Data is the foundation of an informed society. The CSO is mandated to coordinate the effective and efficient use of data across the Irish Public and Civil Service to provide evidence and insight supporting the right to live in an informed society.
Coordinating the use of data for evidence and insight also supports policy development, targeted evaluation and improved public service delivery.
As part of its increasing role in the stewardship of data across the Irish Public and Civil Service, the CSO provides diverse supports and services including guidance on data standards and classifications.
A data standard is a set of rules used to standardise the way data are collected and statistics are produced. Harmonised data standards are the approved versions of how to define specific measures/variables of interest, how to collect data and how to present the data in a more consistent and comparable manner across Irish Public Service organisations.
Data standards provide a comprehensive set of guidelines for collecting information on a particular topic. Components of a standard typically include:
Data standards facilitate the collection of data using consistent definitions and procedures, enabling the production of more reliable and comparable data. The greater the usage of data standards, the more easily data can be integrated over time and across different data sources. This offers the potential to allow data to be used beyond the immediate purpose for which it was produced, maximising the value of the data and reducing the burden for respondents. Standards also reduce the resources required to develop and maintain surveys or data collections.
Classifications are used to collect and organise information into categories with other similar pieces of information so that information can be more easily understood. Classifications are an important part of any data standard.
Classifications are used throughout the data lifecycle, from design through to processing and analysis and on to data publication. Classifications should be carefully considered to ensure the most appropriate classification is used. Many of the classifications used by the CSO have been developed over long timeframes, involving significant internal and external expertise, often as part of international collaboration. Where data standards for particular concepts have not yet been developed, existing classifications can provide useful frameworks for the design of data collections and the production of statistics.
We are always interested in hearing from users so that we can develop our work.