United Nations Economic Commission for EuropeStatistical DivisionUnited Nations Economic Commission for EuropeStatistical Division

Accessibility and Clarity:

The Most NeglectedDimensions of Quality?

Steven Vale, UNECE Statistical Division

Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 2April 18, 2023

Contents

What is accessibility? Accessibility and visualization Improving clarity Conclusions

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The importance of accessibility

“The ease and the conditions with which statistical information can be obtained”(Source: Metadata Common Vocabulary)

Not just about making data available on the Internet or in a book

Accessibility is about bringing data to users in an understandable way, opening a dialogue with those users, and ensuring that their information needs are met

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Accessibility should include

Communicating Marketing Interpreting “Story-telling” Informing Educating

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Current dissemination practices

Web sites of statistical agencies for all 56 UNECE member countries checked in spring 2008.

Data dissemination systems and formats? Static or active interfaces? Use of database technology?

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Results

Internet Dissemination ToolsNumber of Countries

%

Static html / pdf / word pages 29 51.8%

Excel spreadsheets 12 21.4%

National database software 17 30.4%

PC-Axis 12 21.4%

Statbank / PC-Axis 3 5.4%

SuperWEB 2 3.6%

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The user perspective

“Tourists” – want basic data and simple interfaces in their own language

“Harvesters” – want data for basic research or economic decisions, with some functionality to select and export

“Miners” – want detailed data for further analysis, will trade ease of use for increased database functionality

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User loyalty?

Users rarely use just one data source Different interfaces and data classifications

are a major source of irritation Standardization would improve accessibility

for the statistical community as a whole Harmonization of terminology? Interfaces? Offer data according to the DISA / SDMX

list of subject matter domains?

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1 Source: UNECE, Database ofInternational Statistical Activities

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Accessibility and visualization

Good visualizations make data accessible to many more users

Bad visualizations are unhelpful / misleading “Self-service” visualization needs to be

simple, with guidance to help users get meaningful results

“Ready-made” visualizations can be more complex, tailored to specific data sets

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Accessibility and visualization

Is it more cost-effective to:• develop “ready-made” graphics, or• offer users more “self-service” functionality?

Advanced users have access to their own visualization and analysis tools

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Improving clarity

Clarity is all about explaining our data Do current reference metadata help?

• Often written by specialists for specialists• Full of jargon• Too long• Too boring!

Simplified, plain-text versions needed• Could international agencies share this work?

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Layers of Metadata?

Summary Metadatafor “Tourists”

Intermediate Metadatafor “Harvesters”

Detailed Metadatafor “Miners”

Drill down

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Metadata layers in practice

Quality Reports• Summary – “traffic light” indicator

Red – Serious quality issues, read thequality report before using

Orange – Caution, do not use for important decisions without reading the quality report

Green – Good quality• Intermediate – short quality report

(1000 words maximum)• Detailed – full quality report

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Conclusions - Accessibility

Accessibility is not a passive concept Users are not homogeneous - outputs

should not be homogeneous Highlight key messages for “tourists” Allow other users to drill-down to detail Standard data structures and interfaces? “Ready-made” graphics are more cost-

effective than “self-service”

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Conclusions - Clarity

Current reference metadata are unhelpful for most users

Layers of metadata satisfy different users Focus on transparency

Overall Conclusion If we are serious about quality we must pay

more attention to accessibility and clarity

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Thank-you for listening!

Comments and Questions?

steven.vale@unece.org