Data Accessibility, Confidentiality and Copyright United Nations Statistics Division

On data accessibility and confidentiality…….. Objective of data dissemination is to maximize the accessibility of census data while safeguarding confidentiality of the census information  Data were collected at the expenses of tax payers, therefore they are the sovereign owners Duty of NSO is to administrate the data in name of tax payers and to impede misdoings, but to guarantee that any legitimate need/use is satisfied 2

Accessibility is a census strategic objective The strategic objectives of the census include: “implementing policies designed to safeguard the access of all users to census results”

Quality assurance Even if data are accurate, they do not have sufficient quality if they are produced too late to be useful, or cannot be easily accessed, or conflict with other credible data, or are too costly to produce

What is accessibility Accessibility is the ease with which statistical data can be obtained by users, and reflects the availability of information from the holdings of the agency in general, and census information in particular

Accessibility should take into account The suitability of the form in which the information is available The media of dissemination The availability of metadata That the user has reasonable opportunity to know the information is available and how to access it The affordability of that information to users in relation to its value to them

About the education and training of users

Promotion of, and training on, uses of census data Users may be willing to use the information but require additional training to more fully understand the data Needs for training need to be identified early in the census planning process

Prepare in advance Identify areas and types of users on which the statistical office wishes to focus Establish partnerships with other bodies to provide training Consider also approaches other than classroom training to provide learning-at-a-distance opportunities

Topics to be addressed Potential uses of census data How to access census data Interpretation of census data at the broadest level, including the interpretation of its completeness and level of accuracy

Why is confidentiality important? Individual data collected by statistical agencies for statistical compilation, whether they refer to natural or legal persons, are to be strictly confidential and used exclusively for statistical purposes Principle 6 of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics

Long term benefits Better cooperation from the public More data from the public and better quality

Measures to protect data confidentiality Legal framework with penalties Procedures to avoid disclosure of individual units (person, household, business) Suppression of data Noise infusion Data swapping Sampling (for dissemination of micro data) Use of synthetic data Note: Disclosure relates to direct and indirect identification

On synthetic data Use of synthetic data to simulate the values that are similar to and have relationships consistent with the real data produces results that allow for the release of more information while still addressing strict disclosure avoidance guidelines

On Copyright Copyright laws may protect data ownership Loyalty fees and data usage fees may be charged to ensure a minimum return However If charged prices are too high, charges could be a barrier to data usage

Thank you