Renewing statistical e-publications

Transcription

1 INTERACTION WITH USERS SESSION X Renewing statistical e-publications Markku Huttunen

2 Renewing statistical e-publications Markku Huttunen 1 Abstract. Statistics Finland has published statistical releases and e-publications on the web using a standardised and structured concept since With some modifications over the years this publishing concept with a XML-multichannel publishing CMS is still in use today. How has this concept withstood the test of time in retrospect? Has the concept of automated multi-channel publishing changed when new social media based dissemination tools have been added? What kind of statistical e-publications do users of 5-inch mobile devices read? How do they find the information they are looking for and what kind of statistics do these users expect to find? What kind of a role do the new technical interphases (API s) have in the next publication concept of a statistical office? And how do we combine these new kinds of needs to the basic principles of official statistics and to the responsibilities of a national statistical institution? These are some of the questions we need to consider while renewing the statistical e-publications. Key words: dissemination, statistical releases, e-publications. 1. Introduction Publishing of statistical data has moved to the web at national statistical institutes. In the dissemination of statistical data, printed publication series have been replaced with electronic publications and database dissemination. There is no doubt that the Internet is a primary distribution channel for statistical data, which was still questioned at the beginning of the 2000s (Rouhuvirta H., Huttunen M. 2003). Electronic dissemination of statistical data is obvious. Now the challenge is to respond to the challenges brought on by new mobile devices in terms of the content and structure of publications. On the other hand, open interfaces and open data create new challenges and opportunities. 1 Statistics Finland, Development Manager, Helsinki, Finland, markku.huttunen@stat.fi

3 2. Background Statistics Finland s current concept for electronic publishing has been in use since 2004 and the concept-based XML CMS since Statistics Finland has now launched a project with the task to assess how the institute s current concept for electronic publishing corresponds to today s needs and to plan a new updated concept for electronic publishing. This paper discusses the objectives of the ongoing project, some findings from the project thus far, and the challenges to which the updated publishing concept should be able to respond. 3. E-publishing in Statistics Finland 3.1 Current e-publishing concept of Statistics Finland The basis for the e-publishing concept currently in use for statistical data at Statistics Finland was created in the renewal project of the web service in 2003 to Then, a statistics concept was defined, based on which a permanent home page was created for every set of statistics. According to the concept, any time new data are completed, a so-called statistical release is also published in the web service. Statistics Finland has exhaustively published all new statistical data on the web since 2004 in Finnish and since 2005 also in Swedish and English. The new concept also included another considerable change. Statistical releases were no longer centrally compiled at the communication department as was the case with press releases, they were now written independently by the producers of statistics. Statistical experts have been offered support, for example in the form of writing courses. At first, the statistical releases were often relatively concise as a separate printed chargeable publication was still published on many key statistics. In 2007, an XML-based publishing system that had been designed already in the early 2000s was completed. The publication system included both XML structural specifications (Common Structure of Statistical Information (CoSSI)) of the contents of the publication (metadata, texts, tables, quality description) and a content production and management system (XML CMS). In connection with the transition, previous printed statistical publications were transferred to the new XML-based publication system and standardised content structure. Since 2010, the statistical releases and more extensive e-publications of all sets of statistics have been published online with the same content in both HTML and PDF format. The content of the publications consist of the statistical release, a more extensive text section when necessary, appendix tables and figures, and a quality description. In 2012, the publication content was complemented in some statistics with a section on revisions in the statistics (e. g. Volume index of industrial output, Revisions in these statistics). At first, the publications of some 15 different sets of statistics were also printed with the same content based on the PDF version but the printed publication series have

4 been discontinued over the years, apart from five publications. The demand for printed versions of the publications has decreased, for example, because all of Statistics Finland s publications have been available free of charge on the web pages as PDF versions since The publications are compiled into XML files with Arbortext XML editor, and are then automatically converted into HTML and PDF format (web and possible printed version) and published in the web service. An message, RSS feed and nowadays also a Twitter feed via RSS are automatically generated from the XML file of the publication. 3.2 How has the e-publishing concept withstood time? Over the years, the system has been used to publish all Statistics Finland s electronic statistical publications, from statistical releases consisting of a few pages (e. g. Waste statistics 2014) to 90 page long publications (e. g. Labour force survey 2015). The publication tool has been the same XML editor and the related automated multichannel distribution for various channels in three languages. The data content in publications varies by type of publication and language. What does the e-publishing concept look like now after nine years of use? The publishing system and concept have fulfilled their goals in multi-channel distribution. Archiving of publications also work well: all publications are still available to users starting from 2004 or The system has helped replace all old statistics-specific printed publications with new electronic publications. To this respect, the original goals were achieved and the system still works well. What about the negatives? From the perspective of publication compilers, the publication editor is quite complicated to use. The technology has developed over the years, so the current types of publications could be produced with a lighter and easier to use tool. In 2014, it was decided that the compilation of some annual publications would be centralised because the publication editor is particularly tricky for the experts that compile statistics less often, for example once a year. On the other hand, the statistical units have wanted to maintain the decentralised compilation of all monthly and quarterly releases in their own departments. Some annual publications are also still compiled by the departments. Statistical experts write more extensive analysing texts in the publications, they create the tables and figures and also write the more concise release texts. Even though writer training and support is available, the people that compile the publications are primarily experts in their own field, not professional journalists. On the other hand, especially the tight schedules of monthly releases and the fact that published data are similar from one publication to the next does not often enable more detailed analysis or storytelling.

5 4. Time for renewal 4.1 Definition project At the beginning of 2016, a renewal project concerning statistical e-publications started. The defining stage of the project lasts from February to August, and the project's task is to estimate the functionality of the structure and content of e-publications and the functionality of the used publication tool (XML CMS). The project will also propose a new publishing model. In addition to the renewal project of basic statistical publications, there is also need to renew the structure of the entire service and several tools related to service management. This project will also start with a six month definition project in August The project has several connections to the renewal of e-publications and a likely challenge will be to conceive the target state of all renewals and to manage the diverse whole created by the content and technical projects in an operating environment undergoing a rapid change. 4.2 What do customers think? One of the main focus areas of Statistics Finland s new strategy is Customer first (Statistics Finland, Strategy). The renewal project started by asking customers what they think about Statistics Finland s e-publications and what improvements they would like to see. The project carried out a pop-up survey in the web service and in social media. The survey was carried out in Finnish, Swedish and English. Altogether, 426 responses were received through the web pages, or which 373 were in Finnish, 32 in Swedish and 21 in English. The survey was also marketed on Facebook (20 responses) and on Twitter (3 responses). A total of 466 responses were received. The pop-up survey was displayed 34,500 times and 5.7 per cent of all visitors proceeded to respond. All in all, 1.5 per cent of all visitors and 26.9 per cent of those who started the survey completed the survey. One question concerned what content statistical releases should have. Customers were offered multiple-choice answers from which they could pick the ones they wanted. Maybe slightly surprisingly, texts that explain the phenomenon came first (276) and second place went to figures and database tables with an even rate (216) (Figure 1). Figure 1. When Statistics Finland publishes new data, what should the release contain?

6 We also asked where users receive information about statistical releases. Here, respondents could also select several options. A majority get the information through the web service (303), the second most common information channels were the media and search engines on the web (Figure 2). Figure 2. How do you get notified about published statistical data? We asked a few questions about the clarity and understandability of the content. The question is the language of published statistical data clear and understandable? got 392 yes, 40 no and 36 DNK answers. The question do you feel statistical graphs are clear? got 396 yes, 31 no and 33 DNK answers. The results are surprising, as we did not expect such positive results. All in all, customers proved very willing to give feedback. Many respondents had gone through a lot of trouble, especially when writing comments. There were 15 questions, including defining open questions and background information (there were five open question fields). We received a total of 30 pages with open feedback as a PDF printout from the survey tool (Questback). In addition, 72 respondents gave their address and indicated their availability for an additional interview. 4.3 Benchmarking The project has compared and sought good practices from international and national statistical institutes web services and, in particular, from statistical releases and e- publications. All Nordic countries are included in the benchmarking. The role of the Nordic statistical institutes in their own countries are very similar and, the institutes also use joint publication tools in terms of databases (PC-Axis suite). The topic and statistical division of Nordic statistical institute web services are quite similar. The topic division of Sweden's, Norway s, Denmark s and Iceland s statistical institutes is three-tiered: main topic, intermediate topic and statistics/subject level. Statistics Finland only

7 uses the main topic based on which statistics are divided. The number of statistical releases varies from around 500 releases for Statistics Finland and Statistics Sweden to around 950 releases per year for Statistics Norway. The publication volume of Iceland s statistical institute is smaller (Appendix 1). Investments in statistical releases and e-publications are quite considerable and, therefore, it is important to consider what these investments can achieve and how users can benefit from them. In addition to Nordic statistical institutes, the project has also compared the practices of some other statistical institutes across the world. Before the project, we carried out a survey on the development of electronic publishing among the statistical institutes that participated in the IMAODBC 2105 conference. We received answers from 12 institutes. One question concerned the institutes objectives over the next few years in renewing their publication activities. Open answers emphasised the cessation of traditional (printed) compilation publications, which was not surprising. For example, new types of web compilations, where publication methods suitable for the web, especially to publish analytical cross-statistical contents have been developed in their place. The forms of electronic publications, as well as software and file formats used for publishing vary and no common standard has been formed. Data are published in HTML format, some epub trials have been made and the traditional PDF format for electronic publishing is still a very common publication format. In terms of statistical releases, the responses of associate institutes emphasised the need to increase the use of statistical graphs and other visualisation, and to make their e-publications responsive. The importance of databases was emphasised in the production of statistical graphs and as a source for table data. Currently, two simultaneous needs that are opposed to each other can be detected. On the one hand, due to resources and scheduling, institutes require simpler statistical releases, maybe rather pointedly under the principle the best release is one that does not require to be written. In this case, only the latest figures would be updated into the database. On the other hand, from the user viewpoint, there is demand and need for more detailed analysis and interpretation, and, if possible, this should be tailored to the target group and distribution channel. The challenge is how to implement these two, almost opposing, wishes. 5. Experiences of mobile use 5.1 Responsive e-publications Statistics Finland updated its entire graphic identity from the beginning of The renewal was carried out on the terms of the web service with a principle of electronic first and, at the same time, a responsive version was made of the entire web service (Statistics Finland's website has been renewed 2015). The share of mobile use (mobile phone + tablet) increases heavily and currently already forms one-quarter of the use of the service. Thus, the use of electronic statistical publications on mobile devices is already considerable. How does the publication structure that was designed more than ten years ago correspond with current needs? The content structure of current publications is optimised for HTML and

8 PDF versions, which is visible, for example, in the recommended dimensions of tables and figures. Prior to mobile devices, a good rule of thumb was that content with figures and tables that fit on a A4 PDF format page also worked relatively well in HTML format. This rule of thumb is no longer valid (Figure 3). Figure 3. Illustration of a double page sized table in the Statistical Yearbook of Finland compared to A4 PDF, tablet and mobile formats Mobile use clearly creates new requirements for the size and data content of tables and figures. Shrinking various elements is not the answer, contents must now be designed from a new viewpoint. Scrolling through large tables on a five centimetre wide display does simply not work. Time series figures that illustrate key phenomena, however, work well also on a small display. A good example of combining a figure with data can be found UK s statistical institute ONS web service that was renewed in February 2016 (Figure 4).

9 Figure 4. Time series figure and data on a mobile display A mobile user interface does not remove the need for analytical texts. Mobile users are even more likely than other users to access the web service by googling and after they have found the data they were looking for they are likely to leave the service right away. Text that explain the phenomenon has several important functions: 1) the text content is indexed in the search engine and it enables finding the page with a Google search, 2) terms and figures found in the heading and text that describe the phenomenon are shown to the user already in the search engine results, 3) when the user has entered the page, a concise analysing text explains the phenomenon in more detail and supports the user s understanding. A clear and concise analytical text also works well on a small mobile display (Figure 5). Figure 5. A concise heading, introduction and figure of a statistical release

10 A small mobile user interface causes another challenge as well, that emphasises the importance on independent pages in terms of content. Customers that use search engines enter a random page and do not necessarily proceed through the home page and use the logically designed paths to another page. On a small mobile display, where menus are hidden, the hints previously provided by a navigation structure on where the page is located and on other data related to the topic, are lost. We do not yet know how mobile use will change the actual reading or data use in a wider perspective. On the other hand, we do have some information on the users. Statistics Finland has carried out a user survey for web service users as a pop-up survey with identical content twice, in 2013 and Both surveys were executed by the Danish Userneeds. In the 2015 survey, results were also specified by device: PC, tablet and mobile. The share of students was highest among mobile users, which was not surprising. By contrast, it was interesting that the share of pensioners among tablet users was 18 per cent, which was clearly higher than for other devices. Mobile users contained a large share of first-time visitors to the service. Those who responded to the survey with a mobile device had a more positive view on navigating the pages and their content than those who responded with other devices. Mobile users found the page more modern and better organised than others. The reason may be that the mobile user interface is always simpler than the full PC version. In the mobile user interface both the side and top navigation bars are hidden behind a button. A user that has entered the page by googling finds the required data as quickly as possible and then leaves the service. This change in use also puts change pressure on the structure of the entire web service, in addition to the change pressure on the contents of e-publications. 6. On the obligations of producers of official statistics As a producer of official national statistics we have to fulfil quite many requirements. We have to keep our e-publications and database tables available to the users for a long time because information is no longer published in print. We have to follow common government standards and common web standards (e. g. W3C accessibility standards). We have to publish data as open data and even serve as a public platform of open data. We have to start serving new users, namely machines, as users of our data (e. g. API s, LOD). Eurostat s ongoing Digicom project (which is implementing ESS Vision 2020) contains projects on common API-standards and projects on linked open data (Digital dissemination and communication - DIGICOM). The obligations of producers of official statistics are constantly growing. Simultaneously, the shortage of funding for public services seems to be a permanent issue around the world this is also the case in the Nordic countries. In terms of Statistics Finland, 2015 was a particularly difficult year, where the lack of funding resulted in the production of 14 statistics being discontinued for good. As a result of this, the number of releases decreased from 640 to 556. Simultaneously, statistical institutes also have to respond to users changing expectations

11 and needs. This requires renewal of publication systems, data content and the entire web service entity. The challenge is to respond to changing service expectations with scarcer resources than before. 7. Conclusion This year, Statistics Finland will release around 550 e-publications. In some of Statistics Finland s e-publications, tables and figures are already automatically updated when the publication is made. This speeds up the publication process and reduces errors. It is especially beneficial to develop automation in fast-tempo monthly and quarterly releases. The first pilot test to automate the release text as well has already been made. In addition to e-publications, articles and blog posts are still published and various thematic pages (e. g. immigration) created for ad hoc needs are maintained. These various types of publishing forms should be planned as a whole so that the entity consisting of all forms of data dissemination (e-publication, blog, database), notifications and social media (Facebook, Twitter) would be considered already in advance. Now, more versatile multi-channel distribution is needed: shoving the same content into different channels no longer works as customers are utilising several information channels. The strengths of each channel should be utilised. All content published in the web service should be linked with all other content related to the same phenomenon. Everything should be planned, metadata controlled and happen automatically. In order to implement this, a content management system (CMS) for the entire service is needed with pre-designed data structures, statistical and process metadata. A lot can be achieved with automating release production, and good planning and management of the publishing activity entity. But this alone is not enough. Publishing systems and web services must be clearly more flexible and change resilient than before in a rapidly changing operating environment. The constantly growing number of mobile users increases pressure on the entire site being designed from a mobile viewpoint, which also requires the content to be designed accordingly. According to Xavier Badosa, the new role of statistical institutes will be to act as a service platform from where users fetch required data via standard API interfaces. The use of interfaces will also benefit the institutes own activities: by building their entire web service on the same interfaces, it will not only result in good customer service but also a flexibly customisable service platform for the institute (Badosa X. 2014, Data Dissemination through Data Visualization 2014). A concrete example of this is UK s statistical institute ONS web service that was renewed in February that is built entirely on APIs (ONS Open API). A good example from the Nordic countries is the API interface of the new PX-Web that enables innovative user solutions (see, e. g. Pedersen L., STAT2GO) and onto which flexible and change resilient services can be built in future.

12 8. References Badosa X. 2014, Data Dissemination through Data Visualization 2014, (Accessed 31 May 2016). Common Structure of Statistical Information (CoSSI), Available at: (Accessed 31 May 2016). Digital dissemination and communication DIGICOM, Available at: (Accessed 31 May 2016). Labour force survey 2015, Available at: (Accessed 31 May 2016). Welcome to the ONS OpenAPI, Available at: (Accessed 31 May 2016). Rouhuvirta H. and Huttunen M. (2003). How NSOs can respond to changing user needs in the Internet era, Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Volume 20, Number 1 (2003). Available at: (Accessed 31 May 2016). Pedersen L., STAT2GO, Available at: (Accessed 31 May 2016). Statistics Finland, Strategy, Available at: (Accessed 31 May 2016). Statistics Finland's website has been renewed 2015, Available at: (Accessed 31 May 2016). Waste statistics 2014, Available at: (Accessed 31 May 2016). Volume index of industrial output, Revisions in these statistics, Available at: (Accessed 31 May 2016)

13 Appendix 1: Topics and statistics/subjects on Nordic NSI s websites - as seen by a user starting from the main page