UK Government Statistician Group (GSG) badging

United Kingdom · Government Statistical Service / Office for National Statistics · civil-service

24practice questions written to this syllabus
2subjects

Format

Badging exercise for statisticians and data scientists entering government (assessment of qualifications and competence; recruitment centres include tests and interviews).

Sections

Over the years

Read on the Government Analysis Function page: GSG members are statisticians who have passed the GSG badging exercise. Defra statisticians produce UK agricultural statistics.

Official source: https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/government-statistical-service-and-statistician-group/

Subjects this exam draws on

Exploratory Data Analysis & Statistical Graphics13 questionsIndex Numbers, National Accounts & Agricultural Economic Statistics11 questions

Five practice questions, worked

Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.

1. An RBD has 8 treatments in 4 blocks. The data file contains 31 rows of plot yields. What does a first data check conclude?

  1. A plot record is missing or merged; find which before analysis
  2. One block was dropped from the experiment, leaving 3 blocks
  3. One whole block was dropped from the experiment, leaving three blocks of eight plots
  4. A treatment was added after randomisation, which accounts for the unexpected extra plots
Answer and working

A. A plot record is missing or merged; find which before analysis

The design implies 8 × 4 = 32 plots. A count of 31 shows a missing record (or a duplicate plus two missing). Counting each treatment and block finds which one.

Exploratory Data Analysis & Statistical Graphics · Types of data and measurement scales

2. A value index between periods 0 and 1 is defined as

  1. sum p1 q0 / sum p0 q0 x 100
  2. sum p1 q1 / sum p0 q0 x 100
  3. sum p1 q1 / sum p0 q1 x 100
  4. sum q1 p0 / sum q0 p0 x 100
Answer and working

B. sum p1 q1 / sum p0 q0 x 100

A value index compares total expenditure, so both prices and quantities change. sum p1 q0 / sum p0 q0 is the Laspeyres price index, sum p1 q1 / sum p0 q1 the Paasche price index and sum q1 p0 / sum q0 p0 the Laspeyres quantity index.

Index Numbers, National Accounts & Agricultural Economic Statistics · Index numbers: Laspeyres, Paasche, Fisher and Marshall-Edgeworth

3. A line chart of annual production uses the years 1990, 2000, 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2017 at equal spacing on the x-axis. What is wrong?

  1. Unequal time gaps are drawn as equal
  2. Line charts must always start their vertical axis at zero
  3. Years should be plotted on a logarithmic scale instead
  4. Production should be shown as a separate pie chart for each year
Answer and working

A. Unequal time gaps are drawn as equal

A time axis must be proportional to time; otherwise the slow decades look as steep as single years. Line charts, unlike bar charts, need not start at zero.

Exploratory Data Analysis & Statistical Graphics · Graphical perception and honest chart design

4. In one year prices received by farmers rise by 10% and prices paid rise by 21%. What is the barter terms-of-trade index (previous year = 100)?

  1. 89.00
  2. 90.91
  3. 110.00
  4. 133.10
Answer and working

B. 90.91

Terms of trade = 110/121 x 100 = 90.91, a deterioration of about 9.1%. 89.00 subtracts the percentage changes; 133.10 multiplies.

Index Numbers, National Accounts & Agricultural Economic Statistics · Parity index and terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture

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