1522.0 - Quality Management of Statistical Outputs Produced From Administrative Data, Mar 2011  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 22/03/2011   
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EDITING AND TRANSFORMATION

Administrative data may require editing to be undertaken before it can be utilised. Editing could take the form of fixing typographical errors, imputing missing values, dealing with outliers etc. These strategies may be undertaken either by the data custodian or by the receiving agency. In general, it can be quite time consuming and costly to edit administrative data especially if access to the original information is not possible. It is recommended that an editing strategy be developed and agreed to with the data custodian.

Transformation of administrative data is another issue that needs to be considered. In particular, the compatibility of the administrative data file with the receiving agency's corporate systems. It is recommended that negotiations be held between the data custodian and receiving agency to determine the requirements for delivery of the administrative data. These could range from specifying the file format, e.g. spreadsheet, to the order in which the data is presented within the file.