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Evolving Standards in Data Collection and Reporting. By JD, PTC. National standards.
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Evolving Standards in Data Collection and Reporting By JD, PTC
National standards The use of national standards at the state level aims to improve national comparability for state users and facilitate decision-making. Moreover, the overall structure, including concepts and definitions, should follow nationally accepted standards, guidelines or good practices.
The gaps/weakness that exists in the current statistical system are: I. Lack of statistical awareness: a. Policy-designers and decision-makers do not systematically utilize statistics and do not depend on statistics in running their institutions, hence compromising the quality of the policies and decisions made. b. Statistical data is rarely used by local authorities, or by legislators. c. Little collaboration and cooperation between data-producers Exist
The gaps/weakness that exists in the current statistical system are: II. Data production issues: a. Lack of a statistical strategy hinders the proper development of statistical operations, including those of the Department of Statistics. b. Many data-producing institutions do not abide by scientific principles, modern methodologies, and national statistical standards and good practices c. The scarce technical resources of the producers, particularly in the areas of data collection methodologies. d. documentation schemes, and the use of appropriate technologies and software. e. The producers’ lack of expertise in the field of statistics, especially on sampling, form design, and data analysis f. The existence of human errors, particularly in form-filling, coding, and data entry. g. Lack of statistical awareness on the part of the data providers (respondents), whether on the household level or on the establishment level, causes their unwillingness to cooperate and tempts them to provide inaccurate information.
Suggestion for improving the data reliability and credibility: a. The adoption of standards and specifications to apply to data from all concerned departments to ensure the data’s precision, reliability, and conformance to adopted standards. Such activities include non-politicizing of the statistical product, and non-allowing of interference in the production of statistical figures. b. Relieving the burden on the data providers, through limiting the number of questions they have to reply to in a single survey, and/or limiting the number of surveys they are subjected to c. Enforcing the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 and Rules 2011 that are related to data quality and reliability. Such Act must be enforced on non-responding households and/or establishments, those who provide inaccurate information or the field staff that alter or forge the collected field data.
Suggestion for improving the data reliability and credibility: d. Developing an information technology policy that provides for the use of modern technologies in data production, which lead to improving the production quality, starting with the collection process, through data processing the cost of data collection and the burden on the data entry, data storage, and ending with data publishing and dissemination. This will reduce the cost of data production and burden on respondents, providing –in turn- for more accuracy and reliability of the produced data. e. Developing an information management system and using information technologies to facilitate data management and retrieval, for data entry, transformation, storage, retrieval, control, and presentation. This includes management of data collected by administrative activities.
Suggestion for improving the data reliability and credibility: f. Data consistency requires coordination between the data producers, such that: o Data are collected for standard time periods. o Modern methodologies and procedures are standardized and used for data collection. o A single, approved, reference source is adopted for the publishing of data for each sector. g. Promoting statistical awareness by creating public awareness of statistics, through awareness programmes in the media. h. Developing the dissemination schemes of official data, through Improving the statistical reporting system by using professional reporting techniques. Maintaining an email list that is updated regularly, and that includes all stakeholders, whether they be producers users, or researchers. Using websites as the main data dissemination channel.
Suggestion for improving the data reliability and credibility: i. A detailed training programme to upgrade the staff skills in areas like methods of data collection, processing and summarization has to be given for the exiting staff and also induction training for Statistical Inspector and Enumerators with Basic Statistics has to be made mandatory in order to get quality data. A higher level training on important subjects like Poverty Estimation, Estimation of GSDP, DDP, Statistical analysis and also analysis of data and writing of report and usage of latest statistical packages must be given to higher level officers. j. Rotation of job at least once in 5-6 years for statistical personnel will give an opportunity for them to be exposed to different statistical environment and also to a long standing at a single place may some time lead to biased production of data.
