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National
Statistical Offices are being challenged to introduce telephone-based
interviewing and web-based self-reporting techniques at once for many critical
data collection operations—such as population and housing, agricultural, and
economic censuses, as well as household, business and other types of surveys. In
many cases, they need to do it without the benefit of prior experience and with
very limited time to conduct detailed analysis and testing of the different
alternatives.
The introduction of these new technologies is therefore risky and can be very expensive as well. To make an informed decision on the type of technologies best suited to mitigate disruptions to data collection programmes, National Statistical Offices need to take into account their existing infrastructure, technical capacities and resources.
It is necessary to conduct rapid but thorough testing before the introduction of new IT systems for data collection, in order to prevent further disruptions in critical statistical operations. This testing should cover: