title: Birth order in Australian vital statistics.
abstract: The author examines factors contributing to the poor quality of Australian vital statistics on birth order.  Among these are the lack of standardization of birth registration procedures, census respondents' reluctance to provide information concerning illegitimate births, and problems associated with differences in instructions to parents registering births. Instructions for Australian birth registration forms are suggested.  The author stresses that "information needs to be gathered on previous issue in respect of all births registered, not just marital births; and it needs to be gathered in respect of all children born alive to the mother, not just those of the current marriage or relationship."
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Carmichael
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D001719:Birth Certificates; D001722:Birth Order; D003625:Data Collection; D019049:Developed Countries; D003906:Developing Countries; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005195:Family Relations; D007086:Illegitimacy; D010139:Pacific Islands; D011154:Population Characteristics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012106:Research; D012107:Research Design; D012940:Social Problems; D014798:Vital Statistics
keywords: Australia; Birth Order; Birth Records; Data Collection; Data Reporting; Data Sources; Developed Countries; Developing Countries; Error Sources; Evaluation; Evaluation Report; Family And Household; Family Characteristics; Family Relationships; Illegitimacy; Measurement; Oceania; Population Statistics; Reliability; Research Methodology; Social Problems; Vital Statistics