Methods and Guidelines
The Hungarian Central Statistical Office develops and implements statistical methodologies for different phases and sub-processes of the statistical business process to enable and support the development, implementation and dissemination of official statistics. The main role of standard methods is to ensure and improve the quality of products and processes throughout the whole statistical business process. In order to ensure the implementation of these methodologies, the HCSO operates adequate internal procedures to support practical use.
Methods and methodological guidelines used by the HCSO in the statistical business process:
Hungarian Generic Statistical Business Process Model (HGSBPM)
The Hungarian Generic Statistical Business Process Model (HGSBPM) is a generic framework that describes the process and elements of how statistics are produced, starting from user needs to dissemination and follow-up. The HGSBPM also serves as common language to understand and interpret statistical processes.
The HGSBPM is the Hungarian national adaptation of the Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM) developed and maintained by the UNECE.
Quality Guidelines
The main role of the Quality Guidelines is to set and define requirements and recommendations for managers and statisticians of the HCSO, following the phases and sub-processes defined by the HGSBPM. The Quality Guidelines offers guidance to ensure the quality of statistical products and the underlying processes.
The Quality Guidelines also informs our users on the practices used in the production processes of statistics at the Hungarian Central Statistical Office.
Data Revision Policy
Users of official statistics usually expect statistical data with good timeliness and accuracy. These two dimensions are, however, usually contradictory, meaning that users expect to get access to statistical data as soon as possible, sometimes sooner than all information both in quality and quantity is available to ensure the expected accuracy of data. This puts the National Statistical Institutes on the path to balance between the two, and other, quality components.
Revisions are normal part of the production flows of official statistics: as time progresses, more information will be available both in terms of quality and quantity so the option to replace first estimates with more accurate data will be open.
The Data Revision Policy defines and explains the methodological background, types and role of revisions during the production of official statistics at the HCSO.
About the practice of selecting data suppliers for business statistics surveys conducted by the HCSO
Data collections designed and managed by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office are essential data sources to produce good quality data on the state and changes of the society, economy and the environment. In order to support decision-making and to ensure that citizens are well-informed, the HCSO manages numerous business data collections each year. To ensure the quality of the data, to manage burden on our respondents and to support planning of statistical surveys, the HCSO uses different methodological and organisational practices during the selection of data providers of these surveys.
This methodological guideline describes and explains the methodological aspects and practices used in the selection of data suppliers for business statistics surveys managed by the HCSO.
About Seasonal Adjustment
In official statistics, seasonal adjustment is a process during which seasonal and calendar effects are filtered out from the time series data to get a clearer picture of the examined phenomena and its changes over time.
During seasonal adjustment, the effects of fluctuations within a year are eliminated so there is no reason to apply the process on annual or less frequently produced data. In official statistical practice this means that seasonal adjustment is mostly applied on monthly or quarterly data.
The HCSO applies standard methodology for the planning and application of seasonal adjustment during the statistical business process. The current guideline explains the background and key characteristics of this seasonal adjustment methodology.
About Output Checking
The Hungarian Central Statistical Office allows access to its microdata sets for researchers for scientific purposes. Researchers can use the microdata files in a deidentified form using the environment of Safe Centres operated by the HCSO.
Beside legal and organisational data protection provisions, the methodological data protection, called statistical disclosure control, is essential to ensure the adequate protection of the disseminated statistical data. In this regard, all outputs produced by researchers in the Safe Centre environment are fully checked against confidentiality rules. This methodological activity is called output checking and is based on standard methodological considerations.
The details of this activity can be found in this guideline, produced for researchers using the Safe Centre microdata access services of the HCSO.