A classification of types of use of official statistics

Abstract

In the article, a typology of the use of official statistics is proposed. Following an introduction to the subject, three dimensions of the use of official statistics are distinguished analytically: user categories, objectives of use, and methods of use. Each of the three dimensions is subdivided into four categories. The dimension user categories is subdivided in government, science, business, and the public; the dimension objectives of use consists of knowledge, preparation for choice and action, evaluation of choice and action, and routinization of choice and action; and, finally, the dimension methods of use is subdivided into consultation, monitoring and comparison, formal analysis of aggregate data, and formal analysis of individual-level data. Some of the more frequently occurring combinations are illustrated with the aid of examples from the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, and the European Communities. After some introductory statements on priority setting (an evaluation of the significance and the cost of statistical projects), the relationship between type of use and priority setting is clarified. It is stated that, since a classification cannot automatically lead to a particular outcome in terms of priorities, the primary goals for a classification of types of use are relevancy and structure of information. The final paragraph discusses the likeliness of each of the 64 possible combinations; it is concluded that in the Dutch situation, for several reasons, almost half of these 64 combinations are more or less unlikely to occur.