Coding frequency and tools

Coding frequency

We asked respondents “In your current role, how often do you write code to complete your work objectives?”.

Coding frequency	Count
Never	23
Rarely	22
Sometimes	33
Regularly	51
All the time	33
^a Sample size = 162

What people are using code for

We asked respondents what data operations they carry out in their work, and whether they use code to do them. Please note we did not ask how much of each data operation is done with code, or how often.

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Data operation	I do some or all of this by coding	I do this without coding
Analysis	123	23
Data cleaning	109	10
Data linking	84	5
Data transfer	30	15
Data visualisation	80	43
Machine learning	28	0
Modelling	49	7
^a Sample size = 162

Access to and knowledge of programming languages

Given a list of programming tools, we asked respondents to answer “Yes”, “No” or “Don’t know” for the following statements;

This tool is available to use for my work.
I know how to program with this tool to a level suitable for my work.

Access to tools does not necessarily refer to official policy. Some analysts may have access to tools others cannot access within the same organisation.

Please note that capability in programming languages is self-reported here and was not objectively defined or tested.

Access to coding tools

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Programming language	Yes	Don't Know	No
C++ / C#	3	104	55
Java / Scala	18	93	51
Javascript / Typescript	18	95	49
Matlab	8	95	59
Python	140	10	12
R	146	11	5
SAS	78	58	26
SPSS	68	52	42
SQL	83	54	25
Stata	38	77	47
VBA	44	83	35
^a Sample size = 162

Knowledge of coding tools

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Programming language	Yes	Don't Know	No
C++ / C#	13	5	144
Java / Scala	7	5	150
Javascript / Typescript	13	5	144
Matlab	25	5	132
Python	93	4	65
R	99	5	58
SAS	45	4	113
SPSS	75	5	82
SQL	67	3	92
Stata	29	7	126
VBA	27	8	127
^a Sample size = 162

Access and knowledge gaps

Using the data presented above we calculated the number of respondents with:

Access to tools they do not have the capability to use (access only),
Access to tools they are able to use (access and knowledge)
Or capability to use tools they cannot access at work (knowledge only)

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Programming language	Access only	Access and knowledge	Knowledge only
C++ / C#	1	2	11
Java / Scala	14	4	3
Javascript / Typescript	8	10	3
Matlab	6	2	23
Python	50	90	3
R	49	97	2
SAS	44	34	11
SPSS	31	37	38
SQL	33	50	17
Stata	25	13	16
VBA	22	22	5
^a Sample size = 162

Coding capability

Change in coding ability during current role

This question was only asked of respondents with coding experience outside of their current role. This means analysts who first learned to code in their current role are not included in the data.

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Ability Change	Count
Significantly worse	9
Slightly worse	15
No change	22
Slightly better	33
Significantly better	42
^a Sample size = 121

Where respondents first learned to code

Respondents with coding experience outside their current role were asked when they first learned to code. This output also includes analysts who code in their current role but reported no other coding experience.

These data only show where people first learned to code. They do not show all the settings in which they had learned to code, to what extent, or how long ago.

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First coding experience	Count
In current role	36
In education	63
In private sector employment	6
In public sector employment	22
Self-taught	23
Other	4
^a Sample size = 154

Coding practices

We asked respondents who said they currently use code in their work how often they carry out various coding practices. For more information on the practices presented below, please read our guidance on Quality Assurance of Code for Analysis and Research.

General coding practices

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	Percent
Question	I don't understand this question	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Regularly	All the time
I use open source software when programming	15.1	12.2	6.5	10.8	23.7	31.7
My team open sources its code	20.9	30.9	13.7	18.0	10.1	6.5
I use a source code version control system e.g. Git	10.8	21.6	15.1	13.7	13.7	25.2
Code my team writes is reviewed by a colleague	2.9	2.9	11.5	24.5	36.7	21.6
I write repetitive elements in my code as functions	3.6	10.1	10.8	23.0	29.5	23.0
I unit test my code	34.5	13.7	11.5	18.0	14.4	7.9
I collect my code and supporting material into packages	10.8	43.9	13.7	15.8	7.2	8.6
I follow a standard directory structure when programming	25.2	11.5	11.5	22.3	18.7	10.8
I follow coding guidelines or style guides when programming	6.5	10.1	6.5	25.2	38.1	13.7
I write code to automatically quality assure data	7.9	22.3	17.3	25.2	18.0	9.4
My team applies the principles set out in the Aqua book when carrying out analysis as code	49.6	11.5	7.2	15.8	12.2	3.6
^a Sample size = 139

Documentation

Embedded documentation is one of the components which make up a RAP minimum viable product. Documentation is important to help others be clear on how to use the product and what the code is intended to do.

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	Percent
Question	I don't understand this question	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Regularly	All the time
Code comments	5.8	2.2	2.9	12.2	26.6	50.4
Documentation for each function or class	12.9	18.7	12.2	23.7	19.4	12.9
README files	10.8	29.5	13.7	16.5	15.8	13.7
Desk notes	17.3	14.4	7.2	23.7	25.9	11.5
Analytical Quality Assurance (AQA) logs	33.8	34.5	12.9	12.9	3.6	2.2
Data or assumptions registers	29.5	43.9	6.5	8.6	7.9	3.6
Flow charts	8.6	43.2	11.5	20.1	11.5	5.0
^a Sample size = 139

Dependency management

Respondents who currently use code in their work were asked whether they use any tools for dependency management. We provided examples of tools that may be used for dependency management:

Requirements files, e.g. python requirements.txt or R DESCRIPTION files
Virtual environments (e.g. venv or renv) or virtual machines
Containers e.g. Docker

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Use dependency management software	Count
Yes	20
No	56
I don't know what dependency management is	63
^a Sample size = 139

Reproducible workflow packages

Respondents were asked whether they use continuous integration technologies. As above, respondents were provided with examples of what those might be:

GitHub actions
Jenkins
Travis

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Use reproducible workflow packages	Count
Yes	6
No	77
I don't know what reproducible workflows are	56
^a Sample size = 139

RAP knowledge and opinions

We asked respondents about their knowledge of and opinions on reproducible analytical pipelines (RAP). RAP refers to the use of practices from software engineering to make analysis more reproducible. These practices build on the advantages of writing analysis as code by ensuring increased quality, trust, efficiency, business continuity and knowledge management. The RAP champions are a network of analysts across government who promote and support RAP development in their departments.

Knowledge of RAP

We asked our respondents whether they had heard of RAP and what their knowledge is of their own department RAP champion.

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RAP champion knowledge	Count
Have not heard of RAP	48
Heard of RAP, have not heard of RAP champions	28
Heard of RAP, does not know department champion	64
Heard of RAP champions, no champion in department	1
Knows department RAP champion	16
^a Sample size = 162

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Line manage anyone who writes codes	count
Yes	69
No	42
I don't line manage anyone	51
^a Sample size = 162

Opinions on RAP

We asked respondents who had heard of RAP whether they agreed with a series of statements.

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	Percent
Question	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly agree
I feel confident implementing RAP in my work	12.3	17.5	27.2	29.8	13.2
I feel supported to implement RAP in my work	9.6	17.5	28.1	32.5	12.3
I know where to find resources to help me implement RAP	5.3	23.7	22.8	34.2	14.0
I understand what the key components of the RAP methodology are	6.1	17.5	21.9	41.2	13.2
I think it is important to implement RAP in my work	1.8	4.4	21.9	41.2	30.7
I and/or my team are currently implementing RAP	10.5	17.5	27.2	27.2	17.5
I or my team are planning on implementing RAP in the next 12 months	7.9	14.9	31.6	27.2	18.4
^a Sample size = 114

RAP scores

RAP component scores “regularly” or “all the time” to the relevant questions. For documentation, this includes both code comments and README files. For the continuous integration and dependency management components we only collected “yes”, “no” or “I don’t understand the question” responses. As such, we gave “yes” responses a score of 1. The sum total of each respondent’s scores is presented here as “RAP scores”.

A score of one for each RAP component is derived where respondents answered “regularly” or “all the time” to the relevant questions. For documentation, this includes both code comments and README files. For the continuous integration and dependency management components we only collected “yes”, “no” or “I don’t understand the question” responses. As such, we gave “yes” responses a score of 1. The sum total of each respondent’s scores is presented here as “RAP scores”. “Basic components” are the components which make up the RAP MVP. “Advanced components” are components that help improve reproducibility, but were are considered part of the minimum standard.

RAP components

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Component	Type	Count
AQUA book guidance	Basic	22
Documentation	Basic	37
Peer review	Basic	81
Team open source code	Basic	23
Use open source software	Basic	77
Version control	Basic	54
Code packages	Advanced	22
Continuous integration	Advanced	30
Dependency management	Advanced	20
Follow code style guidelines	Advanced	72
Function documentation	Advanced	45
Functions	Advanced	73
Unit testing	Advanced	31
^a Sample size = 139

Basic RAP scores

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Basic RAP score	Count
0	20
1	34
2	39
3	15
4	21
5	7
6	3
^a Sample size = 139

Advanced RAP scores

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Advanced RAP score	Count
0	36
1	27
2	29
3	16
4	15
5	3
6	6
7	7
^a Sample size = 139

Department profile: Office for National Statistics

Coding frequency and tools