Data Quality in Indian Demographic Surveys

An American demographer George Chandler Whipple (1866–1924) gives the Whipple’s index of digit preference shows systematic heaping on ages ending with the digit 0 and 5. Thomas Spoorenberg (2009) states that “the original Whipple’s index does not account well for the quality of age reporting once it is improving and reaches better levels”. He further states that “the total modified Whipple’s Index (Wtot) suggested by him offers however a simple alternative which fully accounts for the changes in the attraction/repulsion on all age-digits”. In present study an attempt is made to apply the newly developed indices to single year age data by sex of 26 states and 601 districts in India of District Level Household and Facility Surveys-3 (DLHS-3). An analysis of 26 states and 601 districts in India is done by using GIS software and is shown by means of maps of India.