Types of Data:
There are three types of data which can be found on Local Insight: rate, ratio and index. This article provides explanations and examples of these types of data.
Rate:
A rate is a comparison of measurements which have contrasting figures.
Unemployment benefit (JSA and Universal Credit) %
Rate calculated as = (Unemployment benefit claimants)/(Population aged 16-64)*100
In this case there is a numerator (number of Unemployment benefit claimants) and a denominator (Population aged 16-64). This is a rate per population, in other words it represents a proportion of the population as a percentage % which is why we multiply it by 100.
Total crime offences
Rate calculated as = (Total offences)/(Total population)*1000
In this case there is a numerator (total number of crime offences) and a denominator (total population). Instead of a proportion, this represents the total crime per population, the number of incidences per population. In this example we have multiplied by 1000 to represent incidences per 1000 people.
Ratio:
- A ratio is an expression used to contrast two or more figures and it is used to show how big or small an amount is when it is contrasted against another amount.
- Ratio calculated as: number of residential property transactions / number of households that are either privately rented or owner occupied as of the 2011 Census.
- In this example you can interpret it as a share, so the number of residential property transactions relative to the number of households that are either privately rented or owner occupied. This is an example of a ratio indicator, therefore we would not usually multiply by a scale factor.
Indexes:
- An index is a composite indicator or statistic - a combination of a set of different measures or statistics, or a compound measure that aggregates multiple indicators together. They can summarise and rank specific variables or observations.
- There are various types of indexes ranging from the Index of Multiple Deprivation to the Community Needs Index of. A commonly used index we have on Insight is the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), which is an overall relative measure of deprivation.
- It was constructed by combining 7 domains of deprivation (Income Deprivation; Employment Deprivation; Education Skills and Training Deprivation; Health Deprivation and Disability; Crime; Barriers to Housing and Services and Living Environment Deprivation).
Looking at the metadata for an indicator
The metadata is the contextual information about the indicators:
- The methodology behind it (e.g. a percentage, a rate, an average)
- Time period the data relates to
- Update Frequency
- Source
How to view metadata on the maps
In order to view the metadata follow the steps outlined below:
- Go to Maps and locate the Data icon
- Choose a data set you would like to look at
- Go to the information box and click on the first icon labelled about the Indicator
- You can now view all the contextual information about the dataset you are interested in
The Metadata Information Box
How to view metadata on the dashboard
In order to view the metadata follow the steps outlined below:
- Go to the Dashboard and locate the headers
- Go to any header and locate the i icon which is above an indicator and click on it
- You can now view all the contextual information about the dataset you are interested in
