Archive:Tutorial:Updating the yearbook
The Eurostat yearbook has been discontinued as from 2018. Most of its articles are still available as regular Statistics Explained articles classified by theme. Further Eurostat online publications can be found here
Timing and procedure
The Eurostat yearbook is an online publication which is part of Statistics Explained. Each article is updated according to its own (data release) calendar on a rolling basis. The annual release calendar is agreed upon between production units and Unit B4 (Digital dissemination) at the beginning of each calendar year. Please find the 2017 release calendar in the attached Excel file.
Production units decide whether articles are to be updated or modified by themselves or by Unit B4 (with the assistance of its contractor). If Unit B4 is requested to initiate the update work, the production unit should indicate when data is available on Eurobase as well as any substantial change to be implemented (Contact: ESTAT YEARBOOK).
Step 1: Drafting
As the Eurostat Yearbook is part of Statistics Explained, it follows its general rules. Please follow the guidance given in the tutorials of Statistics Explained.
The presentation of data in articles of the Eurostat Yearbook should generally make more use of figures and maps, and less of tables. Users who need precise numerical data related to the figures can get it either directly from the attached Excel file or by using the provided links to the most up to date data on the Eurostat website.
All new articles and updates of articles should present the EU-28 (resp. EA-19) aggregate, if available. Data for EU-27 (resp. EA-18) may also be published alongside the EU-28 (resp. EA-19) data.
Make sure that you approve the page when finished ("Director/Editor approval" on the bottom of the draft article, see the Tutorial:How to create an article - validation).
The article will then be reviewed by Unit B4 who checks the compliance of the formatting and style of tables, figures and maps with Statistics Explained standards as well as the content of the article (coherence with figures in text and tables etc).
As regards new articles please pay particular attention to ensure that an Excel file containing all tables, figures (and data for the figures) and data for the maps is complete (containing also titles, subtitles, footnotes and sources) and attached (= uploaded) to the new article, see the Tutorial:How to create an article - insert links section Excel file.
Step 2: Review by production units
When articles are updated or revised by Unit B4, production units will be contacted when the work on an article has been completed. By this stage:
- the text will have been reviewed/updated;
- the Excel files will have been updated or revised, formatted and attached to the article. They will contain the English version of the tables and figures as well as German and French translations of labels in so far as they are available from previous editions or other available sources. Please check the German and French terminology and provide any comment or improvement proposal if needed.
- the images of the updated tables and figures in the articles will not have been created. This will only be done once the content has been finalised.
This stage is an opportunity for production units to review an article (both text and Excel file) but normally not to change its content which should have been indicated before the launching of the update. Text should be changed directly in the draft page in Statistics Explained. Changes to the Excel files should be made directly in the Excel file and clearly identified through:
- the use of coloured text (other than red which is reserved for missing translations);
- and/or shading of cells;
- and/or comment boxes describing clearly the changes.
The revised Excel file should replace the existing one.
The approval of the articles by a production unit is done by SIGHTING the DRAFT article in Statistics Explained.
Step 3: Finalisation of an article (English version)
Unit B4 will review any feedback from production unit, and any remaining issue will be addressed bilaterally.
The final images will be uploaded once the content has been finalised (final text and final Excel file inserted in Statistics Explained). If needed, production units will be contacted a second time and asked to approve (=sight) again the draft article. Unit B4 will then perform the final checks and will validate (the update of) the article if everything is OK. The article will then become visible to the outside world.
Step 4: Translations of an article
This phase does not require any input from the production units.
All Eurostat yearbook articles are translated into German and French and a selection of them (22 articles) are translated in addition into all other official EU languages than Irish and Maltese: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish. Please find the list of multilingual articles with their release calendar in the attached Excel file.
Unit B4 organises the translation of articles with DG Translation, i.e. the full translation of the text into all languages as well as the translation only in French and German of the textual parts of the Excel files. The articles in other languages than English, French and German contain titles of illustrations in English only.
Unit B4 checks the output from DG Translation and validates (--> publishes) the articles.
Help: Statistics Explained pages
Statistics Explained courses are organised regularly and can also be organised on request.
Contact persons
General:
Eurostat Yearbook articles:
- Pascal Wolff (tel. 33660) for general issues and chapters on Living conditions, Health, Education and training, and Environment or
- Jukka Piirto (tel. 34251) for chapters on Population, Labour market, Economy and finance, International trade, Agriculture, forestry and fisheries, Industry and services, Science, technology and digital society, Energy, and Transport.
