Main Sources of Statistical Data: Analysis and Examples
Main Sources of Statistical Data
Relevance and Proximity
There are two main criteria for selecting statistical data sources: relevance and proximity to the ground. Proximity prioritizes sources that collect data disaggregated geographically at the municipal level or lower. In Spain, the INE (National Institute of Statistics) is the primary agency for official statistical sources. Many sources within the INE have guaranteed technical supervision and even technical realization of operations. These include the population census, housing, and municipal registers.
The census provides the evolving structure of the population of each town every 10 years and is the official standard for population data. The most relevant municipal-level tables provided by the INE include:
- Total population by five-year age groups and evolution of the population
- Marriage rates
- Net migration
- Total number of households
- Average household size
- Households by number of children
- Foreign totals and percentages
- Average incomes
Different ministries can be considered important sources in their respective fields, but with few exceptions, their maximum disaggregation level remains at the province. Noteworthy ministries include:
- Ministry of Social Affairs
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Interior
- Ministry of Justice
Autonomous communities and some municipalities collect substantial information that reaches even lower levels of territorial disaggregation, such as districts. Much of this information is provided by the INE itself and various ministries through their administrative acts.
Private Sources
Some private sources also generate social statistics that are available to the general public, although few reach the municipal level. Research services of financial institutions are a traditional reference that addresses income distribution and wealth characteristics in the country. Less common are sources like the Caixa in Spain’s social directory, which contains statistical data and economic indicators for each of the 3,171 Spanish towns with over 1,000 inhabitants.
Urban Audit
The Urban I and II initiatives, funded by the European Union within their regional policies, support the development and regeneration of troubled urban districts to combat social exclusion. These initiatives have resulted in a database and an array of statistical indicators that compare the living conditions of participating cities. The database allows for comparisons across cities and, in some cases, lower territorial levels like districts or neighborhoods, providing a simple way to understand the socioeconomic profile of a city.
The Urban Audit covers the following areas:
- Demographics
- Social aspects
- Economic aspects
- Public participation
- Training and education
- Environment
- Transport and communications
- Integration of the information society
- Culture and leisure
Analysis of Secondary Sources in Project Initiation: An Example
Analysis of existing statistical sources can play different roles in research:
- Starting Point: Providing an initial understanding of the research object before methodological design.
- Initial Stage within Research Design: Forming a basis for articulating and comparing research results.
- Main Research Strategy: When research focuses on analyzing secondary sources.
Example: Youth Violence
In a given locality, there is a rise in youth violence. A professional is tasked with analyzing the problem to develop solutions. They decide to conduct empirical field research:
- Read literature on youth violence and seek evidence to understand the problem’s magnitude.
In this search, the following data sources are central:
- Location of the study: Determine the specific locality.
- Weight of the young population: Consult census data from the INE, specifically the population and housing census. Analyze the data by age groups, etc.