Supplying Official Statistics
11 October 2010
Official Statistics are a way of ensuring that data in the public domain have integrity and are honest, objective and impartial. Data classified as Official Statistics are of a standard that can be relied upon to:
- monitor performance
- assist in the management of government service
- impact on decisions about the allocation of government resources
They are also seen as a mechanism by which parliament and the public can obtain a “window on society and the economy, and on the work and performance of government”, and can inform public debate.
The production of Official Statistics was a relatively small yet important part of a wider study recently completed by ORC International for a national public agency. The need for data to comply with requirements for Official Statistics helped to guide our rigorous sampling, data collection and analysis methods.
To produce the required Official Statistics, our in-house Statisticians combined selected data from a survey of 1,000 schools in England with that from Further Education Surveys, using the relevant code of conduct as a guide. Our research and technical reports presented the findings of the study and the “provenance” of the reported data.
