Whether you are analysing the data, reading about the research findings, or considering using the data for the first time, the Quality Profile provides information about all aspects of the design and implementation of Understanding Society that may affect the quality of the data resource.
What’s in the Quality Profile?
Understanding Society is built to provide reliable, relevant and transparent data. Quality is embedded at every stage of the survey — from questionnaire design to data release and user support
The quality of Understanding Society data is assessed using a framework across six key areas:
- how useful is the survey for data users? (Relevance)
- how good is the quality of data collected? (Accuracy)
- how easy is it to access the data? (Accessibility)
- how easy is it to use the data? (Interpretability)
- what is the time period between data collection and data release? (Timeliness)
- how to maintain comparability with other similar studies? (Coherence and comparability)
Framework
The Quality Profile is based on a framework developed by Lynn[1] (2001) for evaluating longitudinal surveys. It provides the information you need to assess the strengths of the study, highlights where there are limitations, and reassures you that the highest international standards have been used at all stages.
For each of these areas, the Quality Profile explains how the survey is conducted, the processes used to minimise errors and ensure quality, and where possible how those errors are measured. It also points you to further documentation for more detail.
[1] Lynn’s longitudinal framework was built on the framework developed for surveys by multiple survey and statistical organisations like Statistica Canada, UK’s Office for National Statistics, Eurostat and so on