UNITED NATIONS ISSUES ‘HANDBOOK OF STATISTICAL ORGANIZATIONS:

THE OPERATION AND ORGANIZATION OF A STATISTICAL AGENCY’

NEW YORK, 25 April (Department of Economic and Social Affairs) -- The Handbook of Statistical Organization, Third Edition:  The Operation and Organization of a Statistical Agency, published by the United Nations, is now available.  The Handbook deals with the fundamentals of national systems of official statistics:  general principles, data collection and respondent policies, principles of organization and management, and dissemination guidelines.

Key chapters discuss:

-- The structure of statistical systems

-- Coordination tools

-- The chief statistician

-- Users and their needs

-- Developing a progress plan

-- Managing staff

-- Managing information technology

-- Interacting with respondents

-- Getting information to the users; and

-- Confidentiality and disclosure.

The intended audiences for the Handbook are both chief statisticians and their colleagues, and those charged with oversight of the official statistics function.  The Third Edition is a complete revision of the 1980 edition.

For further information, contact:  Statistical Services Branch, Statistics Division, United Nations, room DC2-1620, New York, NY 10017, U.S.A.,

fax: +1-212-963-0623, e-mail: statistics@un.org.  The United Nations Statistics Division home page is http://unstats.un.org/unsd.

The Handbook of Statistical Organizations is available for $40.00 (Sales No. E.03.XVII.7, ISBN 92-1-161459-7) from United Nations Publications, Two UN Plaza, room DC2-853, Dept. PRES, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A, tel. 800-253-9646

or 212-963-8302, fax.212-963-3489, e-mail: publications@un.org; or Section des Ventes et Commercialisation, Bureau E-4, CH-1211, Geneva 10, Switzerland,

tel. 41-22-917-2614, fax: 41-22-917-0027, e-mail: unpubli@unog.ch; Internet: http://www.un.org/publications.

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