Lincoln University Presented by Ruth Lum, Mike Moore, Paul Brown CURF Workshop
Jan 15, 2016
Lincoln University
Presented byRuth Lum, Mike Moore,
Paul Brown
CURF Workshop
New agreement between CONZUL andStatistics NZ
Products and Services available
Range of CURFS available / howto gain access
Introducing NZGSS
CURF Workshop
What we’re looking at today…
Official Statistics System (OSS)
Statistics that measure NZ’s economic, social & environment status for purposes of policy & decision-making
• Provide base national information• Most, but not all, produced by Statistics NZ• Often an international obligation to produce
Tier 1 statistics –
•the most important official statistics
•Produced by other agencies (such as MSD, MED, MAF, Justice) as well as Stats NZ
Agreement – purpose
NZ Vice Chancellors Committee asked CONZUL to consult with Statistics NZ on an agreement for products / services
Benefits – (i) to help build statistical capability and (ii) facilitate the research of academics
Improve our relationship with universities, academics researchers and librarians
Products / services available Data Packages include:
Business Demography – data on Stats web page now
Population Census data – 2006 available / 2001 due late Nov ‘09
Births & Deaths – due mid Dec ‘09
Migration – due late Dec ’09
Disability data – due late Jan ‘10
Customised data – to an agreed sum per annum / covers all datasets produced by Stats NZ
Publications – Key Stats, NZ in Profile, Bi-annual Yearbook
Quarterly Seminars
CURFS (Confidentialised Unit Records Files)
Components of agreement – cont’d
Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURFS), include –
CURFS from Statistics NZ, and
Australian Bureau of Statistics
A CURF comprises data at unit record level
Every row in the dataset = a person who answered the survey with columns being the values for each question or variable.
CURF - to be used for research/statistical purposes
SURFs suitable for “teaching purposes” are available on Stats NZ website
Why use a CURF for research?
Benefits include –
The user can perform complex analysis of the dataset
This type of analysis cannot be done with aggregate level data such as tables
The user can take the data offsite and use own software preference.
Free under this agreement
Available to researcher in a week following application
Available CURFSStatistics NZ ABS ABS
General Social Survey of New Zealand, 2008
Census 1981; 1991; 2001 - Household Sample File
Time Use Survey (1997)
Survey of Dynamics and Motivations for Migration in New Zealand, 2007
National Health Survey 1995, 2001, 2004-05
Child Care Survey (1999; 2002
Household Labour Force Survey / New Zealand Income Survey, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
General Social Survey 2002; 2006;
Disability, Ageing and Carers (1993)
New Zealand Income Survey, 2002, 2003,
Income and Housing Costs Survey 1999-00; 2000-01; 2002-03;
Education and Work (2007)
New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings, 2001
Census of Population and Housing, 2006
Family Characteristics Survey (2003)
Household Savings Survey, 2001 Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing (2003-04)
Forms of Employment (1998)
Disability, Ageing and Carers (2003) Labour Mobility 1994; 1994
Labour Force Survey & Employee Earnings, Benefits and Union Membership
Mental Health and Wellbeing of Adults, Australia (1997) Second Revised
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey (1994)
National Crime and Safety Survey (2005)
Household Labour Force Survey / New Zealand Income Survey CURFs
NZIS is a supplement to HLFS run in June quarter
HLFS collects information on labour force status,
Industry and occupation, and
hours worked
NZIS collects information on income from wages and salaries,
self-employment,
ACC,
benefits and Superannuation
HLFS/NZIS CURFs – cont’d
6 basic CURFs now exist June quarters 2002 – 2007
29,000 individual records in each CURF
NZIS only for 2002 and 2003
HLFS added from 2004
45 income (mainly wage and salary) derived variables
35 labour force variables
Survey of Dynamics and Motivations for migration in NZ: March 2007 quarter
Basic CURF contains 23,465 individual records
90 variables including -region of residence before and after the last move,
reasons for moving, number of homes in last ten years, d
demographic characteristics,
living arrangements and employment status at time of move,
income,
perceptions on outcome of move,
intentions about moving
Household Savings Survey (HSS)
One off wealth survey conducted in 2001
5,374 individual records (2,392 non-partnered individuals and 2,982 couples)
Collects asset and liability information from individuals and couples 18 years and over,
plus some demographic, income and life experience detail (e.g. inheritance received)
Household Savings Survey (HSS) cont’d
111 variables (mostly value of different asset and liability variables including -property values,
private superannuation values,
mortgage debt,
hire purchase debt, and
credit card debt
Summarised income source variables including – total wages,
total NZ Superannuation, and
total other government transfers
2001 Census CURFWhat is it?
2% sample of individual records
Highest level of classification or aggregated further
Possible to manipulate the data, produce tabulations and undertake statistical analyses to individual specifications
Ideal for learning to use census data
Statistics NZ is investigating the possibility of producing more census CURFs in the future. Products and services for the 2011 Census have not been finalised.
We would be interested on your input on the need and use of a Census CURF
Accessing a CURF
Statistics NZ CURF
Visit - www.stats.govt.nz/unistats
Complete “application to access microdata” form, and send to Stats NZ;
Need to demonstrate the intended usage of the data
A CURF licence must be signed by a person authorised to sign on behalf of the researcher's organisation.
Each researcher who will have access to the CURF must sign the appropriate researcher undertaking.
CURF data provided on CD-ROM
Accessing a CURF
Australian (ABS) CURF
Visit - www.stats.govt.nz/unistats and look for link to “Managing ABS Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURFs): a step by step guide”
Speak to microdata team at Statistics NZ
Application is made to ABS – via system "MiCRO" where you complete the Individual User Undertaking
When approval is granted, the CURF will be available via the ABS Remote Access Data Laboratory (RADL).
Microdata Contacts
Application forms for Data Lab and CURFs available on Statistics NZ website
For more information contact : Jackie Dixon ([email protected]) or John Upfold ([email protected])
Stats for Universities Web page
Details of the agreement and data sets are on the “Statistics for Universities” webpage
Note the address - www.stats.govt.nz/unistats
Data extracted specifically for universities is stored on these pages – includes customised / additional data set
Web address available from University Contact Officers / Librarians
Auckland: Gillian Ralph
AUT: Amanda Cole
Waikato: Kathryn Parsons
Massey: Noeline White
Victoria: Emma Shepheard-Walwyn
Canterbury: Heather Jenks
Lincoln: Craig Murray / Caroline Henderson
Otago: Thelma Fisher
If this option is not working, Stats NZ has a free information service to assist you.
Phone 0508 525 525
or email [email protected]
University Contact Officers
2008 New Zealand General Social Survey
Background The NZGSS provides data on important social and economic
outcomes of New Zealanders that is not available from other sources
The NZGSS will be used to:
Monitor progress over time and track the impact of events such as the current recession
Identify the factors associated with multiple poor outcomes
Provides new information about how people think they themselves are faring, which complements objective information
Allow international comparisons with other OECD nations
Investigate new topics in a timely manner
Scope and Content
Human Rights
Culture & Identity
Leisure & Recreation
Social Connectedness
Safety & Security
Knowledge & Skills
Physical Environment
Overall Life Satisfaction
Paid Work
Economic Standard of
Living
HousingHealth
Support Across
Households
First results from the NZGSS were released on:
29 October 2009 at 10.45 am
First major new survey funded under the Programme of Official Social Statistics (POSS)
New Zealand General Social Survey
Key Messages: what is the NZGSS?
The NZGSS is one of three regular household surveys run by Statistics New Zealand (the others being the HES and the HLFS)
Nationally representative sample of 8721 households
Biannual (survey runs April – March)
Face to face computer assisted interviews
Respondent is one household member aged 15 years or over
Dissemination and Data Access
NZGSS is funded as part of the Programme of Official Social Statistics (POSS)
POSS represents a major investment by government in the evidence base for policy
POSS depends entirely on use of the data collected to inform policy and promote greater transparency in monitoring outcomes
Dissemination and Data Access
Statistics New Zealand:
Provides the dataset
Publishes tables containing the most important aggregate statistics
Undertakes a limited amount of analysis
Supports users without strong analytical capability themselves
But to get full value from the NZGSS it needs to be used more widely…
Dissemination and Data Access
We are keen to facilitate access to the NZGSS via:
Secondments to Statistics New Zealand for joint work
Datalab
The NZGSS CURF