Quality in statistics and relation to the media Carsten Ulrik Zangenberg (cuz@dst.dk) Magnus Bo Nørtoft (mnt@dst.dk) June 27 Session 13

User orientation is everything Quality of a statistical product or service is not only what we put into it. It is also what the users get out of it and how they can use it.

Why we are here Good decisions rely on facts Common reference frame for discussions Provide the basic facts on society – a common reference point Basis for democracy and economy National and international statistical systems

Changes are going on – Statistical agencies

Competition in the “market of facts” Big Data

Media – a central target group Media as central agent in the public sphere Basis for democracy and economy Provide the basic facts on society – a common reference point Because good decisions rely on facts Common reference frame for discussions Media – a central target group: Key agent in cultivating common reference frame for discussions Central supplier of information to private, public and political persons

Changes are going on – Media Increased number og news updates Cuts in staff Cuts in specialized and investigative groups and staff production speed Increase in Reduced budgets Competition in the “market of news” Competition in audience attention

What are the challenges? Decline in media awareness Competition in the “market of facts” Change in media workplace reality Change in expectation: Increased demand for proactive and contextually designed figures Increased demand for production time and publication timing Being understood is even more important: Increased attention from new recipients Different context and focus (public debate not production of data) Metadata and statistical documentation

What do we do? Analysis unit Editorial set-up Teaching of journalists Direct dialogue with media- editors Correct and contain misinterpretations in the media Customized and unique extracts to media Extended microdata service Intensive work on documentation of statistics – including quality assurance Quality reviews of statistical products and follow up on action plans Coherent metadata system of Documentation of statistics Classifications Concepts Description of variables

Analysis Unit in DST Tasks: Helps with identifying good ideas Helps with statistical design and analysis Helps with writing up analyses External effects: Better idea of what the users want Increased ability to meet the needs of users Use analyses to promote ‘ordinary’ statistics Internal effects: Increased collaboration across different parts of the organization Better support of staff in the organization for tasks that are fun, but difficult Feedback from analyses to ‘ordinary’ statistics

What are the criteria? Assessment of the story is based on the new criteria, significance, relevance and identification. Statistical assessment of data quality, can it meet requirements in the context? Do we contribute with something new that qualifies the debate When selecting topics, we are aware of the fact that they reflect both the breadth of our statistical areas and the breadth of the social debate The editors' releases reflect Statistics Denmarks values on impartiality and independence The results are not guiding if we publish or not. We should be able to imagine entering the story, regardless of what our data shows - we focus on what the statistics show

But…

Challanges Documentation and reservations are not always read or understood A more editorial and analytical dissemination makes new demands on the distribution of documentation Unclear target group for dissemination of documentation Different "level" for documentation in different statistical areas Lack of description and explanation of concepts in the dissemination

What to do? Context based documentation Revisiting documentation of statistics Feed back to statistics units and spread understanding of importance More transparency about quality, eg. through communication of quality reviews Central base and description(s) of concepts Quality assurance as part of media readiness

Quality in statistics and relation to the media Thank you for your attention Carsten Zangenberg (cuz@dst.dk) Magnus Nørtoft (mnt@dst.dk)