Office for Statistics Regulation (UK)

Research Problem

Changing world: How have evolutions in our statistical system (such as the greater focus on administrative sources for statistics) influenced how statistics are produced, used, and valued? How may advances in wider society (such as the increasing sophistication of large language models) influence how statistics are produced, used, and valued?

Research Problem

Trustworthiness: What influences perceived trustworthiness of statistics or data being used as evidence, and how can those across the statistical system increase it? To what degree do people trust official statistics or other data used as evidence, and how much do perceptions of trustworthiness influence this?

Research Problem

Value: Building on the work of others, how should we understand and measure the value of statistics and data used as evidence, and what influences this?

Research Problem

Use of statistics: Who is using official statistics, where do they find them, how are they being used, and what influences this? What do people look for in statistics or data being used as evidence to have confidence in using them, and how can we build this confidence?

Research Problem

Misuse of statistics: What makes a statistic or data vulnerable to misuse, in what contexts is this more likely (including who is most susceptible to this and why), and how is this best addressed? What are the impacts when statistics or data are misused, how does misinformation propagate? How can public confidence in statistics or data be maintained in the face of misuse?

Research Problem

Statistics that serve the public good: What does it mean for statistics to serve the public good, and how might this be measured and communicated? What is unique about the way in which official statistics serve the public good compared to other sources of information? How can views from ‘the public’ be brought into this conversation, respecting that there is no single homogenous group and there will be many varied perspectives?

Research Problem

Interactions: How does the way that statistics are produced influence the value that users get from them, and how can this be addressed to maximise value? To what degree to statistics need to be directly used for them to provide value (or do people value outcomes from others using them instead)?

Research Problem

Wider evidence landscape: How are statistics valued and used in the wider evidence landscape, such as in comparison to privately produced statistics, anecdotal evidence or management information, and what influences this? What sets official statistics apart within the wider evidence landscape, how well is this understood, and how does this influence confidence in them, their use and how they are valued?

Research Problem

Communicating statistics: How does the communication of statistics influence their use and how they are valued? What factors ought to be considered in the communication of statistics, for example the audience, uncertainty around the estimates?