DataLab and Data Integration User Experience Survey

From 7 to 20 August 2024, the ABS conducted the second annual DataLab and Data Integration User Experience Survey.

The survey provided DataLab users an opportunity to have their say on areas that are working well, provide feedback on areas for improvement, and any recommendations on other features they would like to see.

The survey collected information on the DataLab, Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA), Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment (BLADE) and our custom data integration service.

The feedback received will help shape the future of DataLab and data integration services and products, including PLIDA and BLADE.

Survey respondents by sector

The ABS received survey responses from over 180 active users of the DataLab from all levels of government, academics, and public policy research institutes.

Sector	%
Commonwealth government	50
State and local government	8
University/academic	39
Public policy research institutes	3

Use of the DataLab, training and support

Respondents were asked to provide feedback about their experience using the DataLab system, and the training and support they have received for this service.

Satisfaction with DataLab

Respondents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their overall experience using the DataLab. Around 2 in 3 (66%) indicated they were satisfied or very satisfied.

Satisfaction with the overall experience using the DataLab
Respondent Satisfaction	Percentage (%)
Very satisfied	11
Satisfied	54
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	18
Dissatisfied	12
Very dissatisfied	3
Not answered	2

Satisfaction with the overall experience using the DataLab

["Respondent Satisfaction","Percentage"]

[["Very satisfied","Satisfied","Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied","Dissatisfied","Very dissatisfied","Not answered"],[[11],[54],[18],[12],[3],[2]]]

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Satisfaction with DataLab client support

Respondents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their overall experience with DataLab client support. 72% were satisfied or very satisfied with their overall experience.

Satisfaction with DataLab client support overall
Respondent Satisfaction	Percentage (%)
Very satisfied	26
Satisfied	46
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	17
Dissatisfied	8
Very dissatisfied	3

Satisfaction with DataLab client support overall

["Respondent Satisfaction","Percentage"]

[["Very satisfied","Satisfied","Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied","Dissatisfied","Very dissatisfied"],[[26],[46],[17],[8],[3]]]

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Satisfaction with DataLab safe researcher training

Respondents were asked to rate the usefulness of the DataLab safe researcher training. 82% found the training either useful or very useful.

Usefulness of the DataLab safe researcher training
Respondent Satisfaction	Percentage (%)
Very useful	37
Useful	49
Somewhat useful	11
Not useful	3

Usefulness of the DataLab safe researcher training

["Respondent Satisfaction","Percentage"]

[["Very useful","Useful","Somewhat useful","Not useful"],[[37],[49],[11],[3]]]

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Features respondents would like to see added to DataLab

Respondents were also asked to consider the types of features or software they would most like to see added to the DataLab, including specific products.

The most requested feature or software type was database functionality and software (32%), followed by geographic information systems (11%) and code repository functionality (9%).

The most requested software or features to be added to the DataLab were:

SQL (various integrations)
Julia
MATLAB.

29% of respondents indicated they do not have requirements for additional features or software.

Features/software respondents would like to see added to DataLab
Requested software/features to be added to the DataLab	Percentage (%)
Database functionality and software	32
Geographic information systems	11
Code repository functionality	9
Other	8
New programming languages	6
Development environments	5
No requirements for additional features or software	29

Features/software respondents would like to see added to DataLab

["Requested software\/features to be added to the DataLab","Percentage"]

[["Database functionality and software","Geographic information systems","Code repository functionality","Other","New programming languages","Development environments","No requirements for additional features or software"],[[32],[11],[9],[8],[6],[5],[29]]]

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The feedback received from respondents regarding their experience using the DataLab service was diverse and insightful. Whilst many respondents shared positive experiences about the DataLab, potential for improvement in timeliness, communication and change management were also identified. Leading from this feedback, a number of actions are being pursued to support the DataLab service offering. Further information is available under Next Steps.

PLIDA

Satisfaction with PLIDA

Feedback about the PLIDA data asset was provided by survey respondents who have used PLIDA for a research project.

Of the total number of respondents to the survey, 83% have accessed PLIDA in the DataLab. Of these, 80% considered they were satisfied or very satisfied with the PLIDA asset overall.

Satisfaction with PLIDA overall
Respondent Satisfaction	Percentage (%)
Very satisfied	16
Satisfied	64
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	17
Dissatisfied	3
Very dissatisfied	0

Satisfaction with PLIDA overall

["Respondent Satisfaction","Percentage"]

[["Very satisfied","Satisfied","Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied","Dissatisfied","Very dissatisfied"],[[16],[64],[17],[3],[0]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

PLIDA and research needs

80% of users considered PLIDA mostly or completely meets their research needs.

Extent that PLIDA meets research needs
Respondent Satisfaction	Percentage (%)
Completely	7
Mostly	73
Somewhat	18
A little bit	1
Not at all	0
I don't know	1

Extent that PLIDA meets research needs

["Respondent Satisfaction","Percentage"]

[["Completely","Mostly","Somewhat","A little bit","Not at all","I don't know"],[[7],[73],[18],[1],[0],[1]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Of the respondents who use PLIDA, 58% considered they did not have a barrier to their use.

Of those who indicated they do experience barriers in their use of PLIDA, common reasons given were:

lack of documentation and suitable resources, such as data dictionaries, metadata, and user guides
unintuitive and inconsistent naming conventions
a steep learning curve for linking data within the DataLab and working with large datasets.

Respondents were asked to rank the top 3 improvements they would like to see applied to PLIDA. These were:

increased support for data products (for example, data dictionaries and explanatory materials)
detailed and updated data item lists
PLIDA training.

BLADE

Satisfaction with BLADE

Feedback about the BLADE data asset was provided by survey respondents who have used BLADE for a research project.

Of the total number of respondents to the survey, 39% have accessed BLADE in the DataLab. Of these, 77% considered they were satisfied or very satisfied with the BLADE asset overall.

Satisfaction with BLADE overall
Respondent Satisfaction	Percentage (%)
Very satisfied	21
Satisfied	56
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	18
Dissatisfied	5
Very dissatisfied	0

Satisfaction with BLADE overall

["Respondent Satisfaction","Percentage"]

[["Very satisfied","Satisfied","Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied","Dissatisfied","Very dissatisfied"],[[21],[56],[18],[5],[0]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

BLADE and research needs

70% of users considered BLADE mostly or completely meets their research needs.

Extent that BLADE meets research needs
Respondent Satisfaction	Percentage (%)
Very satisfied	21
Satisfied	56
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	18
Dissatisfied	5
Very dissatisfied	0

Extent that BLADE meets research needs

["Respondent Satisfaction","Percentage"]

[["Very satisfied","Satisfied","Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied","Dissatisfied","Very dissatisfied"],[[21],[56],[18],[5],[0]]]

[]

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Of the respondents who use BLADE, 65% considered they did not have a barrier to their use. For those that did, the most common barriers were:

data coverage
a lack of documentation and resources to support the use of BLADE
a change in the project organisation's priority for the use of integrated or administrative data.

Respondents were asked to suggest improvements they would like to see applied to BLADE. These included:

increased support for data products (for example, data dictionaries and explanatory materials)
access to the survey forms for ABS survey data in BLADE, so DataLab users have more information about the data collected.

Custom data integration service

Satisfaction with the custom data integration service

Feedback about custom data integration was provided by respondents who have utilised this service.

Of the total number of respondents to the survey, 26% have utilised the custom data integration service. Of these respondents, 58% are satisfied or very satisfied with the custom data integration service overall.

Satisfaction with custom data integration overall
Respondent Satisfaction	Percentage (%)
Very satisfied	10
Satisfied	48
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	25
Dissatisfied	11
Very dissatisfied	6

Satisfaction with custom data integration overall

["Respondent Satisfaction","Percentage"]

[["Very satisfied","Satisfied","Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied","Dissatisfied","Very dissatisfied"],[[10],[48],[25],[11],[6]]]

[]

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Custom data integration and research needs

75% indicated their custom dataset mostly or completely meets their research needs.

Extent that custom data integration meets research needs
Respondent Satisfaction	Percentage (%)
Completely	17
Mostly	58
Somewhat	15
A little bit	4
Not at all	0
I don't know	6

Extent that custom data integration meets research needs

["Respondent Satisfaction","Percentage"]

[["Completely","Mostly","Somewhat","A little bit","Not at all","I don't know"],[[17],[58],[15],[4],[0],[6]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Two main themes emerged from the feedback for the custom data integration service relating to cost and process barriers, including concerns relating to timeliness and communication.

A review of the data integration charging model is currently in progress, with consideration of existing cost categories to support a more transparent and flexible model for the future.

Work towards increasing the transparency of the custom data integration process is also underway, in addition to streamlining approaches for approval and communication.

Next steps

ABS will pursue a range of action items arising from the 2024 survey results, including:

finalising explanatory notes for all PLIDA products and moving the PLIDA Portal to the ABS website
the addition of frequently asked technical questions to the PLIDA Portal
increasing consistency between PLIDA and BLADE documentation
annual updates to the DataLab User Guide and DataLab Safe Researcher Training
regular review of charging information on the website to ensure clarity and transparency
seeking investment for myDATA enhancements to improve the client self-service experience.

The DataLab and Data Integration survey will continue to be conducted on an annual basis to gauge client satisfaction and shape the future of the DataLab and data integration services.

Please direct any questions to info@mydata.abs.gov.au.