These
supplementary guidelines pertain to statistical and financial
information disseminated by USDA agencies and offices that is
obtained from original data collections, administrative records,
or compilations of data from primary sources, as well as estimates
and forecasts derived from statistical models, expert prediction,
or a combination of the two. The following information
quality criteria comprise the quality standards that USDA agencies
and offices will follow in developing and reviewing statistical
and financial information and disseminating it to the public.
Objectivity of Statistical and Financial Information
To ensure the objectivity of statistical and financial information
disseminated by USDA, its agencies and offices will:
- Design information collection, compilation, and creation
activities based on sound statistical methods or generally
accepted professional and industry standards.
- When collecting statistical or financial information:
- Conduct sample surveys or other data collections using
sound statistical, survey, and data collection methodologies
that are consistent with generally accepted professional
and industry standards.
- Design information collection activities to minimize
respondent burden balanced against the need and value
of the information to be obtained.
- When collecting information that requires OMB clearance
under the Paperwork Reduction Act, demonstrate in the
clearance package submitted to OMB that the information
collection would result in information that will comply
with OMB and USDA information quality guidelines
- When compiling and using statistical or financial information
from administrative data files and records or original sources:
- Use the most reliable data and the most reliable data sources
available.
- Validate the data against other information where practicable.
- When creating estimates or forecasts that are derived from
existing data sources using models or other techniques:
- Use sound statistical methods that conform to accepted professional
standards.
- Document models and other estimation or forecasting techniques
to describe the data sources used and the methodologies and
assumptions employed.
- As a matter of good statistical practice, provide transparent
documentation of data sources, methods, and sources of error
when disseminating original or supporting statistical or financial
data.
- Include quality assurance processes as an integral part of
all phases of data collection or compilation, processing, and
analysis, and conduct an appropriate quality evaluation of
the statistical or financial information before it is disseminated.
- In analyzing and reporting statistical or financial information:
- Use sound analytical techniques, maintain objectivity
and professionalism, and present the data impartially
in ways that are easy to understand.
- Provide a clear explanation data sources, methodologies
used, and assumptions made.
- Where appropriate, subject statistical and financial information
and analysis thereof to formal, independent, external peer
review to ensure its objectivity. If data and analytic
results have been subjected to such a review, the information
may generally be presumed to be of acceptable objectivity. However,
in accordance with the OMB standard, this presumption is rebuttable
based on a persuasive showing by a petitioner in a particular
instance, although the burden of proof is on the complainant.
- If agency-sponsored peer review of statistical or financial
information or the analysis thereof is employed to help satisfy
the objectivity standard, the review process should, where
appropriate, meet the general criteria for competent and credible
peer review recommended by OMB. OMB recommends that (a)
peer reviewers be selected primarily on the basis of necessary
technical expertise, (b) peer reviewers be expected to disclose
to agencies prior technical/policy positions they may have
take on issues at hand, (c) peer reviewers be expected to disclose
to agencies their sources of personal and institutional funding
(private or public sector), and (d) peer reviews be conducted
in an open and rigorous manner.
Objectivity of Influential Statistical and Financial
Information
To ensure the objectivity of influential statistical
and financial information disseminated by USDA, its agencies
and offices will:
- Disseminate influential statistical and financial
information with a high degree of transparency about data and
methods to facilitate its reproducibility by qualified third
parties. Reproducibility means that the information is
capable of being substantially reproduced, subject to an acceptable
degree of imprecision.
- With regard to original and supporting data related to influential statistical
or financial information, USDA agencies and offices will ensure
reproducibility for those particular types of data that can
practicably be subjected to a reproducibility requirement according
to commonly accepted statistical or financial standards, given
ethical, feasibility, or confidentiality constraints.
- With regard to analytic results related to influential statistical
or financial information, USDA agencies and offices will ensure
sufficient transparency about data and methods that an independent
reanalysis could be undertaken by a qualified member of the
public unless other compelling interests such as privacy, trade
secrets, intellectual property, or other confidentiality protections
preclude such a reanalysis.
- In situations where public access to data and methods will
not occur due to other compelling interests, USDA agencies
and offices will apply especially rigorous robustness checks
to analytic results and document what checks were undertaken.
- In all cases, USDA agencies and offices will disclose the
specific data sources, quantitative methods, and assumptions
used in the analysis.
Utility of Statistical and Financial Information
To ensure the utility of statistical and financial information
disseminated by USDA, its agencies and offices will:
- Ensure that general-purpose statistical and financial information
products meet user needs by identifying the users of the information,
staying informed of their information needs, and developing
new statistical and financial information and/or data products
to meet those needs.
- Ensure that statistical and financial information developed
for use by USDA, other Federal agencies, and the Congress in
making management or policy decisions and to implement and
assess regulations and programs is disseminated to the public
with a high degree of transparency about data sources and methods.
- Make statistical and financial information disseminated by
USDA agencies and offices widely available and easily accessible.
- Ensure that the statistical and financial information disseminated
by USDA is accompanied by supporting documentation to aid its
understandability. As appropriate, provide an explanation
of data sources, definitions and concepts, and methodology. Provide
contact information for a knowledgeable person with each publication
and each data set to allow feedback and questions from data
users.
Integrity of Statistical and Financial Information
To ensure the integrity of statistical and financial information
disseminated by USDA, its agencies and offices will:
- Ensure statistical and financial information maintained by
USDA agencies and offices is secure from unauthorized internal
access or revision.
- Ensure statistical and financial information maintained by
USDA agencies and offices is secure from unauthorized external
access or revision.
http://www.ocio.usda.gov/qi_guide/statistical_financial.html
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