On-line Tool for Data Management Plans

The Digital Curation Centre has released a trial version of a new tool to assist users in developing data management plans http://dmponline.hatii.arts.gla.ac.uk/ 

Funding bodies increasingly require their grant-holders to produce and maintain Data Management Plans (DMPs), both at the bid-preparation stage and after funding has been secured.


DMP Online is designed to enable researchers to build and edit DMPs with a view to the requirements stipulated by the major UK funders.

If you are applying to one of the funders that make specific data-related demands at the application stage (i.e. AHRC, BBSRC, ESRC, MRC, Wellcome) you will see the funder's requirements in the left-hand column. These have been mapped to the appropriate clauses in the DCC Checklist for a Data Management Plan. By answering these questions, you should de facto meet the funder's requirements. The tool also presents options for developing DMPs for funding bodies that do not have specific data related demands.

For US researchers a prototype based on the DCC tool is in development http://www.cdlib.org/uc3/datamanagement/dmpo.html

World Bank Development Data in Stata

WBOPENDATA has been added to the utilities available through the RLAB stata licenses.

If you have your own stata license and would like to install WBOPENDATA the command is:

ssc install wbopendata

WBOPENDATA draws from the main World Bank collections of development indicators, compiled from officially-recognized international sources, and made available through the World Bank Open Data Initiative, and presents the most current and accurate global development data available, and includes national, regional and global estimates. Users can chose from one of three of the languages supported by the database, namely, English, Spanish, or French. Three possible downloads options are currently supported: country - all indicators for all years for a single country. topic - all indicators within a specific topic, for all years and all countries. indicator - all years for all countries for a single indicator. Users can also choose to have the data displayed in either the wide or long format (wide is the default option).

For example, to download all data available for the Philippines for all years, type:

wbopendata, country(phl) clear

This returns data for 972 indicators from 1960 to the latest year available. The default data display is in wide format.

The list of countries, topics, and indicators and their corresponding codes are documented in the help file (see -help wbopendata-).

Consultation on Crime Statistics

The National Statistician has launched a web based invitation to comment on how crime statistics should be compiled in future. Anyone with an interest in crime statistics is invited to feed in their views, which will help shape the recommendations from the independent review of crime statistics she is currently conducting.

The Home Secretary has invited the National Statistician to conduct an independent review of crime statistics with the aim of increasing public confidence in these statistics. The Home Secretary has decided that the publication of crime statistics should be moved out of the Home Office to promote greater trust and demonstrate their independence.

The review aims to:

- consider gaps, discrepancies and discontinuities within crime statistics;

- recommend the best future location for the publication of crime statistics, and their associated data collection systems;

- and, produce an action plan for the implementation of recommendations from the UK Statistics Authority’s report Overcoming Barriers to Trust in Crime Statistics: England and Wales published in May 2010.

The open 'invitation to comment' period closes at midnight on 10 March 2011.

The review is due to report at the end of April 2011. It is then intended to run a public consultation on the recommendations from the review. If you are interested in commenting on the review please follow this link

http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/national-statistician/ns-reports--reviews-and-guidance/national-statistician-s-reviews/national-statistician-s-review-of-crime-statistics.html

Introduction to the ESRC Secure Data Service

Date: 17th February
Time: 15.30-16.30
Location: CEP Conference Room, London School of Economics

The Secure Data Service is an ESRC-funded service designed to provide approved researchers with safe and secure access to confidential/sensitive data free of charge, from any UK higher education or research institution.

The Service currently provides access to detailed social and health data, including versions of the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, with grid-references for each respondent.

It is anticipated that the Service will also provide access to the business and economic microdata collections currently available only from the ONS Virtual Microdata Laboratory.

This information event is designed to inform you about the Service and the datasets that will be available to you.

For queries, please contact the Secure Data Service at securedata@ukda.ac.uk

Census 2011 consultation

The second consultation on the main set of 2011 statistical outputs is now available online. The documents include:

- a user guide
- the consultation
- an indicative set of tabular outputs, which ONS intends to produce following the 2011 Census
- a spreadsheet defining the geographical levels at which outputs will be produced in England and Wales

Here is a link to the material:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/consultations/open-consultations/2011-output-consultation---main-statistical-outputs---second-round/index.html

You can feed back your reactions to the revised designs at one of the Output Roadshows, which commence on 14th February. Places are currently still available at all events. If you have not already booked a place, details of dates and venues and the Registration form can be found in the Downloads panel on this page:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/news-and-events/events/index.html

View the latest news on the 2011 Census :- http://2011.census.gov.uk/

View further information regarding the background of the 2011 Census :- http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/index.html

View the Census News archive :-
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/census_news_archive.asp

RSS Event: The Retail Prices Index and the Consumer Price Index

Tuesday 25th January 2011 5pm
Royal Statistical Society, London.
12 Errol Street, London, EC1Y 8LX


The Retail Prices Index is the traditional measure of retail price inflation, and has been widely used for a range of purposes. Recently the Government has been giving more prominence to an alternative measure, the Consumer Price Index. This meeting will discuss whether the CPI is a better inflation measure than the RPI for all or some purposes. The ONS is considering how to improve the CPI and in particular how to include housing costs, which are currently excluded.

Speakers
To include Pam Davies (ONS).
Chairperson
Michael Baxter, Official Statistics Section committee.

Tea and coffee will be provided during the meeting.

Attendance is free and open to all, but pre-registration is recommended. You can register by email: meetings@rss.org.uk or by phone (020) 7638 8998. For further information contact Michael Baxter (michael_a_baxter@hotmail.com

Free data publishing tool

The Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD) has recently announced the availability of version 4.0 of the Nesstar software system for data publishing and online analysis. Starting from this release, the Nesstar Publisher component is now a freeware product and can be downloaded from the Nesstar web site. Also known as the IHSN Metadata Editor, the Publisher is a popular tool for the preparation of Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) based metadata.
For more information, visit http://www.nesstar.com