Quality Statement

Label
Access to telecommunication systems - 2023 Census: Information by concept en-NZ
Definition

Access to telecommunication systems is the ability of residents in a private dwelling to communicate, through cellphone, telephone, or the Internet, with people outside the dwelling and to use services provided through these media. The device(s) and connection(s) must be in working order.

This data provides information on access to telecommunication systems at the household level. It does not show whether a particular household member has access to those telecommunication systems. In some cases, not every member of a household has equal access to telecommunication systems, such as a cellphone or the Internet.

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Overall quality rating

Moderate quality
Data quality processes section below has more detail on the rating.

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Priority level

Priority level 3
A priority level is assigned to all census concepts: priority 1, 2, or 3 (with 1 being highest and 3 being the lowest priority).
Access to telecommunication systems is a priority 3 concept. Priority 3 concepts are given third priority in terms of quality, time, and resources across all phases of the census. Priority 3 concepts are those that are:

  • data that census would not be solely run for, and information about population groups that could not be captured without being in a census
  • data that is important to certain groups
  • data that can be used to create sampling frames for other surveys.

The census priority level for access to telecommunication systems remains the same as 2018.

The 2023 Census: Final content report has more information on priority ratings for census concepts.

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Subject population

Households in occupied private dwellings
‘Subject population’ means the people, families, households, or dwellings that the variable applies to.

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How this data is classified

Access to telecommunication systems data is classified into the following categories:

Census access to telecommunications V2.0.0 – level 1 of 2

Code Category
0 No access to telecommunication systems
1 Access to a cellphone/mobile phone
2 Access to a telephone
3 Access to a fax machine
4 Access to the internet
9 Not Elsewhere Included

For access to telecommunication systems the level 1 residual category ‘Not elsewhere included’ contains the residual categories ‘Response unidentifiable’ and ‘Not stated’.

Follow the link above the table to examine the classification in more detail.

Multiple responses could be provided to the question on access to telecommunication systems. Households reporting access to more than one type of telecommunication system are counted in each category that they stated they had access to. Therefore, the total number of responses in a table is greater than the total number of households.

The 2023 Census classification for access to telecommunication systems is consistent with that used in the 2018 Census. Note, the fax machine category was not collected as part of the access to telecommunication systems question in the 2018 or 2023 Censuses and remains in the classification for time series purposes.

Standards and classifications has information on what classifications are, how they are reviewed, where they are stored, and how to provide feedback on them.

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Question format

Access to telecommunication systems data is collected on the dwelling form (question 13 paper form).

There were differences in the way a person could respond between the modes of collection (online and paper forms).

On the online form:

  • there was no ‘or’ in front of the final response option, ‘none of these’. If ‘none of these’ was selected, any other response was cleared, preventing an inconsistent multiple response.

On the paper form:

  • an ‘or’ was included before the final response option, ‘none of these’
  • it was possible for respondents to select contradictory answers, such as ‘a telephone’ and ‘or none of these’, resulting in an unidentifiable response.

Data from the online forms may therefore be of higher overall quality than data from paper forms. However, processing checks and edits were in place to improve the quality of the paper form data.

Stats NZ Store House has samples for both the individual and dwelling paper forms.

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Examples of how this data is used

Data-use outside Stats NZ:

  • in the development of the New Zealand Deprivation Index (NZDep). No access to the internet is one of the dimensions of deprivation used to create this index
  • to indicate a respondents ability to access services such as social and health care in an emergency
  • to understand how households use different types of telecommunications they have access to.

Data-use by Stats NZ:

  • to evaluate methods for collecting survey data and contacting respondents.
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Data sources

The table below shows the distribution of data sources for access to telecommunication systems data. All data was from census forms as no alternative data sources were available.

Data sources for access to telecommunication systems, as a percentage of households in occupied private dwellings, 2023 Census
Source for access to telecommunication systems data Percent
2023 Census response 91.6
Historical census 0.0
Admin data 0.0
Deterministic derivation 0.0
Statistical imputation 0.0
No information 8.4
Total 100.0
Note: Due to rounding, individual figures may not always sum to the stated total(s) or score contributions.

Editing, data sources, and imputation in the 2023 Census has more information around how data sources are improved by editing.

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Missing and residual responses

Missing and residual responses represent data gaps where respondents either did not provide answers (missing responses) or provided answers that that were not valid (residual responses).

Percentage of ‘Not stated’ for households in occupied private dwellings:

  • 2023: 8.4 percent
  • 2018: 7.7 percent
  • 2013: 5.0 percent.

For output purposes, the residual category responses are grouped with ‘Not stated’ and are classified as ‘Not elsewhere included’.

Percentage of ‘Not elsewhere included’ for households in occupied private dwellings:

  • 2023: 8.5 percent
  • 2018: 7.8 percent
  • 2013: 5.2 percent.
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Data quality processes

Overall quality rating: Moderate
Data has been evaluated to assess whether it meets quality standards and is suitable for use.

Three quality metrics contribute to the overall quality rating:

  • data sources and coverage
  • consistency and coherence
  • accuracy of responses.

The lowest rated metric determines the overall quality rating.

Data quality assurance in the 2023 Census provides more information on the quality rating scale.

Data sources and coverage: Moderate quality
The quality of all the data sources that contribute to the output for the variable were assessed. No alternative data sources or imputation were used to replace missing responses. The final data sources and coverage quality rating for access to telecommunication systems reflects the census overall and the percentage of people that did not answer the access to telecommunication systems question.

The rating for a valid census response is defined as 1.00. Ratings for other sources are the best estimates available of their quality relative to a census response. Each source that contributes to the output for that variable is then multiplied by the proportion it contributes to the total output. The total score then determines the metric rating according to the following range:

  • 0.98–1.00 = very high
  • 0.95–<0.98 = high
  • 0.90–<0.95 = moderate
  • 0.75–<0.90 = poor
  • <0.75 = very poor.

For access to telecommunication systems, the level of census response, the absence of alternative data sources, and the high level of ‘No Information’ resulted in a score of 0.92, leading to the quality rating of moderate.

Data sources and coverage rating calculation for access to telecommunication systems data, households in occupied private dwellings, 2023 Census
Source for access to telecommunication systems data Rating Percent Score contribution
2023 Census response 1.00 91.55 0.92
No information 0.00 8.45 0.00
Total 100.00 0.92
Note: Due to rounding, individual figures may not always sum to the stated total(s) or score contributions.

Consistency and coherence: High quality
Access to telecommunication systems data is consistent with expectations across nearly all consistency checks, with some minor variation from expectations or benchmarks which makes sense due to real-world change, incorporation of other sources of data, or a change in how the variable has been collected.

Minor variations from expectations due to real-world change include increased access to mobile/cellphones and the internet, decreased access to telephones, and severe weather events impacting the proportion of missing information in some geographic areas.

Accuracy of responses: Very high quality
Access to telecommunication systems data has no data quality issues that have an observable effect on the data. The quality of coding is very high. Any issues with the variable appear in a very low number of cases (typically less than a hundred).

Improvement in scanning repair of paper forms reduced the number of responses in ‘Response unidentifiable’.

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Recommendations for use and further information

Access to telecommunication systems data can be used in a comparable manner to the 2018 and 2013 Censuses. It is recommended that data users familiarise themselves with changes in methodology between each census.

When using this data, users should be aware of the following:

  • Care should be taken when using data at territorial authority and local board, and statistical area 2 levels. Users should use the proportion of total stated rather than counts for analysis.
  • At all geographic levels the proportion of missing data has increased since 2018 Census, but particularly in those areas impacted by severe weather events in 2023 such as Cyclone Gabrielle. This may affect the representativeness of responses in those areas. Users should use proportion of total stated rather than counts for analysis.
  • Caution should be taken when breaking 'other private dwellings’ category down further by area as it may have a higher proportion of missing data that may affect the representativeness of responses for these areas.

Comparisons to other data sources
Census is the only comprehensive source of information about access to telecommunication systems data. Comparing 2023 Census data with other data sources should be done with care.

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Information by variables from previous censuses

To assess how this concept aligns with the variables from the previous census, use the links below:

Contact our Information centre for further information about using this concept.

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Information

History

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Revision Date Responsibility Rationale
26 26/09/2024 10:00:56 AM