Outputs (28)

Working towards a greener Britain: Who, where and for whose benefit? (2024)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Given the urgency of the transition to net-zero, there is a need for a robust evidence base to support green policy interventions. Intelligence in relation to green jobs, however, is partial and fragmented, partially due to the lack of an internation... Read More about Working towards a greener Britain: Who, where and for whose benefit?.

SACRO: Semi-Automated Checking Of Research Outputs (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Output checking can require significant resources, acting as a barrier to scaling up the research use of confidential data. We report on a project, SACRO, that is developing a general-purpose, semi-automatic output checking systems that works across... Read More about SACRO: Semi-Automated Checking Of Research Outputs.

Research data governance in low- and middle-income countries (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Research and policy development on the governance of confidential research data is dominated by the work of academics and government agencies based in high-income countries (HICs). This leaves three quarters of the world’s population faced with a cor... Read More about Research data governance in low- and middle-income countries.

Towards a comprehensive theory and practice of output SDC (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

In 2000, the statistical disclosure control of outputs (OSDC) was largely limited to models of table protection developed by and intended for national statistical institutes (NSIs), as a particular branch of general SDC theory. However, in this centu... Read More about Towards a comprehensive theory and practice of output SDC.

Disclosure control issues in complex medical data (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The covid19 pandemic assisted the acceleration of routine access to medical records for research. In the UK platforms including OpenSafely and NHSDigital, alongside emerging hospital trust based Trusted Research Environments (TREs), demonstrate the u... Read More about Disclosure control issues in complex medical data.

Frameworks, principles, and accreditation: Making data governance work (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Presentation to the Royal Statistical Society Data Ethics Section, covering the origins and development of the Five Safes, the EDRU approach to problems-solving, principles-based regulation, and how these all need to work together to achieve effectiv... Read More about Frameworks, principles, and accreditation: Making data governance work.

Risk of disclosure when reporting commonly used univariate statistics (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

When basic or descriptive summary statistics are reported, it may be possible that the entire sample of observations is inadvertently disclosed, or that members within a sample will be able to work out responses of others. Three sets of univariate su... Read More about Risk of disclosure when reporting commonly used univariate statistics.

Disclosure risks in odds ratios and logistic regression (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

When publishing statistics from confidential data, there exists a risk that the statistic might inadvertently reveal confidential information. Statistical disclosure control (SDC) aims to reduce that risk to an acceptable level. Most SDC theory is co... Read More about Disclosure risks in odds ratios and logistic regression.

Safety in numbers: Minimum thresholding, Maximum bounds and Little White Lies : The case of the mean and standard deviation (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Reporting the sample mean, sample standard deviation and sample size could in some cases lead to the unique identification of the underpinning sample. The likelihood of this reveal via direct enumeration of the possible search space decreases with i... Read More about Safety in numbers: Minimum thresholding, Maximum bounds and Little White Lies : The case of the mean and standard deviation.

Statistical disclosure controls for machine learning models (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Artificial Intelligence (AI) models are trained on large datasets. Where the training data is sensitive, the data holders need to consider risks posed by access to the training data and risks posed by the models that are released. The first problem c... Read More about Statistical disclosure controls for machine learning models.

The present and future of confidential microdata access [draft] (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

This briefing document was prepared for the DRAGoN conference 'The Present and Future of Microdata Access', 5th-9th July 2021. It provides an introduction to the topics to be covered in the conference.

The present and future of confidential microdata access: Post-workshop report (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

In the summer of 2021, the University of the West of England, in collaboration with UN Economic Commission for Europe, Eurostat, INXEDA and statistical organisations across the world, hosted a workshop to review lessons learnt in microdata access ove... Read More about The present and future of confidential microdata access: Post-workshop report.

Sequential mixed methods research: Non-compliance in apprentice pay with owls (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Within mixed methods literature, the relationship between qualitative and quantitative data collection is ubiquitously presented as sequential. Thus, the most followed approach is for the first stage of data collection to follow the second, or to run... Read More about Sequential mixed methods research: Non-compliance in apprentice pay with owls.

10 is the safest number that there’s ever been (2019)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

When checking frequency and magnitude tables for disclosure risk, the cell threshold (the minimum number of observations in each cell) is the crucial statistic. In rules-based environments, this is a hard limit on what can or can’t be published. In p... Read More about 10 is the safest number that there’s ever been.

Not just arms and legs: Student working and the local labour market (2019)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Not just arms and legs: Student working and the local labour market (2019)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Evidence-based, default-open, risk-managed, user-centred data access (2018)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand from the academic community for more access to confidential data for research purposes, particularly that data collected by government departments. This has happened for three reasons. First, both... Read More about Evidence-based, default-open, risk-managed, user-centred data access.

Lessons learned in training ‘safe users’ of confidential data (2017)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Many statistical organisations require researchers using detailed sensitive data to undergo ‘safe researcher’ training. Such training has traditionally reflected the ‘policing’ model of data protection. This mirrors the defensive stance often adopted... Read More about Lessons learned in training ‘safe users’ of confidential data.

Open data: Who needs it? (2017)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

This presentation, to introduce and stimulate a panel discussion, argued that we have 50 years worth of experience in knowing how to use data safely for researcher; as such we should be concentrating on practical management problems not theory: "how-... Read More about Open data: Who needs it?.

The "Five Safes": A framework for planning, designing and evaluating data access solutions (2017)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The ‘Five Safes’ is a popular way to structure thinking about data access solutions. Originally used mainly by statistical agencies and social science academics , in recent years it has been adopted more widely across government, health organisations... Read More about The "Five Safes": A framework for planning, designing and evaluating data access solutions.

Improving data quality: The value of the user as data detective (2016)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

In this presentation, we explore how users can contribute to a better understanding of data quality. We illustrate, with reference to minimum wage compliance, how users identify the sort of data problems missed by NSIs

Evidence-based, context-sensitive, user-centred, risk-managed SDC planning: Designing data access solutions for scientific use (2015)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Disclosure control planning is characterised by over-reliance on theoretical models, inappropriate disclosure scenarios, worst-case planning, confusion over subjective versus objective risk management, and an unwillingness to consider the evidence ba... Read More about Evidence-based, context-sensitive, user-centred, risk-managed SDC planning: Designing data access solutions for scientific use.

Can data owners and data users think alike? Designing incentives to shape the provision of access to data (2012)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Access to sensitive data: Satisfying objectives, not constraints (2012)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Sharing risks, sharing benefits: Data as a public good (2011)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Effective researcher management (2009)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

National Statistical Institutes [NSIs] are increasingly investigating new ways of providing access to confidential microdata for research purposes. These innovations are being driven by the requirement for NSIs to ensure the best possible return for... Read More about Effective researcher management.

Disclosure detection in research environments in practice (2007)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

There is an increasing demand for access to raw confidential data, and NSIs have responded by setting up controlled research facilities. However, the most common approaches to statistical disclosure detection and control (SDDC) struggle to accommod... Read More about Disclosure detection in research environments in practice.

Access to business microdata in the UK: Dealing with the irreducible risks (2005)
Presentation / Conference Contribution