SXU4004 and SXU4404

Week 5: Uses of Official

Data
Dr. Alison J. Orrell
a.orrell@bangor.ac.uk
24/10/2023
Assessment 1
• In your title identify the article you have
reviewed.
• Do not refer to PowerPoints, lecture notes,
and avoid online websites - material
references should be academic sources.
• Deadline: 6th November 2023 at 16.00.
• It will not be possible to overwrite the
submission after the deadline.
SPSS Computer Labs (Begin Monday 6 th
November 2023)

• Monday 9.00 – 11.00 Group B Computer Room 2 Main Arts Building

• Monday 11.00 – 13.00 Group A Computer Room 2 Main Arts Building
• Thursday 9.00 – 11.00 Group C Computer Room 2 Main Arts Building
• Friday 11.00 – 13.00 Group D Computer Room2 Main Arts Building

• Please check your timetable to see which group you are in and where the lab session will
take place as this may vary from week to week. The times will not change.
Uses of Official Data
Introduction
• The collection and analysis of official UK data is undertaken by the Office of National
Statistics (ONS) as well as government departments and non-departmental public bodies.
• Official statistics are an essential source of data for social scientists as well as a vital part of
the policy-making process.
• Their accuracy and trustworthiness are matters of central concern to the research community.
• This session examines the construction and collection of official datasets such as the Census,
the Crime Survey for England and Wales and the British Household Survey. Questions of
access, control and bias are also considered in the light of recent controversies about the
interpretation of official data.
What do we mean by ‘Official’ Data?
• ‘Official’ data is the most generally available form of social science information.

• Refers to statistical information produced, collated, and disseminated by national

governments, their agencies, and the international bodies which link them.
Official Data
• Under-used by social researchers (except economists).

• Relevance to ‘theoretical’ and policy questions.

• Issues of access, quality, budgets and government statistics policy.

• Perceptions that official data is flawed.

The need for information
• Fulfil the democratic function of holding the government accountable for its activities.
• Keep a wide range of publics informed about the state of society and to provide (access to)
data that inform public debates, research and policy agendas.
• Inform resource allocation, both within government and within other bodies (NGOs).
• Support the evaluation of performance by agencies such as the police and social services.
• Provide an evidence base for longer-term government strategic and policy developments.
Official Statistics – Strengths (positivism)
• Provide an overview of social life.
• Enable easy comparisons between social groups and countries.
• Enable us to make historical comparisons and to establish trends.
• The government is the only institution large enough to and representative enough to collect
massive datasets on public issues.
• Using them allows the researcher to remain detached from respondents.
Official Statistics – Limitations (interpretivism)
• Some official statistics lack validity. E.g., not all crimes will be reported*.
• Lack validity because they are collected by the state and manipulated to make things look
better than they actually are. E.g., unemployment statistics*.
• May serve the interests of elite groups – data is only collected on things which do not harm
those in power.
• The way that some social trends are measured changes over time – making historical
comparisons is difficult.
History of UK Statistics
• 1941 - Central Statistical Office (CSO).
• 1969 - Government Statistical Service (GSS) and Business Statistics Office.
• 1970 - Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS).
• 1996 - Office for National Statistics (ONS) - (merger of CSO and OPCS + Labour Market
statistics).
• 2000 - Launch of current ‘National Statistics’ system.
• 2008 - Enactment of Statistics and Registration Service Act. UK Statistics Authority
established as independent, accountable to Parliament. www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk
Data sources - Examples
• Census http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census/
• National Survey for Wales http://gov.wales/statistics-and-research/national-survey/
• Crime Survey for England & Wales http://www.crimesurvey.co.uk/
• Understanding Society (UK Household Longitudinal Study)
https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/
• International Social Survey Programme http://www.issp.org/
• UNODC statistics https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/statistics/index.html
UK Census http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census/
• Held since 1801. Exception was 1941 when the Census was cancelled due to WW2.
• 100% population.
• 10 year intervals and intermediate samples.
• Legal requirement to complete.
• Provides a baseline for representativeness of surveys.
• Issues: problems of compliance, incomplete data, cost.
• Consultation on the future of the Census.
• Alternatives: ID cards and compulsory registration of residents or administrative data?
Census neighbourhood statistics
• What are the characteristics of an area?
• Compare local, regional and national profiles.
• How has a neighbourhood changed over time? http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/

• Access to population and labour market statistics is via NOMIS

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/
From Census to cross-sectional surveys
• National Survey for Wales: https://gov.wales/national-survey-wales

• A large-scale survey of adults in Wales, covering a range of topics such as wellbeing and
people’s views on public services. Representative sample of ~ 12,000 people, using telephone
interviews and online questionnaires.

• From 2016-17 onwards the National Survey also contains topics that were previously included
in the Welsh Health Survey, the Arts in Wales Survey, the Welsh Outdoor Recreation Survey
and the Active Adults Survey.
Example (1) - Statistical outputs on the Welsh Language
from cross-sectional surveys
• Census … 2001, 2011, 2021.
• Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg/ Welsh Language Board (archive since 2012).
https://statswales.wales.gov.uk/Catalogue/Welsh-Language
• National Survey for Wales: Welsh Language Use Survey.
http://gov.wales/statistics-and-research/welsh-language-use-survey/?lang=en
• Ref. Hywel M. Jones.
http://www.comisiynyddygymraeg.cymru/English/Publications%20List/A%20statistical%20overview
%20of%20the%20Welsh%20language.pdf
Example (2) – Crime Survey for England & Wales
• Recurrent large scale cross-sectional survey which monitors the extent of crime in England and
Wales. It is used by the Government to evaluate and develop crime reduction policies as well as
providing vital information about the changing levels of crime over the last 30 years.

• Originally known as the British Crime Survey, the Crime Survey for England and Wales has been
conducted annually since 2001/02. http://www.crimesurvey.co.uk/en/index.html

• From 2009 interviews have been carried out with children aged 10 to 15.

• Issues: propensity to report different types of crime, internal validity.

Longitudinal Survey – Understanding Society
• Understanding Society (US) is a panel survey which merged with and replaced the British
Household Panel Survey (BHPS). The BHPS ran from 1991 to 2009 and collected data from
5,500 households and 10,000 individuals. Now US covers ~ 40,000 household. The focus of
the survey is on social change and data are collected via annual surveys or interviews.

• Data are collected on personal background, finances, expectations and aspirations,

employment, health and happiness, family and friends. From 2010 ~20,000 participants aged
over16 also received nurse visits and provided a blood sample and some basic physical
measurements (height, weight, blood pressure, grip strength).

• Issues: attrition, sample size for specific topics.

• The WISERD* Dataportal is a web-based software application designed to enhance a
researcher’s ability to discover, map and download socio-economic research data related to
Wales.

• The aim of the WISERD dataportal is to encourage re-use and re-purposing of existing data.
See https://data.wiserd.ac.uk/

* Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods.

• The North Wales Economic Observatory provides data economic and other contextual data to
support and improve current and future businesses within the North Wales regional economy.

• E.g., people, communities and equality, employment and business, health and social care,
environment and sustainability.

• http://www.dataunitwales.gov.uk/nweo
Exploratory Secondary Data Analyses using British
Crime Survey Data
The following slides are examples of how you can explore official
secondary data.
Exploratory Analyses - Examples
• Analyses of a selection of key variables by age across three sets of British Crime Survey
(now Crime Survey for England and Wales) data.

• Reconfiguration of data to explore cohort effects – the British Crime Survey is not a
longitudinal survey but a cross-sectional survey.

• What do the following graphs and charts tell us?

 Percentage ‘feeling unsafe walking in neighbourhood after dark’ by BCS year
and banded age
100.0%

90.0%

80.0%

70.0%
1984
60.0%
1994
50.0% 2010

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0%
16-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80+
 Percentage 'teenagers are a big problem' by BCS year and age
45.0%

40.0%

35.0%

30.0%

25.0% 1994
2010
20.0%

15.0%

10.0%

5.0%

0.0%
16-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80+
 45
Percentage ‘feeling unsafe walking in neighbourhood after dark’ by birth cohort and
BCS year
40
60-64

37.6
37
35 75-79 55-59

35
70-74 50-54

32.8
30 45-49

28.8
50-54 45-49 65-69

28.5

27.4
25 35-39 60-64
Percentage

40-44 1984

23.6
1994

22
20

21.2

21
20.8
2010/11

15

10

0
1934-1938 1939-1943 1944-1948 1949-1953 1954-1958 1959-1963 1964-1968 1969-1973
Have a go!
• https://www.britishelectionstudy.com/data
• Click on “Data Playground” followed by “Create Your Own Graph”, and then complete the following
steps:
• Step 1: Click on Bar Chart
• Step 2: Tick the panel study data box
• Step 3: tick the May 2015 – Wave 6 box
• Step 4: Select your variables
• Step 5: Sample by country (optional)
Evaluation of Official Data

Strengths Challenges
• Scale of coverage • Definitions and categories change

• Simple descriptive content • Descriptive, not analytical designs

• Good validity, reliability • Standardised questions
• Transparency • ? Not independent, delivered with ‘spin’
• Time series
Variable Classification – Example (social economic classes)
• Essential for social description (e.g., social inequalities).
• Should be suitable for comparison across time.
• Must reflect changing social structure.
• Should help to explain variations in social behaviour and other social phenomena.
• Should include more than one dimension (e.g., occupation, income, status)
‘Class Schemes’

Old New (post 1999)

I Professions 1. Higher managerial and professional
II Managerial and Technical 2. Lower managerial and professional
III Skilled occupations 3. Intermediate
(N) Non-manual 4. Small employers and own account workers
(M) Manual 5. Lower supervisory, craft and related
IV Partly skilled 6. Semi-routine occupations
V Unskilled 7. Routine
8. Never worked, long term unemployed
Conceptual issues and debates (1)
• Public perceptions:
• “Only 17 percent (1 person in 6) believe that UK official statistics are produced without
political interference”.
• “60 percent (3 persons in 5) think that the government uses official statistics dishonestly”.
• Only 19% agree that ‘newspapers present official figures honestly’.
• 28% agree government present official figures honestly.

Ref: Mike Hughes, Office for National Statistics, 2008

http://www.stat.go.jp/english/info/meetings/sympo/pdf/sympo2.pdf
Ref. British Social Attitudes Survey 2014 (Natcen).
Conceptual issues and debates (2)
• The positivist conception of social statistics assumes the existence of an intersubjectively
valid observation language (theoretical constructs like ‘occupation’ relate to observable
properties like ‘training’).
• The anti-positivist position denies the place and function of ‘theory’ in statistical
constructions and emphasizes tacit knowledge, ‘seen but unnoticed background
expectancies‘ (Douglas).

• N.B. Like all forms of knowledge, official statistics need to be understood and analyzed as a
product of social processes.
References
Becker, H. (2017). Evidence. University of Chicago Press, Chap. 4 Censuses.

Bulmer, M. (1980). ‘Why don’t Sociologists Make More Use of Official Statistics?’ Sociology, 14(4), 505-523

Holt, T. (2008). ‘Official Statistics, Public Policy and Public Trust’. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A
(Statistics in Society), 171(2), 322-346

Lamb, J. (2003). ‘Online Sources for Social Survey Researchers’ Social Research Update, 41. http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/sru/
ONS (2010). The National Statistics Socio-economic Classification User Manual (NS-SEC rebased on the SOC2010)

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/classifications/current-standard-classifications/soc2010/soc2010-volume-3-ns-sec--
rebased-on-soc2010--user-manual/index.html

Rose, D., & Pevalin, D. (2002). A researcher's guide to the national statistics socio-economic classification. London: Sage

Rose, D., & Harrison, E. (2007) ‘The European Socio-Economic Classification’ European Societies, 3(9), 459 – 490.