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How do analysts use programming and software engineering in the UK Public Sector?
The Coding in Analysis and Research Survey (CARS) was developed to understand better how government analysts use programming. Most questions focused on whether and how analysts use coding in their work. The survey is also concerned with Reproducible Analytical Pipelines (RAP).
The survey was distributed to government analysts and researchers in the autumn of 2023. The results presented summarise the key findings from 1297 respondents from over 50 public sector organisations.
Who is this research for?
This research was made with senior analysts and leaders in mind. It is intended to be be useful for the development of strategies for public sector analysis and research. These findings should also be of interest to analysts and researchers in the public sector who are interested in understanding more about how their professions use programming in their work. Lastly, it will be useful to people outside the public sector who are interested in understanding the tools that are used in the public sector for analysis and research.
How to use this research
Responding to CARS is voluntary. The results presented here are from a self-selecting sample of government analysts. Because respondents are self-selecting, the results we present only reflect the views of the analysts who participated.
We cannot draw wider conclusions about the general population of government analysts from these results because the survey is not based on a random sample.
Do:
- Explore the data to gain insights about current coding practices in government analysis and research
- Re-use the outputs if you wish
Avoid:
- Attempting to estimate absolute frequencies - we did not use random sampling
- Inferring differences between groups - these outputs are only intended to be descriptive and inferential tests were not carried out unless stated otherwise
For more detail, see the data collection page.
More information on reproducible analytical pipelines
The Reproducible Analytical Pipelines Minimum Viable Product sets out the minimum expectations for what analysts must do for work to qualify as a RAP.
Accessibility statement
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Contact details
We would like to know what you think of the survey and the outputs. Please contact us if you have feedback on any of the following:
- Outputs/analyses you would like to see added to this research
- Information you would like to see collected in the next iteration of CARS
- Any other comments
If you are interested in this survey or any of the questions asked, or want to give feedback, please contact ASAP@ONS.gov.uk.