Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• Christian Gayer
• European Commission, DG ECFIN, Business Surveys
  Unit
• EU Workshop on recent developments in Business
  and Consumer Surveys
• 21-22 October 2004
• Brussels, Centre Albert Borschette, Room 1 A

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• I. DG ECFIN/A.3 has collected metadata
  information on BCS from the Institutes for free
  Internet dissemination (country fiches)
• Need to discuss the
• content (items covered)
• format for dissemination
• possible further information to be included

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• Country fiches Covered metadata items
• Detailed contact information person, address,
  phone, fax, email, web
• Methodology
• - Sampling frame (description, size,
  characteristics, updating)
• - Population
• - Sampling (method, sample size,
  representativeness, response rate, sample
  coverage)
• - Weighting
• - Sectors/categories covered
• - Periodicity
• - Survey method
• - Fieldwork period
• - Timeliness
• - Remarks

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• (contd.)
• Other Information
• - Other surveys carried out by the institute
• - Various (Notes, studies, publications)
• Items that seem dispensable/not suitable
• Seasonal adjustment (performed centrally)
• Date of last reception
• File format (.xls, of internal interest only)
• Items that seem to need closer specification
• Sample coverage sample/population
• Sample representativeness Sampling error or
  confidence interval

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• Format
• Country fiches format potentially competes with
  standardised metadata formats like esp. the SDDS
  (IMF, Eurostat)
• However, we propose not to use the SDDS format
  overall not well suited for the peculiar BCS
  (metadata) case

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• Many of the items requested in SDDS
• are either self-explaining in BCS case
• refer to a higher, harmonised EU level and would
  therefore be redundant if included in every fiche
• are not applicable on individual MS/institute
  level
• are not applicable in the BCS case in general
• Finally crucial BCS data properties on institute
  level are determined by the sampling frame as
  well as survey and sampling methods employed.
• ? Information on these core items is not well
  structured in the SDDS format (comprehensiveness
  and coherence).

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• Possible additional metadata items taken from
  SDDS and OECD metadata list
• Date last updated
• Time coverage of provided data (starting date)
• Statistical unit (explicitly)
• Reference to national statistical compilation
  rules (legislative background for surveys)
• Notification of special warnings concerning e.g.
  marked structural breaks due to questionnaire
  changes
• Identification and explanation of country
  specific outliers

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• (contd.)
• Information on how methodological changes
  affecting the Harmonised Programme are notified
  (link to corresponding national sites)
• Reference to related national data for
  reconciliation, crosschecks and possibly
  component data (possible sources of inconsistency
  with national releases should clearly be stated).
• Reference to detailed national methodological
  documentation relating to the Harmonised
  Programme
• Information on data validation techniques

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• Such additional information could (partly) be
  included in the next update of the country fiches
• We propose annual updating frequency
• Moreover, harmonisation of metadata terminology
  with SDDS could be envisaged for better content
  mapping

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• DG ECFIN/A.3 plans to extend the current EU BCS
  user guide into a fully fledged Metadata
  documentation
• providing detailed and up-to-date information
  explaining the framework/background of the BCS
  from an aggregate European perspective
• equally applying to each individual survey
• appropriate linking to individual methodological
  country fiches for cross-reference

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• Items envisaged for extended EU BCS Metadata
  document
• Link to ECFINs BCS release calendar
• Information on data imputation in case of missing
  data (e.g. French data for August)
• Information on how methodological changes are
  notified (currently footnotes concerning breaks
  in national data after/with release,
  methodological notes concerning bigger changes
  before/with data release)
• Notification of special warnings, e.g. impact of
  French consumer questionnaire changes on European
  aggregates
• Information on data validation techniques

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• Information on recommended uses and limitations
  (as recommended by OECD)
• Some general quality comments concerning the
  European aggregates and here especially the
  composite indicators (confidence indicators and
  Economic Sentiment Indicator)
• A detailed section on the compilation of European
  aggregates, with special attention to the
  distinction between direct or indirect seasonal
  adjustment approaches on each of the four
  possible aggregation stages
• An up to date description of the applied seasonal
  adjustment procedures, conditioned on the
  findings of the Dainties study and the scheduled
  results of the external follow up study on
  appropriate SA methods for BCS data
• Explanation of possible inconsistencies between
  European and national BCS data releases

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Metadata Information on the EU BCS Programme

• Conclusion
• We need to know your opinion on
• appropriateness of the proposed format
• the proposed content (items covered)
• possible further information to be included
• Moreover Comments/suggestions regarding EU
  Metadata document?