The extent to which differences between statistics can be attributed to differences between the true values of the statistical characteristics.
Comparability aims at measuring the impact of differences in applied statistical concepts and definitions on the comparison of statistics between geographical areas, non-geographical dimensions, or over time. Comparability of statistics, i.e. their usefulness in drawing comparisons and contrast among different populations, is a complex concept, difficult to assess in precise or absolute terms. In general terms, it means that statistics for different populations can be legitimately aggregated, compared and interpreted in relation to each other or against some common standard. Metadata must convey such information that will help any interested party in evaluating comparability of the data, which is the result of a multitude of factors. In some quality frameworks, for instance in the European Statistical Code of Practice, comparability is strictly associated with the coherence of statistics. The concept can be further broken down into: (a) Comparability - geographical, referring to the degree of comparability between statistics measuring the same phenomenon for different geographical areas. (b) Comparability over time, referring to the degree of comparability between two or more instances of data on the same phenomenon measured at different points in time. (c) Comparability between domains, referring to the comparability between different survey results which target similar characteristics in different statistical domains.
| type | Class |
| label | COMPARABILITY |
| Title | COMPARABILITY |
| definition | The extent to which differences between statistics can be attributed to differences between the true values of the statistical characteristics. |
| Description | Comparability aims at measuring the impact of differences in applied statistical concepts and definitions on the comparison of statistics between geographical areas, non-geographical dimensions, or over time. Comparability of statistics, i.e. their usefulness in drawing comparisons and contrast among different populations, is a complex concept, difficult to assess in precise or absolute terms. In general terms, it means that statistics for different populations can be legitimately aggregated, compared and interpreted in relation to each other or against some common standard. Metadata must convey such information that will help any interested party in evaluating comparability of the data, which is the result of a multitude of factors. In some quality frameworks, for instance in the European Statistical Code of Practice, comparability is strictly associated with the coherence of statistics. The concept can be further broken down into: (a) Comparability - geographical, referring to the degree of comparability between statistics measuring the same phenomenon for different geographical areas. (b) Comparability over time, referring to the degree of comparability between two or more instances of data on the same phenomenon measured at different points in time. (c) Comparability between domains, referring to the comparability between different survey results which target similar characteristics in different statistical domains. |
| type | Class |
| has internal identifier | COMPARABILITY |
| sample | |
| http://www.w3.org/ns/adms#versionNotes | |
| Is Part Of | SDMX |