Research Reports

Score Functions for Selective Editing of the US Census Bureau Trade Data

Maria Garcia and Emily Bartha

ABSTRACT

The Foreign Trade Division at the US Census Bureau is responsible for the production and publication of monthly import and export statistics. These data are not survey based, but collected electronically through an online internet filing system upon arrival or departure of merchandise goods. The validity of these data is checked and verified at every step of collection, processing, and tabulation. In this report we present score functions for selective editing of these data. The scores have two components: a measure of how suspicious an incoming record is and a measure of the impact changes in the record may have on publication totals within a particular set of commodity groupings. We also present results of a feasibility study on the application of selective editing to the checking and correction phase of foreign trade exports data processing.

CITATION:

Maria Garcia and Emily Bartha. (2012). Score Functions for Selective Editing of the US Census Bureau Trade Data. Center for Statistical Research & Methodology, Research and Methodology Directorate Research Report Series (Statistics #2012-10). U.S. Census Bureau. Available online at <http://www.census.gov/srd/papers/pdf/rrs2012-10.pdf>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Statistical Research & Methodology, Research and Methodology Directorate

Published online: August 20, 2012
Last revised: August 20, 2012