This section should provide information to help users correctly interpret the data, including how the data should or should not be used.

This may include:

• detail on the data’s accuracy and reliability, for example, if there was a sampling error or gap between collection and publication
• detail about any uncertainty
• detail about comparability with other sources or countries’ data
• detail on any warnings used
• whether the bulletin contains National Statistics or Experimental Statistics

It should not include any tables or charts. If necessary, you can link to relevant articles so that users can read more about the data’s quality.

See the April 2021 Labour market overview bulletin for an example.

National Statistics

If the bulletin has National Statistics status, use the standard wording and format to detail when it was last assessed and what improvements were made.

Quality and Methodology Information (QMIs)

If your QMI has a section that clearly explains the strengths and limitations of your data, for example the quality summary section, link to it directly from the bulletin.

If the strengths and limitations from your QMI are crucial to interpreting the data and can be summarised clearly in a few short bullet points, include them under subheadings of “Strengths” and “Limitations”.

Uncertainty

Our Uncertainty and how we measure it guidance explains the different measures of uncertainty for users. This includes information on standard errors, confidence intervals and statistical significance. Bulletins should include a standard line that links to this page:

“View more information on how we measure and communicate uncertainty for our surveys.”

See this COVID infection survey release for an example of how to address uncertainty.

We are constantly improving our content guidance based on user research, feedback and best practice. See our Updates page for the most recent improvement.

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