APPENDIX A. 

 General Explanation 



Page 



TAKING THE CENSUS A-1 



OFFICE PROCESSING A-1 



DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS A-2 



FARM CLASSIFICATIONS A-4 



TAKING THE CENSUS 

 Report Form 



The report form for the 1 982 Census of Agriculture in 

 Guam was prepared by the Outlying Areas Branch of the 

 Agriculture Division, Bureau of the Census, in coopera- 

 tion with the Department of Commerce of Guam. 



The content of the 1982 census report form is similar 

 to that of the 1 978 form. Some changes were made to 

 provide more meaningful and useful statistics, and to 

 facilitate the processing of the collected data. A new data 

 item was added for total acres in the Fruits and Nuts sec- 

 tion. A data item not included was on source of financing. 



There were two other changes made to the report form. 

 The Fishery section was changed to make it more 

 understandable; and the reporting unit for land area was 

 changed from hectares to acres to facilitate reporting by 

 respondents. 



Training Program 



The project manager, crew leaders, and enumerators 

 employed for the census in Guam received special train- 

 ing for the job in accordance with instructions prepared 

 by the Bureau of the Census. The training included 

 classroom practice in interviewing and filling out the report 

 form and a detailed discussion of the enumerators' 

 instructions. 



Method of Enumeration 



The statistics in this report represent totals of data col- 

 lected from farm operators during a 12-week period, 

 beginning in March 1 983. Prior to enumeration, Guam was 

 divided into 19 Enumeration Districts (ED's) and each 

 district was clearly delineated on special ED maps. 



Each enumerator was assigned an ED and furnished 

 with a map of the district to be enumerated. In all areas, 

 except cities and other heavily populated areas, 

 enumerators were required to visit each dwelling (or 

 place), list the name of the head of household, and ask 

 a series of screening questions. If the place qualified as 

 an agricultural operation, the enumerator was required to 

 complete a report form (see appendix B). For urban and 

 other heavily populated areas, enumerators were given a 



list of 1978 farm operations and were required to 

 enumerate those that still operated as a farm. To ensure 

 as complete an enumeration as possible, the enumerators 

 were required to plot the location of each occupied dwell- 

 ing or place on the ED map. They were also given lists 

 of special and large farms located in each ED and were 

 required to complete a report form for each name listed 

 or an explanation of why one was not necessary. 



Enumerators were to ask enough questions about tracts 

 of land on which there were no dwellings to determine 

 whether a report form should be completed for the owner 

 or person in charge. This procedure was designed to 

 ensure complete coverage of all land used, whether 

 operated by an individual, partnership, corporation, or 

 institution. 



To avoid duplication or overlapping of enumeration, 

 rules were established whereby responsibility for coverage 

 could be determined. If a place was entirely within the 

 boundaries of an ED, the enumerator assigned to it was 

 responsible for completing the report form, regardless of 

 where the operator lived. If a place was partly in one ED 

 and partly in another, the enumerator assigned to the ED 

 in which the operator lived was responsible for completing 

 the report form; including all land the person operated in 

 Guam regardless of ED. 



OFFICE PROCESSING 



The office processing was done in the Agriculture Divi- 

 sion at the Bureau of the Census. Each report form was 

 edited and coded prior to being keyed and tabulated. 

 Report forms obtained for places not meeting the census 

 farm definition criteria were voided and removed from 

 further processing. The remaining report forms were 

 examined for accuracy, consistency, and completeness. 

 Errors in computations and in units of measures, incon- 

 sistencies, and misplaced entries were corrected. In- 

 complete reports were adjusted on the basis of related 

 information on the same form or on report forms for 

 nearby farms of similar type and size. 



After all report forms had been reviewed, the data were 

 encoded onto magnetic tape and subjected to a thorough 

 computer edit analysis. The computer analyzed the data 

 for each farm for completeness and consistency and 

 recorded all inconsistencies. These inconsistencies were 

 reviewed by subject matter specialists and corrected and 

 encoded onto the magnetic tape. The corrected data were 

 then tabulated by the computer and printed out for review. 

 Following necessary corrections, the data were 

 retabulated and a printout was provided so that the data 

 tables could be prepared for final publication. 



AGRICULTURE-GEOGRAPHIC AREA SERIES 



APPENDIX A A-1 



