The Eastern Caribbean Center of the University of the Virgin Islands will conduct its annual V.I. Community Survey this November and December. UVI has been doing the survey for a number of years now, mapping not just the situation in any given year but helping researchers and policy makers get a clearer understanding of the changing population and housing statistics in the territory.
UVI wants Virgin Islanders to know the data is confidential and anonymous, so asks that people be helpful if contacted by a surveyor. This scientific survey of a sample of households is a follow-up to the one conducted in 2016. The information collected is similar to that gathered in the Population and Housing Census of 2010.
Data for 2018 will be gathered on two topics – population and housing. Population questions cover things such as age, sex, education, ethnic origin, employment, health insurance, veteran status and disability. On housing, the survey includes questions about the places respondents live, the source of water, internet access, number of rooms, utilities, ownership and rent.
“When processed, the 2018 VICS will provide data for agencies whose jobs are to organize and plan for the social, educational, health, economic and other needs of the community,” said Frank Mills, acting director of the Eastern Caribbean Center. “The data are also used by private-sector individuals for decision making and employed by others to develop important indices of the status of children in the territory.”
The University of the Virgin Islands requests the cooperation of the public when interviewers carrying UVI photo IDs visit households on all three islands. Unlike the census, this is a scientific sample survey and not every household will be interviewed, the ECC said in a news release.
The organizers said the survey is completely confidential. The data will be published only in summary form and individuals cannot be identified. As in the census, anonymity of respondents is a cornerstone feature of this survey, the news release said.
“Each selected household can experience a sense of accomplishment by contributing to data that will greatly assist in the rational development of the Virgin Islands community,” Mills said.
More information is available by calling the Eastern Caribbean Center at UVI at 340-693-1020.
