Relevance - Quality Statement
The degree to which information meets the needs of users. how well the data meet the agreed purpose of the data collection in terms of concepts measured and the population represented. Enough information needs to be provided to enable each user to make an assessment of whether the data collection addresses the issues most important to them. It is under the ‘relevance’ dimension that key information would be given about the broad definitional and coverage aspects of the data.
Aspects of relevance which should be addressed, where appropriate, include:
- scope and coverage: the purpose or aim for collecting the information, including identification of the target population, discussion of whom the data represent, who is excluded and whether there are any impacts or biases caused by exclusion of particular events, entities, people, areas or groups
- reference period: this refers to the period for which the data were collected (e.g., the September-December quarter of the 2008-09 financial year), as well as whether there were any exceptions to the collection period (e.g., delays in receipt of data, changes to field collection processes due to natural disasters)
- geographic detail: information about the level of geographical detail available for the data (e.g., postcode area, Statistical Local Area), and the actual geographic regions for which reliable data are available
- if not all states and territories provided data, this should be noted
- statistical standards: which standards have been used in the collection and the extent to which the classifications and standards used reflect the target concepts to be measured or the population of interest
- availability (or otherwise) of information on indigenous identification
- type of estimates available: this refers to the nature of the statistics produced, which could be index numbers, trend estimates, seasonally adjusted data, or original unadjusted data
- other cautions: information about any other relevant issue or caution that should be exercised in the use of the data
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