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The role of data

Data refers to a collection of values which when analysed convey information which can be used to inform or challenge decision making.

Data can be either quantitative or qualitative.

Information that can be quantified.

Quantitative data can be counted, measured, or given a numerical value.

This type of data can help us to explore:

  • Demographic data such as age and ethnicity
  • Health information such as the number of residents living with certain diagnoses in different groups or areas
  • Life expectancies and healthy life expectancies for residents living within certain groups or areas
  • Financial costs
  • The duration of something in minutes, months, and years
  • Other measurements such as height and weight

It can be used to answer questions that begin with ‘how many?’, ‘how much?’ or ‘how often?’.

Information that can be quantified.

Quantitative data can be counted, measured, or given a numerical value.

This type of data can help us to explore:

  • Demographic data such as age and ethnicity
  • Health information such as the number of residents living with certain diagnoses in different groups or areas
  • Life expectancies and healthy life expectancies for residents living within certain groups or areas
  • Financial costs
  • The duration of something in minutes, months, and years
  • Other measurements such as height and weight

It can be used to answer questions that begin with ‘how many?’, ‘how much?’ or ‘how often?’.

Information that cannot be counted, measured, or easily expressed using numbers.

Qualitative data is collected through a variety of methods including open-ended surveys, interviews, focus groups and engagement events.

This type of data can help us to explore:

  • Lived experiences - for example, to understand barriers (what makes it harder) and enablers (what makes it easier) to manage a certain condition, or make lifestyle changes
  • Opinions - for example, to understand residents’ perceptions of, and feelings about, potential changes to a service or area

It can be used to answer questions about how people feel, what matters to them, what the perceived challenges and opportunities are, and what ideas people have about how to encourage positive changes for Gloucestershire residents.

Qualitative data can be a particularly useful way to ensure communities (who are knowledgeable, and impacted by decisions) are given a voice, enabling decision makers to take this into consideration.

Information that cannot be counted, measured, or easily expressed using numbers.

Qualitative data is collected through a variety of methods including open-ended surveys, interviews, focus groups and engagement events.

This type of data can help us to explore:

  • Lived experiences - for example, to understand barriers (what makes it harder) and enablers (what makes it easier) to manage a certain condition, or make lifestyle changes
  • Opinions - for example, to understand residents’ perceptions of, and feelings about, potential changes to a service or area

It can be used to answer questions about how people feel, what matters to them, what the perceived challenges and opportunities are, and what ideas people have about how to encourage positive changes for Gloucestershire residents.

Qualitative data can be a particularly useful way to ensure communities (who are knowledgeable, and impacted by decisions) are given a voice, enabling decision makers to take this into consideration.

Understanding the Gloucestershire population

The following resources have been suggested to help you find out more about Gloucestershire and its residents.

  • The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) collects and publishes national statistics related to planning, preventing and responding to external health threats
  • The Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) collects data from the health records of individual children, young people and adults who are in contact with mental health services
  • The Local Authority Interactive Tool (LAIT) is an interactive spreadsheet for comparing data about children and young people across all local authorities in England
  • The Department of Education (DfE) is responsible for children’s services and education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills in England and provides relevant research and statistics (for example, on School Readiness)
  • The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) publish national and official statistics relating to the environment, rural communities, food, farming and biosecurity and provides relevant research and statistics (for example, on Air Quality)
  • LG Inform is the local area benchmarking tool from the Local Government Association and report on indicators such as the density of fast-food outlets
  • NHS Digital provides health and care data for England which includes the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) and Stop Smoking Services
  • The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) collects and publishes national statistics related to planning, preventing and responding to external health threats
  • The Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) collects data from the health records of individual children, young people and adults who are in contact with mental health services
  • The Local Authority Interactive Tool (LAIT) is an interactive spreadsheet for comparing data about children and young people across all local authorities in England
  • The Department of Education (DfE) is responsible for children’s services and education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills in England and provides relevant research and statistics (for example, on School Readiness)
  • The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) publish national and official statistics relating to the environment, rural communities, food, farming and biosecurity and provides relevant research and statistics (for example, on Air Quality)
  • LG Inform is the local area benchmarking tool from the Local Government Association and report on indicators such as the density of fast-food outlets
  • NHS Digital provides health and care data for England which includes the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) and Stop Smoking Services

Remember:

  • Different types of data have different advantages and disadvantages
  • The information collected varies from dataset to data set so you will not always find exactly what you are looking for
  • Datasets can vary in terms of how old they are, how complete they are, and how large they are, which all affects how confident we can be in drawing conclusions

To learn more about data, please visit the UK Data Service Learning Hub.

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