COR #498

To: WLS, WLS Coding Staff
From: S C Noah Uhrig

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PROBLEM:  Some organizations and job descriptions at which a
respondent is employed can not be classified by the 1970 U.S.
Census occupation and industry classification system.  These tasks
and firms are generally determined to have developed recently and
therefore have cannot be captured by the 1970 classification
system.  In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau has changed their
classification system for both the 1980 and 1990 censuses.  For
example, Video Cassette Records (VCR) rental stores simply did not
exist in 1970.  These stores could not, therefore, be classified by
the 1970 codes.  A second example, the bundle of tasks performed by
a "paralegal" are not uniformly codable by the 1970 classification
system -- several codes capture these tasks.  Whereas, the 1990
system has single specific code for the bundle of tasks considered
"paralegal".  

SOLUTION:  Follow these steps when you suspect the 1970 coding
system does not extend to the tasks or industry you are attempting
to code.

     1)  Search for a code through the 1990 U.S. Census occupation
     and industry classification system. 

     2)  Perform both of the following tasks:

          a)  Look for possibly related titles in the 1990
          Classified Index of Occupation and Industry codes.

          b)  Ascertain the Classified Title for the occupation or
          industry (example the title on pages XI to XXIII of the
          1990 Alphabetic Index).

     3)  Use the results of step two for the following tasks:

          a)  Search the 1970 Alphabetic Index using the related
          titles found in the 1990 Classified Index.

          b)  Use the 1990 Classified Title to identify the same or
          a similar classified title in the 1970 Classified Title
          list.

     4)  Once a series of codes has been identified via steps 2)
     and 3), determine which is the closest the tasks or
     organization described by the respondent.  Allocate as
     necessary.