The Administrative Data Quality Question Bank (ADQQB) is a collection -of specially designed questions that act as a guide to help analysts to -understand the quality of their administrative data for research and -statistical purposes. These questions can be used in two ways.
-Analysts can ask the data suppliers these questions. It is strongly -encouraged for analysts to communicate with data suppliers prior to -undertaking any research using administrative data, to fully understand -the data in question and its’ quality.
-Analysts can also use these questions as their own guides when -assessing the quality of their data.
-The questions have been designed to guide the analyst to do the -following:
-understand the data at the point that either the analyst or -organisation has acquired and accessed the administrative data
make the right decisions on how to treat the data at the data -processing and analysis phase and onwards
determine whether the data are fit for purpose
transparently communicate the quality of the data in statistical -research and outputs
As such, this question bank falls within the requirements of the -three principles of government statistical data Quality, as set out in -the Code of Practice -for Statistics:
-suitable data sources
sound methods
assured quality
The question bank has also been designed to be consistent with, and -is encouraged to be used alongside the -Administrative Data Quality Framework (ADQF). The question bank -consists of:
-an explanation of what it is and how it can be used
examples of questions, organised by theme and sub-theme
description of the themes the questions are organised into, -including definitions where appropriate
Administrative data are data which have been collected during the -operations of an organisation. Government produces a large amount of -administrative data, which can provide a valuable resource in the -production of statistics. Administrative data must be accessed securely -and via legal gateways. Their use represents an opportunity for -analysts, however, it is important to remember that the subjects of the -data must be protected from misuse. This question bank does not support -you with making decisions about access to data, however, this is -something you need to consider. Your organisation will have data -protection policies, such as these -data protection guidelines from the ONS. If you have questions, you -should contact your Data Protection Officer.
-Administrative data are collected for operational purposes and not -statistical purposes. This can lead to challenges when using it for -statistics, a summary of which can be found in David Hand’s paper, “Statistical -challenges of administrative and transaction data”.
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