Table of contents

  1. What is a data-only release?
  2. What to include on a dataset page
  3. Moving from a bulletin to a data-only release

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What is a data-only release?

A data-only release is a dataset page that contains a downloadable spreadsheet or a customisable dataset. See the following examples:

If you publish a bulletin or headline release and are thinking about making it data only, you should consider:

  • whether users rely on the supporting content in a bulletin or headline release, and how they will be affected if that ends
  • the implications of users using the data without easy access to caveats, strengths and limitations
  • whether you might need to regularly include information or analysis that helps users understand the data

What to include on a dataset page

There are a small number of editable fields on a dataset page:

Section Content
Title A title is the most impactful way to help users find data. Use Style.ONS guidance to ensure that titles are short, clear and in plain English.
About this dataset A summary of what the dataset includes. Try to include words and phrases that users may search for.
Your download option An automatically generated list of links to the latest release and previous versions of the data.
Important notes and usage information An optional section which appears beneath the downloads list. This content is not very prominent, and an unreliable way to give users information about the data. Use sparingly.
Related  There are a number of different boxes that can be used to link to:

  • Related data
  • Related QMIs
  • Publications that use this data

 

Moving from a bulletin to a data-only release

Let users know about changes to a bulletin

A notice is a short alert that lets users know a dataset will no longer have an accompanying bulletin. It sits in a blue banner at the top of the page. It is important to use a notice to let users know about changes.

Use the following template to create a notice.

Notice templates

One dataset release

This bulletin has been discontinued and does not contain the latest data. We will continue to publish the latest data for [Topic/bulletin name] in the [Dataset name and link] dataset.

This bulletin has been discontinued and does not contain the latest data. We will continue to publish the latest quarterly data for Consumer trends in the Consumer trends time series dataset.

Multiple dataset release

This bulletin has been discontinued and does not contain the latest data. We will continue to publish the latest data for [Topic/Bulletin name] in the following datasets:

  • Dataset name and link
  • Dataset name and link
  • Dataset name and link

This bulletin has been discontinued and does not contain the latest data. We will continue to publish the latest quarterly data for Consumer trends in the following datasets: