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Table A1.3: World Bank BBSC
Statistical methodology Measures a country’s ability to adhere to internationally recommended
standards and methods. This aspect is captured by assessing guidelines and
procedures used to compile macroeconomic statistics, social data reporting
and estimation practices.
Source data Reflects whether a country conducts data collection activities in line with
internationally recommended periodicity, and whether data from
administrative systems are available and reliable for statistical estimation
purposes. Specifically, the criteria used are the periodicity of population
and agricultural censuses, the periodicity of poverty and health related
surveys.
Periodicity and timeliness Looks at the availability and periodicity of key socioeconomic indicators.
This dimension attempts to measure the extent to which data is made
accessible to users. Criteria used include indictors on income poverty, child
and maternal health, HIV/AIDS, primary completion, gender equality,
access to water and GDP growth.
Source: World Bank, 2014a.
Table A1.4: OECD Quality Framework
Quality dimensions Definition
Relevance The relevance of data products is a qualitative assessment of the value contributed by the data.
Value is characterized by the degree to which the data serves to address the purposes for which
it is sought by users.
Accuracy The accuracy of data products is the degree to which the data correctly estimates or describes
the quantities or characteristics it is designed to measure. OECD context: Accuracy of the data is
largely determined by the accuracy of the data received from the contributing organizations. On
the other hand, the activities carried out by OECD can influence the overall accuracy.
Credibility The credibility of data products refers to the confidence that users place in those products
based simply on their image of the data producer, i.e. the brand image. Credibility is determined
in part by the integrity of the production process. OECD context: publishing data of bad quality
received from countries affects the overall credibility of the OECD. Furthermore, once an
agreement between the OECD and countries has been reached on the collection of specified
data, the data collected subsequently cannot be withdrawn in response to political pressure.
Timeliness The timeliness of data products reflects the length of time between the availability and the
event or phenomenon they describe, while stillbeing considered in the context of the time
period that permits the information to be of value and still acted upon.
Accessibility The accessibility of data products reflects how readily the data can be located and accessed
from within OECD data holdings. OECD context: internal and external users might have quite
different perceptions of accessibility due to differences in access methods.
Interpretability The interpretability of data products reflects the ease of which the user may understand and
properly use and analyse the data. The range of different users leads to such considerations as
metadata is presented in layers of increasing detail. The adequacy relates to the definitions of
concepts, variables and terminology, information describing the limitations of the data, etc.
Coherence Coherence reflects the degree to which data is logically connected and mutually consistent.
Distinction can be made between coherence within or across datasets, over time and across
countries. Ensuring coherence across countries is one of the major sources of value added
provided by the OECD.
Cost-efficiency The cost-efficiency with which a product is produced is a measure of the costs and provider
burden relative to the output. Whilst the OECD does not regard cost-efficiency as a dimension of
quality, it is a factor that must be taken into account in any analysis of quality, as it can affect
quality in all dimensions.
Source: OECD, 2014.