Admission requirements
This course has limited capacity is only avaiable for Statistics and Data Science Students. Students need to have passed the course Survey Methodology and have obtained 42 ECTs in the Statistics and Data Science programme.
See registration for more information about admission.
Description
Official Statistics are a corner stone for creating evidence-based policy. Almost every country in the world has at least one National Statistical Authority that produces statistics on their populations, economies, and environments. Statistical institutes produce statistics on topics such as demography, labor, price indices (inflation), energy, agriculture, environment, national accounts, and more. Supranational organizations such as the UN, the EU, the Word Bank, the IMF and the OECD all have statistical institutes or departments that produce statistics on international level. Official statistics are used every day by policy makers, companies, scientists, journalists, and the public at large. Not a day goes by without an official statistic being quoted in the news.
In the EMOS core module, you will learn what official statistics are and how to interpret them. You will learn about the legal and international context that make statistics comparable across time and location. The course teaches you methodology on how survey, administrative, and other data sources such as sensor data are gathered and integrated. How the data is systematically processed in a reproducible way and how quality is measured. Finally, the course teaches how official statistics are disseminated and communicated to all users.
Course objectives
The course objectives follow from the EMOS learning outcomes available at https://cros.ec.europa.eu/book-page/emos-learning-outcomes.
The EMOS core module has the following course objectives.
Understanding the role of official statistics, their quality aspects and how they are communicated and used.
Understanding the national and international legal context of official statistics
Understanding how official statistics are created and what data sources are used.
Using and understanding methodology that is typical for official statistics. These include: combining data sources; estimation and inference based on non-probability data (such as government administrations); methods for statistical disclosure control (privacy protection); time series; methods for data cleaning.
Ability to build a small production system according to standards set in the official statistics community.
Learning about innovation and topics that currently affect the official statistical community. Examples include the green deal, the use of non-government (privately held) data, statistical literacy, use of AI, and more.
Timetable
The lectures mostly take place at Statistics Netherlands (some of the lectures may also take place at Utrecht University) --> timetable to be added soon.
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of Instruction
Lectures, written and coding excercises (in R or Python), small (coding) projects.
Assessment method
The course consists of six submodules wich are assessed as follows:
- Using, presentating and communicating official statistics: assignment
- System of Official Statistics: individual assignment (on-site)
- Data Sources and Integration: assignment
- Methodology for data processing: data cleaning, time series, and statistical disclosure control: individual assignment (on-site)
- Production of Official Statistics: assignment
- Innovation and Current Topics: assignment
Reading list
Provided during the course.
Registration
To register please complete the following form: https://www.formdesk.com/universiteitleiden/EMOS
After approval you will still need to register through MyStudyMap.
Contact
coordinator@stat.leidenuniv.nl
mpj.vanderloo@cbs.nl
Remarks
The course is taught at Statistics Netherlands (CBS) in The Hague.
Due to limited capacity at Statistics Netherlands, it is possible that only students are admitted to this Module when it is clear that the student has place for his/her internship and thesis at Statistics Netherlands.
For internships, a security screening is part of the hiring process.
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.