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Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency Seventh Edition (2021) / Chapter Skim
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Practice 9: Dissemination of Statistical Products That Meet Users' Needs
Pages 91-94

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From page 91...
... Understanding data users' needs and how they use data products is critical for making an agency's data services as relevant, accurate, timely, and accessible as possible. Keeping abreast of the interests of current and potential new users requires continual attention to changes in the relevant policy issues and social and economic conditions in a statistical agency's domain, as well as changes in technologies for data access.
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From page 92...
... Agencies should have data curation policies and procedures in place so that data are preserved, fully documented, and accessible for statistical use in future years.30 Statistical agencies disseminate two broad classes of products: products that are publicly available, such as statistical releases, analytical reports, infographics, and public use microdata, and restricted access products, such as datasets containing confidential information, which are available in Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (FSRDCs) or through other restricted arrangements.31 Public Statistical Data Products Dissemination of aggregate statistics may take the form of regularly updated time series, cross-tabulations of aggregated characteristics of respondents, analytical reports, interactive maps and charts, infographics, profiles, fact sheets, and press releases providing key findings.
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From page 93...
... Such files contain data for samples of individual respondents that have been processed to protect confidentiality by deleting, aggregating, or modifying any information that might permit individual identification.34 Statistical agencies should keep abreast of new developments in confidentiality protection so that they can continue to provide as much useful 32See Statistical Policy Directive Nos. 3 and 4 in Appendix A
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From page 94...
... , is to grant licenses to individual researchers to analyze restricted microdata at their own sites for statistical purposes. Such licenses require that the researchers agree to follow strict procedures for protecting confidentiality and accept liability for penalties if confidentiality is breached.36 A third method is to allow approved researchers to analyze restricted microdata at a secure site for statistical purposes, such as one of the FSRDCs currently located at 30 universities and research organizations around the country.
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  • economic conditions
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  • permit individual


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