Can social media data improve official statistics? Not yet, suggests new work on tourism

Categories: Data, Office for National Statistics, ONS

While ONS strategy is focused on making more use of government-held data to improve official statistics , researchers in the Data Science Campus are also exploring the value of social media data. There’s plenty of it and its potential seems obvious. But who is “citizen of the world” and where is “Black Pudding land”? As well as privacy concerns some big limitations in the data need addressing too, conclude Lanthao Benedikt and Emily Tew.  

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Beyond GDP: How ONS is developing wider measures of well-being

Categories: Business, Economy, Office for National Statistics, ONS

ONS is continuing to develop new ways of measuring and reporting the UK’s economic and social progress. Richard Tonkin introduces the new Personal and Economic Well-being publication and how it helps us better answer important questions about how are we all doing?’

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Continuing improvements to crime statistics – repeat victimisation

Categories: Crime, ONS, Public Policy

Understanding critical issues affecting our society lies at the heart of what ONS does and we continually consult with the people who use our data. The latest Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) figures incorporate an important change that improves how repeat incidents of violence are included in the survey estimates. Meghan Elkin sets out the reasons for the change and why the new statistics do not mean more people have suffered violence.

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