Statistics Portugals Case Study Isabel Morgado isabel morgadoine

Statistics Portugal’s Case Study Isabel Morgado (isabel. morgado@ine. pt) Monica Isfan (monica. isfan@ine. pt) 9 – 11 April 2008 «

Overview § Organization § Metadata Strategy § Statistical metadata system § Statistical metadata in each phase of the statistical business process § Systems and design issues § Organizational and workplace culture issues § Lessons learned

Organization The National Statistical System § Statistical Council § National Statistical Institute (Statistics Portugal)

Organization The Statistical Council is the state body that supervises and coordinates the National Statistical System. This duty is carried out by the “Planning, Coordination and Dissemination” Standing Section, which has the power: “…to analyse and approve concepts, definitions, nomenclatures and other technical instruments of statistical coordination of the National Statistical System and to approve regular changes to these documents resulting from work done at the EU or national level” (Structure and Functioning of Statistical Council – SC Deliberation No. 286; 2005).

Organization Statistics Portugal: § Record, § Refine, official data § Coordinate, § Disseminate, § Delegate duties to other public departments, § Conceive and manage the statistical metadata system of the National Statistical System.

Organization Delegations (Porto, Coimbra, Évora, Faro) Planning, Control and Quality Unit Dissemination Unit Board Statistical Council Secretariat Legal Support Unit Administration and Management Department National Accounts Department Methodology and Information System Department Economic Statistics Department Data Collection Department Demographic and Social Statistics Department Communication and Image Unit

Organization Methodology and Information System Department Metadata Unit . . . . Applications Development Unit Coordinates all the work related to the statistical metadata system.

Metadata Strategy Approval of concepts Statistics Portugal centralises the management of statistical concepts. Concepts classified by subject area and, entered into database with the status “proposed concept”. The working groups (Statistical Council) analyse and recommend the concepts for approval to the Planning, Coordination and Dissemination Standing Section. After approval, the concepts receive the status: “Statistical Council – approved concept” and, are of obligatory use.

Metadata Strategy Approval of classifications: § Portuguese Classification of Economic Activities, § National Classification of Occupations, § National Classification of Goods and Services, § Administrative Division Code, § List of Countries, § Etc. Approved by the Statistical Council for mandatory use in the National Statistical System.

Metadata Strategy Approval of methodological documentation: 2005 Statistics Portugal submitted to appreciation to the Planning, Coordination and Dissemination Standing Section a standard format for the methodological document for the National Statistical System’s surveys. The standard format was approved and adopted as mandatory in the National Statistical System. 2007 75% of the surveys in the National Statistical System were documented in this format.

Metadata Strategy Phases I. Design Processes I. 1 Feasibility Study I. 2 Methodological Study I. 3 Technical Approval II. Production Processes II. 1 Planning and Preparation II. 2 Collection II. 3 Process and Analyse III. Dissemination Processes III. 1 Dissemination IV. Evaluation Processes IV. 1 Evaluation

Metadata Strategy Methodological Document (preliminary) Intranet I. 3 Technical Approval Methodological Document (final) Methodological Documents Internet

Metadata Strategy Technical approval of surveys: §The preliminary methodological document and the questionnaire(s) are sent: üunits directly involved, üusers of the results of surveys, üPlanning Unit, üData Collection Department, üMethodology and Information Systems Department. opinion § The Metadata Unit analyses: üconcepts and classifications, üensures correct application of the standard format of the methodological document, üanalyses questionnaires, üintroduces new concepts into the concept base. opinion

Metadata Strategy Technical approval of surveys: § The department responsible for the survey: üupdates the methodological document and/or the questionnaire(s) with the proposed changes or justifies its rejection, üsubmit the new version of the methodological document and questionnaire(s) for approval by the Board. § The Metadata Unit prepares a memo, on the basis of all the opinions of the different units and respective answers, to send to the Board, proposing their approval or rejection. § The Board then approves or rejects the survey. § Metadata Unit records the questionnaire(s) in the data collection instruments database and publish the methodological documentation the Intranet and in the Official Statistics website.

Integrated Statistical Metadata System

Integrated Statistical Metadata System The main purposes of the Integrated Statistical Metadata System are: § To support the whole life cycle of surveys; § To act as a central repository for statistical metadata serving as a source for other databases that support: design, production, dissemination of statistics and management; § To establish terminology for statistical metadata; § To constitute an instrument for statistical harmonisation and coordination of the National Statistical System, standardising the documentation of surveys, among other elements; § To implement a homogeneous environment for its technological infrastructure.

Integrated Statistical Metadata System Concepts Glossary Survey Theme Relationship Source Classifications Concepts Family Admin. Variables Sources Products Method. Collection Doc. Theme Classif. Instr. Data Files Questionna ires Statistical sources Stat. Unit Conceptual Variable Unit of Version Corr. Table Measure Value Questions Variable Dom. Level Item Corr. Entry

Concepts Subsystem Glossary Relationship Theme Concept Source

Concepts Subsystem

Classifications Subsystem Family Classification Version Level Item Correspondence table

Classifications Subsystem

Variables Subsystem Family/ Theme Object Class Property Conceptual Variable Representation Class Value Domain Variable Unit of Measure Statistical Indicator

Variables Subsystem

Data Collection Instruments Subsystem Data Collection Instruments Substitution/ Prorogation Questionnaires Files

Data Collection Instruments Subsystem

Methodological Document Subsystem Survey Concepts used Observation Variables Derived Indicators Classifications used Methodological Document Products Questionnaires Collection Instruments Data Files Dimensions

Methodological Document Subsystem Standard format: Methodological document § General characterization, § Methodological characterization, § Concepts, § Classification, § Variables, § Data collection instruments, § Abbreviation and acronym, § Bibliography.

Methodological Document Subsystem

Methodological Document Subsystem Metadata classification: § Statistical metadata ü Survey metadata, ü Methodological metadata, ü Definitional metadata, ü Quality metadata § System metadata

Statistical metadata in each phase of the statistical business process Phases/ Processes Planning Design Operation Preparation Metadata System Data Collection Dissemination Processing Concepts I, C Classifications I, C C C C C Methodological Documentation C I Data Collection Instruents C Variables I, C C C I, C Evaluation

Statistical metadata in each phase of the statistical business process Phase: Production/ II. 1 Planning and preparation Universes and Samples Management System e e rs m fra ve ni -u Sample frame and samples Short – term surveys b Su Annual universe frame WEb. Inq Su b-u n ive Statistical Unit rse fra m e Sample frame and samples Structural surveys Metadata SUFS Statistical Units File System ISMS Integrated Statistical Metadata System

Statistical metadata in each phase of the statistical business process Phase: Production/ II. 2 Collection Process Management System ata m ste y S Surveys d eta m ISMS Universes and Samples Management System Integrated Statistical Metadata System Metadata Survey instance Statistical Unit Collection instance Data collection instruments self-completion SUFS Statistical Units File System WEb. Inq

Statistical metadata in each phase of the statistical business process Phase: Production/ II. 2 Collection

Statistical metadata in each phase of the statistical business process Phase: Dissemination/ III. 1 Dissemination Data Base Metadata Variables Subsystem Da ta Statistical Indicators (view) Metadata Statistical Indicators DB a Dat Internet Data. Warehouse

Statistical metadata in each phase of the statistical business process Phase: Dissemination/ III. 1 Dissemination

Statistical metadata in each phase of the statistical business process Phase: Dissemination/ III. 1 Dissemination Confidence indicator (Balance) for construction Name Confidence indicator (Balance) for construction Regularity Monthly Source Statistics Portugal, Short-term statistics on business - Construction and public works survey First available period April 1997 Last available period February 2008 Dimensions Dimension 1 Data reference period (Month) Dimension 2 Geographic localization Concepts CONSTRUCTION A type of work (buildings, roads, bridges, dams, etc. ) connected to the ground and made of construction materials. Ground workfor agricultural purposes (e. g. ploughing) does not fall under the heading of construction. REFERENCE PERIOD The length of time for which data are collected, e. g. a specific day, month or year. ENTERPRISE Legal entity (natural or legal person) that is an organisational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the allocation of its current resources. An enterprise carries out one or more activities at one or more locations. Definition Difference between the share of positive evaluation responses (“increased”, “improved very much”, “above average”, “good”, “yes, for sure”, etc. ) and negative evaluation responses (“decreased”, “worsened somewhat”, “very unfavourable”, “probably not”, etc. ). These calculations do not include the share of neutral responses (“perhaps”, “the same”, etc. ) and “doesn’t know”. Formula %resp. (+) - %resp. (-) Measure unit Percentage (%) Power of 10 0

Systems and design issues

Organizational and workplace culture issues Metadata Unit § Technicians with general profile, 17 technicians + head unit § Nomenclaturists, § Terminologists.

Organizational and workplace culture issues Training and knowledge management Training plan I. Integrated Statistical Metadata System, II. Terminology, III. Classifications subsystems, IV. Variables subsystems, V. Methodological documentation (2009).

Organizational and workplace culture issues Training and knowledge management I. Integrated Statistical Metadata System § The integrated metadata system’s different components and its role as a technical statistical coordination tool; § The basic concepts and terminology underlying this system; § The role of each subsystem in the life cycle of surveys; § Improving the statisticians’ competences in the use of this system as a tool in designing the information subsystems in which they work.

Organizational and workplace culture issues Training and knowledge management II. Terminology § Terminology theory; § The notion of conceptual system and the application of a methodology in its design; § Semantic relationships in terminology; §Terminography; §Definition.

Organizational and workplace culture issues Training and knowledge management III. Classifications subsystem § The main international, EU and national classifications systems used in statistics, the classifications comprising them and the relationships between them; § The approval process for classifications at different levels and harmonisation in the use of classifications in the NSS; § Improving competences in the use of the classification subsystem.

Organizational and workplace culture issues Training and knowledge management IV. Variables subsystem § Recognition and designation of entities making up the conceptual model; § The rules and principles in the name, standardisation and harmonisation of variables; § How this subsystem relates to other subsystems in the integrated metadata system and other outside subsystems, such as the Dissemination Database and Web. Inq (electronic data collection); § Use of the consultation applications and the survey manager (SM) profile of the management application; § Defining indicators to be disseminated on the Official Statistics website.

Organizational and workplace culture issues Training and knowledge management V. Methodological Documentation (2009) § The Statistical Council-approved methodological document format for documenting the National Statistical System’s surveys; § Use of the consultation applications and the survey manager profile of the management application.

Lessons learned §Involvement of the institution's top management, fundamental Creation of documentation with formal and standardised procedures. §Development of prototype systems before final implementation, fundamental To test the system’s design and to detect the strong and the weak points.

Lessons learned §Training plans, fundamental Creation of the survey manager position. §Usability tests. fundamental The test results showed the difficulties that people experienced when using the Integrated Statistical Metadata System.

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