Public confidence in official statistics in the United Kingdom: characteristics of respondents and changes over time

Abstract

Survey climate is a complex phenomenon that determines the amount of effort required to efficiently implement surveys and obtain high-quality data. In this paper, we assess some aspects of survey climate in the United Kingdom (UK), with reference to public confidence in Official Statistics (OS): general confidence in the accuracy of OS, trust in the statistics produced by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), and confidence that respondents’ data will be kept confidential. To address the research questions, we use UK data on public confidence in OS collected in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021. We first identify the characteristics of respondents with varying levels of confidence in OS in 2021, and then investigate changes in confidence over time. The results suggest that public confidence in OS in the UK has increased over time, even though overall willingness to participate in surveys, as measured by response rates, has declined during the same period. Additionally, we find that older and less educated respondents are more likely to hold negative views about OS in general, exhibit lower levels of trust in statistics produced by the ONS, and express less confidence that their data will be kept confidential. Awareness of the ONS is significantly associated with all three outcomes, with lower levels of awareness associated with more negative attitudes. The findings indicate a strong need to increase public awareness of National Statistical Institutes, which may help improve certain aspects of survey climate. For some outcomes, prior participation in a census is important, as it is associated with more positive attitudes towards OS. However, the direction of casual effects should be further investigated to strengthen the conclusions about this association.

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ORCID for Olga Maslovskaya: orcid.org/0000-0003-3814-810X

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