quality-indicators-2017

QUALITY INDICATORS 2017
5 PROCESS INDICATORS AT THE MACRO LEVEL
5.1 Description
The development of new statistical methods and procedures and the development of computer applications that
enable the introduction of such progressive methods has substantially changed the modern process of statistical
data processing. Despite the undisputable positive impact, in particular in terms of efficiency and professional
consistency, such development also brings consequences which producers in particular have not accepted with
great enthusiasm. One of the less positive results of this development is that statistical processing is turning into
an increasingly closed system for subject-matter statisticians – a black box, into which they have no insight and
can only see the final results "produced" by that box (if things work as they should). In a very simplified way,
such a process can be schematically presented as follows:
Figure 5.1: Simplified process of the survey implementation
Input
(micro)
data
Statistical data
processing
Final
(micro)
data
Aggregation
Results
The purpose of process indicators at the macro-level is to provide the subject-matter statisticians with (at least
partial) insight into the developments in the so-called black box of the statistical process, in particular, insight
into the impact of statistical processing on the final result. For this purpose, we first need to slightly supplement
the process presented above, i.e. by carrying out the aggregation already upon data input. The calculation of
the indicators is then based on a comparison between the statistical results obtained prior to and after the
processing.
29