Transcript United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Statistical Division Software Approaches for the Dissemination of Statistical Information UNECE Training Workshop on Dissemination of MDG Indicators and.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Statistical Division
Software Approaches for the
Dissemination of Statistical Information
UNECE Training Workshop on Dissemination of
MDG Indicators and Statistical Information
Astana, Kazakhstan 23 – 25 November 2009
Steven Vale, UNECE
Contents
How to choose software
 What options are available?
 Monitoring use
 Constant improvement
 Summary

05 November 2015
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 2
How to Choose Software

Trade off between three constraints:
User needs
Technical
infrastructure
Cost
(money and staff)
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 3
Options Available

Database dissemination software in
order of use in the UNECE region:
•
•
•
•
•
PC-Axis
DevInfo
SuperWeb
OECD.Stat
National database systems
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 4
PC-Axis


Set of statistical dissemination tools
originally developed by Statistics Sweden
Components developed by other countries
PX-Map – Norway
• PX-Graph – Denmark
• PX-Edit – Finland
• and several others….
•

www.pc-axis.scb.se
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 5
05 November 2015
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 6
PC-Axis

Advantages
•
Most popular data dissemination software
• Flexible, user-driven data extractions
• Strong user community
• Many optional add-ons are free

Disadvantages
•
Annual license fee for core software
• Need to translate user interfaces to own language
05 November 2015
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 7
DevInfo


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
Developed and managed by UNICEF
Specifically designed for disseminating
MDG information
Supports tables, graphs and maps
Endorsed by the UN Development Group
www.devinfo.org
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 8
05 November 2015
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 9
DevInfo

Advantages
•
Free software and support
• Used in many developing countries
• Specifically designed for MDGs

Disadvantages
•
Specifically designed for MDGs
• May not be suitable for other types of statistics
• User interface not easy for first time users
05 November 2015
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 10
Other Options



Statbank / PC-Axis – developed and used
by some Nordic statistical agencies
SuperWEB – commercial software from
Space-Time Research (Australia)
OECDStat – open source tools used by
several international statistical agencies
05 November 2015
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 11
National Database Software

Advantages
•

Tailored to national requirements
Disadvantages
•
Expensive to develop and maintain
• Duplication of effort in other statistical agencies
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 12
Monitoring Use

It is essential to regularly check how
users are using a database to make sure
it remains relevant!
•
User surveys (discussed yesterday)
• Other user feedback
• Data downloads
• Web site “hits”
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 13
Data Downloads



Most accurate measure of use - records
when users find something interesting
Monthly, weekly or even daily download
information creates a useful time series
Consider splitting by type of data, language,
and other relevant criteria
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 14
Gender
Macroeconomic
Transport
Country Overview
Forestry
Total
Total (Trend)
Oct-2009
Sep-2009
Aug-2009
July-2009
Jun - 2009
May- 2009
Apr - 2009
Mar - 2009
Feb - 2009
Jan - 2009
Dec - 2008
Nov - 2008
Oct - 2008
Sep - 2008
Aug - 2008
Jul - 2008
Jun - 2008
May - 2008
Apr - 2008
Mar - 2008
Feb - 2008
Jan - 2008
Dec - 2007
Nov - 2007
Oct - 2007
Sep - 2007
Aug - 2007
Jul - 2007
Jun - 2007
May - 2007
Apr - 2007
Mar - 2007
Feb - 2007
Jan - 2007
ECE Statistical Database
Data Downloads per Month by Statistical Domain
16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Thousands
2005*
2006
2007
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
2008
Oct-2009
Sep-2009
Aug-2009
July-2009
Jun - 2009
May- 2009
Apr - 2009
Mar - 2009
Feb - 2009
Jan - 2009
Dec - 2008
Nov - 2008
Oct - 2008
Sep - 2008
Aug - 2008
Jul - 2008
Jun - 2008
May - 2008
Apr - 2008
Mar - 2008
Feb - 2008
Jan - 2008
Dec - 2007
Nov - 2007
Oct - 2007
Sep - 2007
Aug - 2007
Jul - 2007
Jun - 2007
May - 2007
Apr - 2007
Mar - 2007
Feb - 2007
16%
Russian Downloads % of Total
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
Web Site “Hits”




“Hits” refer to the number of times a web
page is accessed
Some hits are due to automatic tools
used by search engines, not real users!
Many tools for monitoring web site hits
We use “Google Analytics” because:
•
It is free!
• It gives very detailed information
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 17
Constant Improvement




Information about users is only useful if it is
used!
All statistical databases need regular
updates and improvements
Consider increasing data for popular topics
and removing less popular data sets
Remember that user needs change over
time
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 21
Summary



There are many possible dissemination
database systems available
It is often quicker, easier and cheaper to
adapt an existing system than to create a
new one
Monitor the use of dissemination databases
so that you can target improvements to
better meet user needs
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 22
Questions?
Steven Vale - UNECE Statistical Division
Slide 23