Statistics.gov.scot improvement project: discovery user research report

Summary

This programme of user research is one workstream of the Statistics.gov.scot Improvement Project – Discovery. The aim of the research was to understand the current user needs and expectations of the Scottish Government’s (SG) site for open access to Scotland’s official statistics: statistics.gov.scot.

The research involved 46 participants from various backgrounds, including statisticians, analysts, academics, policy advisers, and data publishers, with a wide range and depth of technical expertise and experience with statistics.gov.scot. All participants experienced issues with the current design, usability, and functionality of statistics.gov.scot. The overall research findings are:

• A confusing user interface amplifies performance issues. The unintuitive design of the site not only confuses users but also makes them more sensitive to the platform’s poor performance.
• Complex language and outdated content dissuade effective use and undermine trust. When users encounter technical language that they do not understand, outdated elements, and/or find data that hasn’t been updated, their confidence in the reliability of statistics.gov.scot diminishes.
• Ineffective search functionality pushes users to external sources. The ineffective search tools on the site force users to spend more time and effort locating datasets, often abandoning the site in favour of external search engines or alternative sources.
• User frustration is a barrier to unlocking the platform’s potential. Despite the challenges, most participants recognise the potential of the site as a source of official statistics and data. However, frustration with the interface, performance, and basic functionality discourages users from exploring the site more widely, recommending it to others, or prioritising it as their primary resource.

The findings suggest the need for a comprehensive, iterative overhaul of the website, focussing first on making datasets easy to publish, update, find, and access, before implementing any additional features. Any improvements to the site should be based on clearly evidenced and regularly assessed user needs.