Basic Module B1
Module B1: The Statistical System
Synopsis
This module provides an overview of statistics as a discipline and its application within the
National Statistical System (NSS) in your country. It also introduces students to different
data collection techniques through the study of how data are collected to generate statistics
that are used to help in decision making.
Objectives
The National Statistical System
Successful students will
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Be familiar with the functions of the National Statistical Office and relevant parts
of other institutions that make up the National Statistical System in their country.
Be aware of the content of the National Statistical Act in their country.
Be able to find statistical information about their country.
Be aware of the main statistical series that are produced in their country, the
methods used to collect them, the frequency of the collections, and their uses.
Statistics
Successful students will:
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Be able to explain what is statistics as a discipline
Be able to explain the importance of statistical information for decision making at
local, national and international level.
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Be able to explain what should happen at different stages of the cycle of statistical
production including: specific definition of information needs, design of data
collection, data gathering, data management, data processing and data presentation.
Data collection
Successful students will
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Be able to explain the differences between data collection techniques including
census, surveys and experiments.
Be able to choose an appropriate data collection technique depending on the
objectives of the collection.
Be able to identify the likely errors and their sources in data collection
Be able to propose options for reducing the incidence of errors during data
collection.
Be able to write simple field reports describing the experience of a data collection
exercise.
Expected outcome
Successful students will have awareness of the work carried out by the different institutions
that form the National Statistical System in their country. They will be able to find
information and help others finding information available to the general public. Students
will have an appreciation of the practical uses of local, regional and national statistics as an
important element in decision making.
Pre-requisites
Enthusiasm
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Contents
Part A: The National Statistical System
Successful students will:
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Be familiar with the functions of the National Statistical Office and relevant parts
of other institutions that make up the National Statistical System in their country.
Be aware of the content of the National Statistical Act in their country.
Be able to find statistical information about their country.
Be aware of the main statistical series that are produced in their country, the
methods used to collect them, the frequency of the collections, and their uses.
Session 1. Examples of Statistics
At the end of this session students will be able to:
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List a minimum of 10 areas of application of statistics in their country
Explain how statistics is used to promote development
Give examples of how such statistics are used in his/her country
Session 2. The role of statistics in Evidence Based Policy Making
At the end of this session students will be able to:
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Explain the role of statistics in evidence-based policy-making.
Give examples of uses of statistics for evidence-based policy-making at different
levels
Session 3. The National Statistical System:
At the end of this session students will be able to:
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Explain what is statistics
Explain what is the National Statistical System (NSS)
Explain what is the composition of the NSS in their country
Explain what is the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS)
Explain what are the essential components of a NSDS
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Session 4a. The NSO, the National Statistics Act
At the end of the session students will be able to:
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Locate and summarise salient features of the Statistics Act of their country
Define the functions of the National Statistical Office as defined in the Statistics
Act
Identify the competences of the National Statistical Office from the Statistics Act
Make comparisons of the Statistics Acts of the member states of SADC
Session 4b. The 10 Principles of Official Statistics
At the end of the session, students will be able to:
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List the 10 Principles of Official Statistics
Assess how their country has implemented the 10 Principles of Official Statistics
and compare that with what has happened in other member states of SADC
Part B: Statistics in Practice
Session 5. The Swaziland Agricultural Survey as an example of a large
national survey
At the end of this session students will be able to:
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Explain what is the Swaziland Agricultural Survey
Describe how the data for the SAS is collected and how often is collected
Explain the way that the SAS is organised throughout the year
Explain how fields are selected for the crop cutting survey
Describe how the results of the survey are used
Give examples of three national scale surveys that are carried out regularly in their
own country
Session 6. CPI as an example of a regular data collection
At the of this session students will be able to:
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Describe the CPI, and its uses
Discuss some of the issues that affect the compilation and calculation of the CPI
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Calculate the inflation rate
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Find the latest national data
Explain how it is compiled
Session 7. Climate variability and change
At the end of this session, you will be able to:
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Explain why climate issues are included in this statistics course
Relate issues of climate change and climate variability to risk assessment and
productivity in agriculture
Understand the data requirements for a climate variability/change problem
concerning planting dates
Interpret a graph of planting dates to begin to assess the evidence for climate
change
Explain what role, if any, they can play in the climate debate
Session 8. Using alternative energy for cooking
At the end of this session, you will be able to:
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Explain the potential importance of solar energy in Africa
Explain the potential importance of solar cooking
Describe a case study of solar cooking
Identify aspects of the adoption of solar cooking where statistical skills are useful
Explain whether aspects of solar cooking are useful locally
Session 9: School enrolment and the MDGs
At the end of this session students will be able to:
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State at least 3 of the MDGs
State at least 1 indicator corresponding to education issues
Identify the difference between a census and a sample
Give objectives for the education census both in relation to the MDGs and to
other needs of the country.
Provide at least 2 other examples where a country routinely collects administrative
data that is also used for statistical purposes.
Identify the information needed from the survey for Indicator 6 of the MDGs
Session 10. Statistics on Business
At the end of this session students will be able to:
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Explain why business statistics are important
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Discuss the difficulties in counting businesses
Define the meaning of value added
Identify key points in a table of business statistics
Part C: Methods used for collecting data
Session 11. Methods used for collecting data and the data cycle
At the end of this session students will be able to:
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Describe the data cycle
Define what is a census
Define what is a survey
Define what is an experiment
List the main characteristics of a survey, a census and an experiment
Choose between the use of a census, a survey or an experiment depending on the
characteristics of the study at hand
Session 12. Ask the right questions in the right way
At the end of this session students will be able to
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Write simple questions following good practice recommendation in writing
questions for questionnaires
Session 13. Qualitative methods for data collection
At the end of this session, participants will be able to
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Argue the case for an integrated approach to evidence gathering that combines
qualitative and quantitative approaches
Discuss the importance of participatory methods as one of the approaches that has
become part of the mainstream of the methods used for gathering evidence
Session 14. Choosing an appropriate methods for data collection
At the end of this session, participants will be able to
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Explain how the objectives of a study determine the choice of a suitable method
for data collection
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Give examples of when a survey, a census, and experiement, a qualitative study or a
combination of any of these are appropriate methods for data collection
Part D: Special topics
Session 15. Identifying and reducing sources of error in data collection
At the end of the session students will be able to:
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Explain that data collected through surveys and censuses is not perfect but prone
to errors.
Identify the two types of errors in statistical data.
Identify the sources of the two types of errors.
Propose methods of minimising or reducing the incidence of errors in statistical
data.
Provide the necessary information to users and producers of statistics on the
quality and limitations of survey data.
Session 16. Rules for enumerators
At the end of the session students will be able to:
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Explain the importance of an enumerator in the Statistical Data Collection process
List the equipment required by enumerators in field work operations
Identify the desirable characteristics of a good enumerator, and
Explain how enumerators should behave in the execution of their duties
Session 17. Developing skills to capture errors in data
At the end of the session students will be able to:
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Explain the importance of an enumerator in the Statistical Data Collection process
List the equipment required by enumerators in field work operations
Identify the desirable characteristics of a good enumerator, and
Explain how enumerators should behave in the execution of their duties
Session 18. Principles for Drawing and Reading a Map
At the end of this session, the student should be able to
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Read and be able to navigate using a map
Understand the principles behind drawing a map and be able to draw a basic map
Appreciate the benefits of using maps in designing studies
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Session 19. Preparing a structured field report
At the end of this session, you will be able to:
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Outline the structure/contents of a field report.
Outline the importance of such reports in an institution producing statistics.
Identify the future use of these field reports, if any, in their areas of work.
Design a structured field report for any survey that they are familiar with.
Session 20. Ethical issues in the collection of statistics
At the end of the session students will be able to:
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Define ethics
Identify and explain the main ethical challenges that arise in Official Statistics
Explain how to address ethical issues that arise in Official Statistics
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