Data for research on Wales: What do you need?

The Welsh Government is currently undertaking a project to identify ways in which it can help to maximise the use of detailed survey and administrative data for research purposes. As part of this project we are seeking views on the data needs of researchers working on issues for which data for Wales is required.

If you have any feedback on the questions below – or any other comments on how to improve access to data for Wales or how to maximise the use of existing data for research  purposes please email Tanvi Desai on Tanvi.Desai@wales.gsi.gov.uk by Wednesday 4th April 2012. 

• do you have any problems accessing the data you need for your work/research on Wales?
• if you do, is this because

®    as far as you know the data you need do not exist?

®    the data do exist, but are not accessible?

®    the data exist, are accessible, but you do not have the necessary infrastructure (eg. sufficient processing, computing power to analyse data, adequate set up to safeguard sensitive data)

Please provide as much detail as possible on the following:

• Description of data you believe do not exist;
• Name and source of any datasets you have difficulty accessing;
• The nature of the access difficulty (is it cost, timeliness, restrictions on the level of detail etc?);
• Any infrastructure that could help your work whether you need more processing and storage space on IT systems, an area where sensitive data can be analysed securely (eg. a safe room), more information on available data etc.