The below text is excerpted on pages 97-109 from Measuring America: The Decennial Censuses From 1790 to 2000.

Census 2000 used two questionnaires—a long-form (sample) and a short-form (100 percent) questionnaire. The short-form questionnaire consisted of 7 questions that could be answered by up to 6 persons within a household (see questions 1-6 and 33 on long-form questionnaire reproduced here). Space was provided to identify 6 additional members of the household. The U.S. Census Bureau would collect data on persons 7-12 by telephone interview.

The long-form questionnaire, sent to a sample of households throughout the United States and territories, contained 29 inquiries in addition to the 8 questions asked on the short-form questionnaire. These additional quesitons, as in the past, collected information on the population, housing, economic, and social characteristics of the Nation’s households.