Statistics Iceland
Hallgrímur Snorrason
Director-General
Dissemination of official statistics
for the non-professional user
The Challenge of Communicating Statistics
91st DGINS Conference, Copenhagen 26-27 May 2005
Categorizing the users
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Users/user groups are dynamic – not static
Our conventional categories are not constant but
evolving
Dynamism within the categories; skill and
capacity of users constantly developing
Many levels of users, each user may appear at
more than one level
Diverse needs of non-professional users
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The users differ, their needs differ, they change
over time and between situations
Non-professionals are the least homogeneous
group and require the most varied solutions
We are trained to communicate with the
professionals, not the non-professionals
Characteristics of the non-professional users
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Heterogeneous, different backgrounds, education
and technical skills
Know little about our data, their limitations,
classifications, methods, strengths/weaknesses
Very diverse needs
They do not know our technical language
They require special communication for which the
official statisticians have not been trained
Communicating at different levels
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We need to disseminate our statistics in various
forms and communicate at different levels
Direct communication is important
Internet offers maximum exposure of our statistics
at lowest cost
Crucial to adopt internet as main method of
dissemination with paper products as secondary
products
Why internet dissemination for the
non-professional user?
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Max. flexibility and possibility for presenting the
material in a structured way at different levels
Applies to all the material:
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Statistics
Metadata, descriptions and guides
Textual and graphic explanations and analysis
Proceeding from the simple to the complex – from
overview to detail
Why internet dissemination for the
non-professional user?
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Many non-professionals - students, media people,
younger generation – are most familiar with the
internet and have greater confidence in it than in
paper publications
Internet information is most up-to-date
The quickest way of obtaining information,
particularly from many different sources
Easy downloading for immediate utilization in
own PC
Advantages of the internet for both producer and
non-professional user
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Very short lead-time for publication and updating
Easy to adapt website to changes in demand and
observed wishes
Allows personalized services: Subscription to
particular information, own homepages, automatic
updates
Presentation at different platforms
Possible to expand the supply of material without
major additional cost
Continuous development of the website
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Continuous allocation of resources to developing
the website: New and user-friendly web-solutions,
search engines etc.
Expert quality reviews of the website
Regular user satisfaction surveys
Let us not sit back while the world goes by
We should set the course ourselves and be in
command of the development