Our world is awash with data: raw data about ourselves, the things we do, the places we go, our homes and the environment around us, our health, what we buy, the businesses in our towns and cities…

All of these data have the potential to be turned into meaningful statistics, but the costs, benefits and risks of doing so are different in each case; as are the methods needed to turn raw data into useful statistical information, the amount of time that transformation would take, how much involvement is needed from members of society and from statisticians; and how accurate and reliable the resulting statistics would be.

Principle 5 calls on statistical agencies to weigh up all of these different considerations when they decide what would be the best data source for any given kind of statistics. For example, it might be much quicker and cheaper to use data from one source, but less reliable or representative than data from elsewhere.

Gathering information from people in a survey might offer the benefits of greater detail and insight into their opinions, but ask too many questions and eventually people will tire of being asked to complete surveys, and might give incomplete or inaccurate answers.

On the flip side, when statistical agencies produce statistics from existing data sources such as tax records, electoral registers or supermarket scanners – which can be much faster and cheaper than conducting in-person surveys and censuses – they have to very carefully manage public perceptions. They must make sure that society knows exactly what they are doing and how, allaying any fears about how data are obtained and processed and any concerns about the quality of the figures.

Guided by this principle, NSOs weigh up the pros and cons of every potential data source. This is a constant process because, while continuity of statistics is one important factor, the best source today might not remain the best source forever, or for all kinds of statistics. NSOs are always moving with the times to select the right data for the job, harnessing the richness of newly-emerging sources and technologies to ensure they always strike the right balance between value for money, accuracy, timeliness and respondent burden.

DANE Colombia

Colombia: Taking advantage of all available sources of information

[Video originally posted on Twitter account of @DANE_Colombia on 5 April 2022 https://twitter.com/DANE_Colombia. In Spanish with English subtitles]

The 10 Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics are guidelines to be followed by National Statistical Offices to ensure that they produce reliable, relevant, and quality information. Thus, these principles guide the daily work of all the people who work in DANE, which facilitates the access, use and understanding of the information we produce.

The following interventions illustrate Principle 5: Sources of Official Statistics.

Jorge Gómez – DANE’s Census and Demography Directorate:

“In 1992 the Conference of European Statisticians developed the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. It did not take long for statisticians from all over the world to recognize their relevance.
Thus, in 1994 the United Nations General Assembly adopted them. Today they are the main reference for the international community of official statistics.”

Felipe Palacios – DANE’s Directorate of Regulation, Planning, Standardization and Norms:

“Official statistics are fundamental inputs for decision-making and for contributing to sustainable development, international commerce and peace. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Fundamental Principles, and it is therefore necessary to join in the celebration to highlight the contribution of these principles to the fulfilment of global, regional and national development agendas.”

Natalia Alonso – DANE’s Sustainable Development Goals Group:

“The need for more information requires the use of non-traditional sources, also known as "New Sources of Information", which is in line with the vision of the National Statistical System that incorporates different actors from the public sector, private sector, academia and civil society organizations in statistical production. All this is also in line with a multi-stakeholder vision of the 2030 Agenda.”

Ana Cecilia Olaya – DANE’s Census and Demography Directorate:  

“Each source of information has strengths and limitations for statistical use. Census operations tend to be more costly, but offer a greater disaggregation of results, while operations based on probability samples can be more continuous and represent lower costs, although their representativeness is lower. On the other hand, administrative records provide up-to-date information that must be harmonized and consolidated for statistical use.

The international recommendations, based on the 5th Principle, propose that statistical entities should take advantage of all available sources of information, propose combined methods where results from alternative sources and traditional sources of information can be compared to form statistical registers, and thus advance in the production of continuous, less costly and quality statistics. “

Adriana Quintero – DANE’s Directorate of Dissemination and Statistical Culture:

“The use of different sources of information allows us to take advantage of their qualities, as well as to understand their limitations. In this sense, by using them in statistical production, the institution achieves higher levels of accuracy and timeliness, which in the end allows us to meet the needs of our information users.”

Mateo Cardona – DANE’s Administrative Registers Group:

“For example, through the integration of the Statistical Directory of Educational Centres and the Integrated Enrolment System, both administrative records, with the National Population and Housing Census 2018, we have been able to approximate the calculation of the distance a student travels between their household and the educational centre. This allows us to provide valuable information to decision makers for the structuring of public policies related to dropout and access to the educational system in the country.”