?

by Helen A. Berger

Many people have been inquiring why data from the Pagan census has taken so long to appear. As those of you who completed the census may recall, the survey questions filled four legal sized pages. In order to enter the data onto a computer we had to create a number code for each possible answer in each category. To ensure that the coding was consistent our first task was to develop a code book. Because of the large number of questions and alternative answers our code book consists of fifteen pages of instructions. Close to three thousand people responded making the process of coding and data entry very time consuming. Finally we needed to "clean the data," i.e. check for coding and data entry errors.

Unlike the US census bureau we have limited resources and no full time employees to work on the survey. Two colleagues, Drs. Leigh Shaffer and Evan Leach generously donated their time to help work on the project. I hired student workers through a grant from West Chester University and my own funds. However, everyone had other commitments and responsibilities and could only work on the survey part-time. Added to this was the usual array of problems; computer viruses, family and health problems among those working on the survey, and school breaks during which all the student workers disappeared. The first set of data is now available and more will appear in the next few months. Some of the more complex data and analysis will take longer as my colleagues and I continue to work on the survey. Please be patient.