United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Statistical Division
Accessibility and Clarity:
The Most Neglected
Dimensions of Quality?
Steven Vale, UNECE Statistical Division
Contents
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What is accessibility?
Accessibility and visualization
Improving clarity
Conclusions
23 July 2016
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 2
The importance of accessibility
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“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
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 3
Accessibility should include
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Communicating
Marketing
Interpreting
“Story-telling”
Informing
Educating
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 4
Current dissemination practices
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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?
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 5
Results
Number 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%
Internet Dissemination Tools
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 6
The user perspective
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“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
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 7
User loyalty?
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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?
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 8
1
Source:
UNECE,
Database of
International
Statistical
Activities
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 9
Accessibility and visualization
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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
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 10
Accessibility and visualization
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Is it more cost-effective to:
develop “ready-made” graphics, or
• offer users more “self-service” functionality?
•
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Advanced users have access to their own
visualization and analysis tools
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 11
Improving clarity
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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!
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Simplified, plain-text versions needed
•
Could international agencies share this work?
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 12
Layers of Metadata?
Summary Metadata
for “Tourists”
Drill
down
Intermediate Metadata
for “Harvesters”
Detailed Metadata
for “Miners”
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 13
Metadata layers in practice
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Quality Reports
•
Summary – “traffic light” indicator
Red – Serious quality issues, read the
quality report before using
 Orange – Caution, do not use for important
decisions without reading the quality report
 Green – Good quality
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Intermediate – short quality report
(1000 words maximum)
• Detailed – full quality report
•
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 14
Conclusions - Accessibility
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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 costeffective than “self-service”
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 15
Conclusions - Clarity
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Current reference metadata are unhelpful
for most users
Layers of metadata satisfy different users
Focus on transparency
Overall Conclusion
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If we are serious about quality we must pay
more attention to accessibility and clarity
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 16
Thank-you for listening!
Comments and Questions?
steven.vale@unece.org
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 17