Principle 15: Accessibility and Clarity

Statistics and the corresponding metadata are presented, and archived, in a form that facilitates proper interpretation and meaningful comparisons.

INSEE ensures that the results it produces are presented in a clear and orderly manner, which is essential for easy reuse by various groups.

The “Definitions, Methods and Quality” section of the insee.fr website contains all the descriptive metadata on sources and concepts, thereby contributing to the correct interpretation of the data disseminated. The metadata of the “Statistical sources and Indicators” section comply with international standards and rules. Archived files are also accompanied by metadata, allowing for disseminated statistics to be understood and used properly. These archived files can be made available to authorised recipients on request.

INSEE accompanies some of its publications with press releases or press kits to facilitate understanding of the published data and to avoid misinterpretation. It also organises press conferences, some of which are then available online.

INSEE’s dissemination policy is to place all of its statistical output online on its website, in open formats, with conditions for free and open reuse and accompanied by the information needed to interpret it correctly.

The data and publications are gathered in a single, easy-to-access section on the insee.fr website: “Statistics and Studies”. A balance is sought in publications between data, illustrations (graphs, infographics, etc.) and text analysing the results. Publications by INSEE (national and regional) and most of the Ministerial Statistical Offices (MSOs) are also accessible via the digital library for French Official Statistics (BNSP).

INSEE pays particular attention to the way in which its statistics are used. According to the most recent “image” survey conducted in 2019 among visitors to the insee.fr website, 78% of the Internet users questioned find the information disseminated on insee.fr easy to understand.

Dissemination services use modern information and communication technology, methods, platforms and open data standards.

The insee.fr website is designed with a responsive design and adheres to the accessibility recommendations: its pages are therefore adapted to non-graphical browsers (Lynx, Links, w3m, etc.) used by visually impaired persons, in addition to offering a speech synthesiser.

In July 2018, INSEE opened up to developers and advanced users a catalogue of dissemination APIs including, for example, APIs relating to the SIRENE business register or INSEE’s classifications. All of the data disseminated will eventually be accessible through APIs.

The data are made available to users of INSEE’s website in formats that facilitate their use and reuse. Key figures and data illustrating the publications can be downloaded in formats such as: .txt, .csv, .xls, .xlsx and dBase. It is also possible to retrieve data from the macroeconomic database (mainly long series) free of charge using a web service in a SDMX-compliant format, facilitating the exchange of statistical data and metadata. Functions for download in .csv format are also available. Data modelled in accordance with the RDF semantic web standard are also available (such as legal populations from the census), facilitating the automatic use of data by applications that are compatible with these new technologies.

INSEE has gradually increased its presence on social media (Twitter, Linkedln, etc.). Partnerships have also been established with platforms or sites that may have a vocation to relay INSEE information, such as Ouvrir dans un nouvel ongletDatagora. Furthermore, in 2020, a blog was launched in order to highlight the lessons to be learned from statistics and to emphasise their limits, as well as to fight against the spread of false or misused information, with greater freedom of tone.

INSEE is working on the development of methods, technologies and media with an educational focus: infographics, videos, simulators, quizzes, etc.

Custom-designed analyses are provided when feasible and the public is informed.

In order to meet the needs of the public that cannot be covered by the standard offer available on its website, INSEE has created an internal network specialising in the production of statistical products (tables, charts, etc.) on request.

A quote is drawn up for such services, indicating the cost of the service for the requesting party (pricing based on an annual decree) and the time frame for delivery of the results. There is a page dedicated to this service on the insee.fr website. Each request is subject to processing in accordance with statistical confidentiality to guarantee the confidentiality of tables resulting from the combination of variables or drawn up for geographical areas on request.

The INSEE services in charge of these tailor-made products ensure consistency between the bespoke uses of statistics and the standard publications available on the site.

INSEE’s regional offices also offer regional public stakeholders (decentralised government services, local authorities, chambers of commerce and industry, regional observatories, etc.) the opportunity to carry out studies on issues that concern them. These studies are then published, mostly in the form of a joint publication.

Access to microdata is allowed for research purposes and is subject to specific rules or protocols.

Article 7ter of French Ouvrir dans un nouvel ongletAct No 51-711 of 7 June 1951 on Legal Obligation, Coordination and Confidentiality in Statistical Matters, as amended, provides for access, under certain conditions, to data on individuals for research purposes. As part of a European and French policy to promote research, confidential micro-data are accessible, following a favourable opinion from the Statistical Confidentiality Committee, in two other ways.

Firstly, Ouvrir dans un nouvel ongletQuetelet-Progedo-Diffusion, the French data access portal for human and social sciences allows French researchers and those of other nationalities to obtain pseudonymised databases. In particular, these include files taken from major surveys, population censuses and other databases resulting from French Official Statistics.

Secondly, if this system is unable to meet the needs of researchers, they can make a request for the “Secure Access Data Centre” ( Ouvrir dans un nouvel ongletCASD). They may, after receiving an opinion from the Statistical Confidentiality Committee on the research project, access data on individuals resulting from Official Statistics, subject to enhanced confidentiality obligations due to their finer level of detail than the files available through Quetelet-Progedo-Diffusion.

In addition, INSEE’s producing services may be required to enter into specific agreements with researchers, for example in the context of exploratory work on the use of data so as to improve their quality.

Finally, detailed files are available to the general public on the insee.fr website; they contain anonymised individual records relating to statistical operations or surveys conducted by INSEE. They can be downloaded without conditions and free of charge. Other sources are also provided at fine geographical levels, while ensuring respect for confidentiality (e.g. the population census). Data from the SIRENE database are also available on a Ouvrir dans un nouvel ongletdedicated website.

Metadata related to outputs are managed and disseminated by the statistical authority according to the European standards.

The adoption of international standards to describe metadata facilitates their use, whether automatic or manual, and facilitates exchanges with other organisations. Thus, in 2015, INSEE adopted the Eurostat SIMS (Single Integrated Metadata System) model to describe the metadata in its statistical metadata repository (RMéS).

INSEE also uses the SDMX format for international exchanges of data and metadata (with Eurostat in particular) and the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) technical documentation standard for survey documentation.

Users are kept informed about the methodology of statistical processes including the use and integration of administrative and other data.

INSEE publications are accompanied by methodological information (sources, methods, definitions, concepts, etc.), for example in the form of text boxes. The source of the data is always mentioned and the documentation associated with each source, in which the elements relating to the methodology are included, is presented in a dedicated space on the insee.fr website. The classifications, definitions and concepts are also part of the disseminated metadata. In addition, important methodological information, such as database changes, is reported in the “News” section of the insee.fr website.

For some flagship indicators, such as the unemployment rate or the inflation rate, INSEE has, on various occasions, produced specific dossiers presenting the methodology, its merits and limitations, the differences from possible other sources, etc. in an educational manner. Educational videos are also made for the general public, including “Ouvrir dans un nouvel ongletPour comprendre les statistiques de l’Insee” (Understanding INSEE’s Statistics), which gives a simplified presentation of the way in which INSEE’s statistics are compiled.

INSEE informs its audience about the methods used for the design and production of statistical data in online publications concerning methodological subjects on the insee.fr website. The INSEE Méthodes (INSEE Methods) collection details the methods used in INSEE’s various operations. Methodological information sheets present the methods and tools used at INSEE, such as the correction of non-responses through imputation or the calibration methods. Working documents set out the initial results of technical work. The Statéco review reports on methodological discussions and actions undertaken in countries with which INSEE cooperates.

In addition, the statistical models developed and used at INSEE and their open source codes (simulation models, forecasts, projections, etc.) are also presented. Similarly, statistical tools are made available to users (programmes for margin calibration, sampling and data analysis).

Finally, the actions and videos from the Journées de méthodologie statistique statistical methodology days present the many pieces of methodological work carried out at INSEE or within the French Official Statistical Service.

Users are kept informed about the quality of statistical outputs with respect to the quality criteria for European statistics.

Information on INSEE’s different production operations is made available to users in the “Definitions, Methods and Quality” section of the insee.fr website. Based on the European Single Integrated Metadata Structure (SIMS) format, these metadata provide information on many aspects relating to the quality of statistical results, within the meaning of the European Statistics Code of Practice (mandate for data collection, statistical confidentiality, publication dates and access to results, revisions, sampling plan, sample size, precision, etc.).

Other specific sections of the insee.fr website provide site users with information on major quality principles. Thus, the “The Development of European Statistics” section presents, in particular, the European legal framework governing European statistics. The “Official Statistics” section contains information on the legal and institutional framework, statistical confidentiality and personal data protection, as well as access to public data. The “Measuring Service Quality” section reports on user satisfaction.

Finally, a section dedicated to Quality in the Official Statistical Service (SSP) presents, in particular, the reference framework (legislative framework, European Statistics Code of Practice, etc.), the governance and the procedures for assessing quality in the Official Statistical Service (peer reviews, improvement plans, etc.).