SRS Bitesize Sessions - How to complete the SRS ingest request form
The SRS Ingest Request Form has been updated to improve the process of requesting ingests to your project.
Join Sholeh from the Statistical Support Team as she introduces you to the new form and takes you step-by-step on how to complete it.
The video is under 12 minutes long with convenient timestamps provided.
SRS Software & Tools - Pulse Survey
Give your feedback on our software and analytic tools
The Office for National Statistics is asking for your feedback on the software and analytic tools that are provided in the Secure Research Service (SRS).
Please take a few minutes to help us understand how you manage your research and analysis.
This will ensure that your views are heard as we develop our services.
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SRS Infrastructure Changes - Stage Two – Coming Soon
Following the move to a new infrastructure platform in the Summer, two factor authentication will be coming to the SRS soon.
It is being introduced as a mandatory additional security measure and will bring us into line with best practice for secure services.
We will introduce this as a phased roll-out, starting before Christmas and continuing into the New Year.
Users will be contacted by email when scheduled to cut-over to the new arrangements and full instructions will be provided at that point.
To help the transition please ensure that your email address and mobile number are registered correctly on the RAS system
Further details will follow, however, should you have any queries in the meantime, please contact SRS Customer Support
Have you reported your outputs?
As part of the Digital Economy Act (2017) and agreements with ONS, anyone using ONS data has a responsibility to report their outputs. To make this easier and more efficient the SRS/IDS Impact team have produced an Outputs Reporting Form.
By completing this form, you let us know of the incredible work you are doing and contribute to our impact tracking work. It also means we can collaborate with you to write an impact case study which are published on the ADR UK website and may even feature as a ‘Case Study of the Month’ in this newsletter.
Contact Details
We would like to politely remind all researchers to ensure that their contact details are correct in the Researcher Accreditation Service. You should have an organisation email address listed, as well as a mobile telephone number. This ensure that we are able to contact you with any urgent information. In some circumstances, if we are unable to contact you, your account may be required to be archived and access to the SRS withdrawn.
If you experience any problems in updating your account, please contact the SRS Customer Support Team.
SRS Christmas Hours – advanced notice
Limited service over the holidays
Last month we advised that we will be operating with reduced support for the Secure Research Service (SRS) from 4pm Thursday 22 December. Our full support service will reopen at 8am Tuesday 3 January.
Our customer support email service will have limited cover during this period, and other customer-facing teams will only be operating with a skeleton staff. This means we cannot guarantee that outputs will be cleared within our usual service levels and anything submitted in the Research Accreditation Service (RAS) will not be actioned by our team until full service resumes in January.
Should you have any questions regarding the holiday closure, please contact SRS Customer Support.
Over the past few months we have shared with you feedback from our 2022 Annual User Experience Survey. The survey unearthed several questions about how processes in the SRS work, and why they work in the way that they do. The SRS Explained Series aims to give some context behind the inner workings of the SRS, describe our processes and procedures in detail, and highlight to users how they can utilise the SRS in the most efficient way to continue their important research.
Data Ingest
Data are ingested into the SRS regularly from multiple sources and are published to the SRS Metadata Catalogue when ready for access by researchers. The SRS is governed by the Digital Economy Act (DEA), which requests that the datasets made available inside it need to be de-identified.
The Data Management team provides two independent checks for each dataset to ensure that direct identifiers (such as names, addresses, etc.) have been removed entirely. The team also checks the dataset does not contain a combination of indirect identifiers that could lead to secondary disclosure.
The Data Management team often identify disclosure risks, or issues related to data quality, such as missing or mismatching metadata, which need to be resolved before the data can be ingested. These issues can sometimes take longer to solve, either due to the severity of the problem (such as when a resupply is needed), or because the data owner might lack resource to address the issue timely. Both disclosure checks and data queries are critical steps towards making data both safe and readily available for research inside the SRS.
The diagram below shows how the ingest process works, and the work required to successfully ingest SRS datasets.
 Stages of ingest of datasets into the SRS
Dataset negotiated by Curation/Acquistion Teams, ready to ingest.
 Stage 1: Ingest pre-requisites
- Check dataset governance documentation
- Check metadata
- Ensure safe method of transfer
 Stage 2: Disclosure checks
- Comprehensive checks for direct and indirect identifiers and risk of secondary disclosure.
 Stage 3: Resolve any data queries
- Inform data owner of any issues identified during checks and resolve them
Dataset available in the SRS
New datasets in the SRS
2011 Census linked to Benefits and Income - England and Wales
This is a linked data resource bringing together Benefits and Income data from 2011 to 2016 and links to 2011 Census to enable more in-depth analyses of both sources. This is an ADR England Flagship dataset.
Find out more on the Metadata Catalogue.
Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)
Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) have now been rolled out for the data held in the ONS, via the Metadata Catalogue. These unique references should make it easier for researchers to cite datasets and for the ONS to track the use of datasets.
Find out more on the Metadata Catalogue.
Louise Corti, Head of Analytical Insights and Impact at the ONS discusses the benefits of DOIs in a blog.
Number of convictions before receiving a short, immediate prison sentence: ethnicity and gender differences
A new blog from ADR UK Research Fellow Dr Angela Sorsby describes her analysis of differences in prison sentences among ethnic groups. This blog builds on her recently published Data Insight with some further analysis that people of minority ethnic backgrounds are overrepresented within the criminal justice system in England and Wales.
To read the blog, please visit the ADR UK website.
Funding opportunity: Research using ADR England flagship datasets
ADR UK is inviting applications for Research Fellowships to conduct research and analysis demonstrating the policy impact potential of key ADR England flagship datasets. Applications close 24 January 2023.
Applicants must use key ADR England flagship data for their fellowship. For this round, ADR UK are prioritising funding for applications using Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO), Growing Up in England (GUIE) & Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) - 2011 Census.
To find out more, please visit the ADR UK website.
Dataset of the Month
The Annual Business Survey (ABS) covers the production, construction, distribution, and service industries. This represents two-thirds of the UK economy in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA).
It is one of the largest ONS business surveys in terms of the combined number of respondents and variables it covers. Every year, ABS questionnaires are sent by ONS to around 62,000 businesses in Great Britain, with roughly 600 questions tailored to each industry and a pre-pandemic response rate consistently above 75%. Businesses are selected from the ONS Business Register which captures UK businesses, which are registered for VAT and/or PAYE or with Companies House. Allowing businesses of all sizes to be selected, ensuring the data is representative of the UK economy.
ABS provides high-level indicators of economic activity such as the total value of sales and work completed by businesses, the value of purchases of goods, materials and services, and total employment costs. It is the main resource for understanding the detail structure and performance of businesses across the UK and is a large contributor of business information to the UK National Accounts.
If you want to access the ABS dataset within the ONS SRS, please contact the SRS Customer Support team: srs.customer.support@ons.gov.uk
Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 9 September 2022, ONS website, dataset, Annual Business Survey – UK.10.57906/ks2s-qx24
Case Study of the Month
Conservative Governments’ record on early childhood from May 2015 to pre-COVID 2020
Secure and published data was used to examine how Conservative Governments’ policy and spending has affected early childhood experiences and opportunities. The findings identified few benefits for the policies introduced. Findings were shared with several Members of Parliament. Evidence from this project was also included in a Select Committee inquiry and an independent review, with the aim of reducing inequalities.
To find out more, please visit the ADR UK website.
If you use ONS SRS data and would like to discuss writing a future case study with us, please ensure you have reported your outputs here: Outputs Reporting Form and get in touch: IDS.impact@ons.gov.uk
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