FAQ

About microdata

Why is the detail of individual items and normalized score (percentage of correct answers) no longer present on some matrices since the year 2017/2018?

As of the 2017/2018 school year, grades 8 and 10, and subsequently also grade 13, have switched to computer-based administration (CBT) and thus no longer have either item detail or invalsi scoring. In fact, CBT administration requires each student to take a test with different items, but with the same overall difficulty, measurement equivalence and mode of composition (domains, text types, number of questions, question formats, etc.). The only score that is calculated and returned is the WLE, which through psychometric methods provides a synthetic value taking into account the different items' difficulty.

Does the school code identify the same school on different years?

The school code is valid longitudinally from the 2012/2013 school year. For previous years, it is not possible to identify the same schools on different years.

How can I identify the same student on different years?

The SIDI_Invalsi code present since the year 2011/2012 has longitudinal validity and allows the same student to be identified in matrices of different years and grades, corresponding to his or her progress along the school career.

What is the difference between municipal population data and population (standard) matrices?

Municipal Population Matrices are generated from the general (census) population matrices and have the following characteristics:

the data contained in the Municipal Population Matrices are released only for municipalities with at least 3 schools, so the overall student, class and school amount are significantly lower than in the census population matrices.
ithe set of student-related context variables is reduced (gender, origin, regularity, parental educational qualification, ESCS) for privacy reasons . You can get more information on the variables contained in the matrices by consulting the relevant codebooks in the open access area of the Statistical Service.
These matrices can be linked longitudinally to each other; they cannot be linked in any way to any other matrix produced by INVALSI

These matrices are therefore not an "extension" of the Classical Population Matrices, but rather represent a dataset that responds to different knowledge needs, particularly to all those contexts in which interest in specific spatial detail takes priority over the loss of information at the level of individual students.

Data request procedures

Who is the "Referent for Data Requests" for my institution to be indicated within Form 3?

As indicated in the note within the same Form 3, The Referent for Data Requests is the person listed as the "contact person" during your institution's accreditation procedure as a Research Institution in the Eurostat list. By asking the offices in charge of this type of procedure, you should be able to retrieve this contact person.

Is it possible for an undergraduate student to request population (census) data?

Census data can only be released to researchers who have a formalized contract with the university. Therefore students, although undergraduates, cannot appear on the research project team. The information can be found in footnote 3 of Annex 2. The Sistan guidelines say also that this limitation can be overcome if there is a formalized contract between the student and the University. There are no detailed specifications on how this contract should be structured, generally it is an occasional collaboration/internship contract also with objectives that may differ from the research project to which the data request relates.

What can I do if my Institution is not recognized as a research Institution in the Eurostat/Comstat lists?

In fact, the release of microdata by our institute has implemented the new Guidelines for access for statistical purposes to elementary data from Sistan (published by Comstat Directive No. 11 of November 7, 2018). These stipulate that, in order to release data, the researcher's home institution must be recognized as a research institution by Comstat on the basis of pre-established criteria (Art. 5-ter paragraph 1(a) of the Legislative Decree) or be part of the list of research institutions recognized by Eurostat (Regulation (EU) No. 557/2013). If your Institution is not recognized, the only way to obtain Population data is to initiate a procedure for recognition with Eurostat or Comstat, following the directions at the following links.

Open, International Survey Data and Sample Data, on the other hand, can be requested without being part of a recognized institution.

I am a Ph.D. student, can I join the research team of a project in Annex 3?

Ph.D. students can be part of the research team in Annex 3; however, they cannot be directly listed as Project Responsible. In fact, the regulations require the Project Respnsible to be a researcher/professor with a formalized contract with the University. (The information can be found in footnote 3 of Annex 3).

I am a graduating student, can I be part of the research team for a project in Annex 3?

What procedure should be followed if there are changes to be made to an already approved project?

If an already approved project undergoes changes in the course of its development (e.g.researchers involved, referent for applications, funding ) it is required to complete and send Form 10 (Approved Project Changes). Supplementary attachments should be sent in addition to this form according to two cases:

If no additional Institutions are involved than those originally declared: send an Attachment 5 for each additional researcher with relevant ID.
If one or more additional Institutions than the original project is involved: check that each is an Institution recognized by Eurostat or Comstat (lists available on our website) and send Attachment 6 by the Data Request Contact of each Institution.

Who can be listed as the Researcher in charge of the research project?

The researcher in charge of the research project may be a full, associate, aggregate or contract university professor; a researcher or comparable figure, e.g., technologist; a research fellow; the head of the recognized organization; an employee of the organization conducting research; a member of scientific society.

INVALSI Statistical Department

INVALSI Statistical Department

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