QUALITY DECLARATION - SUMMARY
INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT
For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.
RELEVANCE
The Household Use of Information Technology (HUIT) survey provides data on internet access and use for households and persons aged 15 years and over.
TIMELINESS
HUIT statistics are collected biennially as part of the Multipurpose Household Survey (MPHS). The MPHS is collected annually with enumeration undertaken over the financial year period June to July. The most recent HUIT statistics were collected throughout Australia as part of the 2012–13 MPHS.
ACCURACY
The MPHS is designed primarily to provide reliable estimates at the national level and for each state and territory.
The 2012–13 HUIT collected information from approximately 20,000 (after sample loss) randomly selected private dwelling households across Australia. In the survey, one randomly selected person per household was asked about their household's access to, and their own use of the internet. Approximately 79% fully responded.
Estimates in this publication are subject to sampling and non-sampling errors. Sampling error is the error associated with taking a sample of dwellings rather than going to all dwellings in Australia. In this publication, the sampling error is measured by the relative standard error (RSE) which is the standard error expressed as a percentage of the estimate. Non-sampling errors can occur in any data collection, whether based on a sample or a full count such as a census. Sources of non-sampling error include non-response, errors in reporting by respondents or recording of answers by interviewers, and errors in coding or processing of data. Every effort is made to reduce the non–sampling error by careful design and testing of the questions, training of interviewers, follow-up of respondents and extensive editing and quality control procedures at all stages of data processing.
Where estimates have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between the sums of the component items and totals.
COHERENCE
There are established international frameworks and reporting models for the collection of HUIT data (e.g. the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) model questionnaire of ICT access and use by households and individuals). Suggested question wording from these frameworks have been used as a starting point for HUIT questionnaire design and, where applicable, used in the HUIT survey.
While the ABS seeks to maximise consistency and comparability over time by minimising changes to the survey, ongoing survey review has adjusted to the changing needs of users of Information and Communication Technology statistics.
INTERPRETABILITY
Further information on the technical aspects (including item definitions) associated with the statistics from the 2012-13 MPHS can be found in the Explanatory Notes, Technical Note and Glossary associated with this release.
ACCESSIBILITY
Information about ABS activities in the field of ICT statistics is available free from the ABS website. Please visit the Innovation, Science and Technology Topics @ a Glance page for further information relating to ICT statistics.
For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.
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