Data dissemination involves distributing or transmitting statistical and other data to end users through various methods such as electronic formats, CD-ROM, and paper publications including PDF files. Today, most organizations prefer open systems using internet protocols and common open formats to make data widely accessible. In contrast, some choose proprietary databases to maintain control and protect copyright. Proprietary dissemination requires specific software to access data, which is converted into a proprietary data format that cannot be opened in common open formats.
Dissemination formats and standards
Under the Special Data Dissemination Standard, the formats are divided into two categories: "hardcopy" and "electronic" publications
Some examples of Hardcopy publications:
- yearbook
- panorama of municipalities
- monthly review
- trends
- pocketbook
- periodical
Some examples of electronic copy publications:
- CD Rom
- Webpage
- Downloadable Databases for private use in 3rd party software applications
Standards
Standards have been developed in order to provide an internationally accepted statistical methodology for the dissemination of statistical data. The ‘International Organization for Standardization’ (ISO) are one such international standard-setting body made up of representatives from various national standards organizations. They created the SDMX standard widely used around the world. SDMX stands for ‘Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange’.3 It is commonly used in national and international statistical and economic data sharing systems. This standard is for the exchange of essential social and economic statistics, for example between European national agencies and Eurostat and the European Central Bank. SDMX is used for the dissemination of multi-dimensional aggregated data.
The Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) was created by the DDI Alliance. DDI is an open metadata specification and covers the full data life cycle from planning through to dissemination and archiving data. It is most popularly used for social statistics micro data but is not limited to this subject area. There are some examples online where these two standards are in use in proprietary data form.
Some examples of proprietary data dissemination online
- Public Transport Victoria Online Portal
- Health Workforce Australia Online Portal Archived 2017-05-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Cancer Council Victoria Online Portal
- Catholic Education Office Canberra Online Portal
- Department of Workplace and Pensions UK Online Portal
- Australian Bureau of Statistics Table builder Table Builder Online Portal Archived 2014-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
- King Faisal Specialist Hospital Research Centre Online Portal
References
"OECD Glossary of Statistical Terms - Data dissemination Definition". stats.oecd.org. Retrieved 2021-04-09. https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=3004 ↩
"What is Data Dissemination | Online Learning". Retrieved 2021-04-09. https://www.learn.geekinterview.com/data-warehouse/dw-basics/what-is-data-dissemination.html ↩
"What is SDMX?". Retrieved Apr 9, 2021. https://sdmx.org/?page_id=3425 ↩