Keyword search

Results

All (332)

All (332) (0 to 10 of 332 results)

1. An Introduction to the Data Journey
Stats in brief: 89-20-00062026001
Description: In this video you will learn about the steps and activities in the data journey. The data journey represents the key stages of the data process. The journey is not necessarily linear. It is intended to represent the different steps and activities that could be undertaken to produce meaningful information from data. Not everyone who uses data will do all of these steps.
Release date: 2026-07-09
2. A conversation with Wayne A. Fuller
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100001
Description: Wayne A. Fuller is a leading figure in statistics whose career at Iowa State University (ISU) began in 1959; he is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Statistics and Economics. This article briefly recounts his early life and training in agricultural economics at ISU and highlights influential contributions spanning time series analysis, measurement error models, and survey sampling. It documents his impact through seminal textbooks, methodological advances such as the Dickey-Fuller test and regression estimation, sustained work on major operational surveys (e.g., the National Resources Inventory), and mentorship of many graduate students. The article includes an interview conducted on May 20th, 2025, at Professor Fuller’s home.
Release date: 2026-06-29
3. Multiple imputation for nonresponse in surveys using design weights and auxiliary margins
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100002
Description: Survey data typically have missing values due to unit and item nonresponse. Sometimes, survey organizations know the marginal distributions of certain categorical variables in the target population. As shown in previous work, survey organizations can leverage these distributions in multiple imputation for nonignorable unit nonresponse, generating imputations that result in plausible completed-data estimates for the variables with known margins. However, this prior work does not use the design weights for unit nonrespondents. We extend this previous work to utilize the design weights for all sampled units. We illustrate the approach using simulation studies.
Release date: 2026-06-29
4. Exact and approximation formulas for second-order inclusion probabilities in randomized systematic sampling with unequal probabilities and without replacement
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100003
Description: Probability-proportional-to-size sampling is widely used by national statistical offices. Here population units are selected with probabilities proportional to an auxiliary variable. Variance formulas in such designs require both first- and second-order inclusion probabilities. The computation of second-order inclusion probabilities is particularly challenging for large populations, and has been the subject of extensive research. This article presents some new exact and approximation formulas for second-order inclusion probabilities in randomized systematic sampling with unequal probabilities and without replacement.
Release date: 2026-06-29
5. Comparing two common approaches to within-household sampling: A field experiment in Costa Rica
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100004
Description: We test the notion that a quasi-probabilistic method of selecting individuals within households (last birthday, LB) draws in a different sample compared to a non-probabilistic approach that selects respondents according to known parameters on age and gender (frequency matching, FM). With data from an original field experiment, we evaluate fieldwork efficiency (time and completed cases), economy (cost), success in recruiting a representative sample, and differences across a set of attitudinal and behavioral measures. We find that the FM approach performs better on efficiency and cost and achieves a comparable sample; importantly, this comparability extends across measures of personality traits and public opinion. With appropriate caveats, we conclude that researchers’ choice of selection methods should be guided by both theoretical benefits and practical tradeoffs.
Release date: 2026-06-29
6. Improving the coverage of confidence intervals with respect to degrees of freedom: Application to the Canadian Census
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100005
Description: Confidence intervals are very often constructed based on a probability distribution that uses a certain number of degrees of freedom as a parameter. This is the case with the Student and the modified Wilson confidence intervals, discussed in this article, which use quantiles from the Student distribution where the number of degrees of freedom is generally unknown. For the length of a confidence interval to be representative of the reliability of an estimate, the actual coverage rate must match the nominal rate. To that end, the number of degrees of freedom in the probability distribution used in practice to calculate the confidence interval must be estimated as precisely as possible. An approximate rule is often used, although it tends to overestimate the actual number of degrees of freedom. In this article, a more precise version of degrees of freedom, derived from the Satterthwaite approximation, is obtained in the context of the Canadian Census of Population. The sampling design is equivalent to a simple random design without replacement, cluster-stratified, and the variance estimation method is an adaptation of the balanced repeated replication method. An explicit expression of the degrees of freedom is obtained under these conditions, enabling the factors influencing them to be identified. For comparison, the degree of freedom formula is also established for the conventional variance estimator. A simulation study shows that using this version of degrees of freedom corrects the undercoverage problem observed with the approximate rule, showing the importance of accurately assessing this number.
Release date: 2026-06-29
7. Master samples with optimized panels
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100006
Description: We introduce a general framework for constructing master samples that preserve desirable design properties across panels. The core procedure is to order an initial probability sample. Since the final sequence must be robust to a uniform random rotation, we define and minimize an objective that aggregates panel-level performance across all possible circular panels. A final random rotation is applied to ensure design validity. The framework is flexible with respect to the choice of design criteria, such as spatial balance or marginal balance, and can be implemented efficiently using simulated annealing to obtain high-quality approximate solutions. By construction, the approach supports both positive and negative sample coordination for spatially balanced, marginally balanced, and doubly balanced samples. The method’s versatility is demonstrated through three applications: constructing a master sample with spatially balanced panels, marginally balanced panels, and doubly balanced panels.
Release date: 2026-06-29
8. Spreading response burden in business surveys at Statistics Netherlands: Evaluating sample coordination methods targeting highly burdened businesses
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100007
Description: National statistical institutes operate sample coordination systems to spread the response burden in business surveys. Despite the applied sample coordination and monitoring the response burden, some businesses might still be heavily sampled within a short period. This may lead to a peaking response burden for individual businesses, which could affect response rates and response quality. This paper proposes a new sample coordination method based on Adapted Spatially Correlated Poisson (ASCP) sampling that focuses on businesses with a high response burden. The effects on the response burden will be evaluated in two simulation studies and compared with a stratified approach, a pragmatic method in which sampling fractions are manually adjusted and with the baseline method of ignoring the response burden. For the simulations, real-world scenarios and data from Statistics Netherlands are used. The first simulation study considers a practical situation in which a given sample is adjusted with the aim to avoid the occurrence of businesses with a peaking response burden. The second simulation study analyzes the longer-term effects of the different sample coordination methods and focuses both on the reduction and spread of the response burden. The advantages and disadvantages of the different methods will be explained and discussed in detail, and recommendations for applying these methods at national statistical institutes and other survey agencies will be given.
Release date: 2026-06-29
9. Graphical finite population sampling
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100008
Description: This paper introduces an innovative and intuitive finite population sampling method that has been developed using a unique graphical framework. In this approach, first-order inclusion probabilities are represented as bars on a two-dimensional graph. By manipulating the positions of these bars, researchers can create a wide range of different sampling designs. This graphical visualization of sampling designs facilitates the exploration of alternative designs and may simplify certain aspects of the implementation compared to traditional mathematical algorithms. This novel approach holds significant promise for tackling complex challenges in sampling, such as achieving an optimal design. By applying a version of the greedy best-first search algorithm to this graphical approach, the potential for integrating intelligent algorithms into finite population sampling is demonstrated.
Release date: 2026-06-29
10. The inverse-variance trap: A simple ratio fix for combining skewed data
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100009
Description: Combining estimates from independent surveys via inverse-variance weights can lead to negative bias when unknown variances are estimated and the target variable is non-negative and positively skewed. In such cases, strong positive correlations typically arise between the estimators and their corresponding variance estimators, causing standard linear combinations with inverse-variance weights to exhibit negative bias. We introduce a strikingly simple method to reduce bias: replace the standard weight with the ratio of the estimator to the variance estimator. Under a linear model linking the two, we show that the new ratio-weighted estimator is approximately unbiased, whereas the conventional inverse-variance combination exhibits downward bias. Through simulations, we demonstrate that the new method brings both the bias and the mean squared error closer to the optimum for a wide range of different target variables. As our method uses only standardly reported summary statistics, it can be immediately adopted to reduce this widespread bias and improve the reliability of scientific findings in various fields.
Release date: 2026-06-29

Data (4)

Data (4) ((4 results))

1. National Address Register
Profile of a community or region: 46-26-0002
Description: The National Address Register (NAR) is a list of commercial and residential addresses in Canada that are extracted from Statistics Canada's Building Register and deemed non-confidential.
Release date: 2026-06-26
2. PASSAGES microsimulation model
Table: 89-26-0006
Description: PASSAGES is an open-source dynamic microsimulation model aimed at supporting policy analysis and research relating to Canadian retirement income system outcomes at the individual and family level. The publicly available version includes a synthetic starting database, a model, and documentation. A confidential starting database is also available.
Release date: 2026-06-26
3. Social Policy Simulation Database and Model (SPSD/M)
Public use microdata: 89F0002X
Description: The SPSD/M is a static microsimulation model designed to analyse financial interactions between governments and individuals in Canada. It can compute taxes paid to and cash transfers received from government. It is comprised of a database, a series of tax/transfer algorithms and models, analytical software and user documentation.
Release date: 2026-02-12
4. Income divergence index (D-index) by census tract
Table: 11-10-0074-01
Geography: Census tract
Frequency: Occasional
Description:
The divergence index (D-index) describes the degree that families with different income levels are mixing together in neighbourhoods. It compares neighbourhood (census tract, CT) discrete income distributions to a base distribution, which is the income quintiles of the neighbourhood’s census metropolitan area (CMA).

Release date: 2020-06-22

Analysis (215)

Analysis (215) (0 to 10 of 215 results)

1. An Introduction to the Data Journey
Stats in brief: 89-20-00062026001
Description: In this video you will learn about the steps and activities in the data journey. The data journey represents the key stages of the data process. The journey is not necessarily linear. It is intended to represent the different steps and activities that could be undertaken to produce meaningful information from data. Not everyone who uses data will do all of these steps.
Release date: 2026-07-09
2. A conversation with Wayne A. Fuller
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100001
Description: Wayne A. Fuller is a leading figure in statistics whose career at Iowa State University (ISU) began in 1959; he is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Statistics and Economics. This article briefly recounts his early life and training in agricultural economics at ISU and highlights influential contributions spanning time series analysis, measurement error models, and survey sampling. It documents his impact through seminal textbooks, methodological advances such as the Dickey-Fuller test and regression estimation, sustained work on major operational surveys (e.g., the National Resources Inventory), and mentorship of many graduate students. The article includes an interview conducted on May 20th, 2025, at Professor Fuller’s home.
Release date: 2026-06-29
3. Multiple imputation for nonresponse in surveys using design weights and auxiliary margins
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100002
Description: Survey data typically have missing values due to unit and item nonresponse. Sometimes, survey organizations know the marginal distributions of certain categorical variables in the target population. As shown in previous work, survey organizations can leverage these distributions in multiple imputation for nonignorable unit nonresponse, generating imputations that result in plausible completed-data estimates for the variables with known margins. However, this prior work does not use the design weights for unit nonrespondents. We extend this previous work to utilize the design weights for all sampled units. We illustrate the approach using simulation studies.
Release date: 2026-06-29
4. Exact and approximation formulas for second-order inclusion probabilities in randomized systematic sampling with unequal probabilities and without replacement
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100003
Description: Probability-proportional-to-size sampling is widely used by national statistical offices. Here population units are selected with probabilities proportional to an auxiliary variable. Variance formulas in such designs require both first- and second-order inclusion probabilities. The computation of second-order inclusion probabilities is particularly challenging for large populations, and has been the subject of extensive research. This article presents some new exact and approximation formulas for second-order inclusion probabilities in randomized systematic sampling with unequal probabilities and without replacement.
Release date: 2026-06-29
5. Comparing two common approaches to within-household sampling: A field experiment in Costa Rica
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100004
Description: We test the notion that a quasi-probabilistic method of selecting individuals within households (last birthday, LB) draws in a different sample compared to a non-probabilistic approach that selects respondents according to known parameters on age and gender (frequency matching, FM). With data from an original field experiment, we evaluate fieldwork efficiency (time and completed cases), economy (cost), success in recruiting a representative sample, and differences across a set of attitudinal and behavioral measures. We find that the FM approach performs better on efficiency and cost and achieves a comparable sample; importantly, this comparability extends across measures of personality traits and public opinion. With appropriate caveats, we conclude that researchers’ choice of selection methods should be guided by both theoretical benefits and practical tradeoffs.
Release date: 2026-06-29
6. Improving the coverage of confidence intervals with respect to degrees of freedom: Application to the Canadian Census
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100005
Description: Confidence intervals are very often constructed based on a probability distribution that uses a certain number of degrees of freedom as a parameter. This is the case with the Student and the modified Wilson confidence intervals, discussed in this article, which use quantiles from the Student distribution where the number of degrees of freedom is generally unknown. For the length of a confidence interval to be representative of the reliability of an estimate, the actual coverage rate must match the nominal rate. To that end, the number of degrees of freedom in the probability distribution used in practice to calculate the confidence interval must be estimated as precisely as possible. An approximate rule is often used, although it tends to overestimate the actual number of degrees of freedom. In this article, a more precise version of degrees of freedom, derived from the Satterthwaite approximation, is obtained in the context of the Canadian Census of Population. The sampling design is equivalent to a simple random design without replacement, cluster-stratified, and the variance estimation method is an adaptation of the balanced repeated replication method. An explicit expression of the degrees of freedom is obtained under these conditions, enabling the factors influencing them to be identified. For comparison, the degree of freedom formula is also established for the conventional variance estimator. A simulation study shows that using this version of degrees of freedom corrects the undercoverage problem observed with the approximate rule, showing the importance of accurately assessing this number.
Release date: 2026-06-29
7. Master samples with optimized panels
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100006
Description: We introduce a general framework for constructing master samples that preserve desirable design properties across panels. The core procedure is to order an initial probability sample. Since the final sequence must be robust to a uniform random rotation, we define and minimize an objective that aggregates panel-level performance across all possible circular panels. A final random rotation is applied to ensure design validity. The framework is flexible with respect to the choice of design criteria, such as spatial balance or marginal balance, and can be implemented efficiently using simulated annealing to obtain high-quality approximate solutions. By construction, the approach supports both positive and negative sample coordination for spatially balanced, marginally balanced, and doubly balanced samples. The method’s versatility is demonstrated through three applications: constructing a master sample with spatially balanced panels, marginally balanced panels, and doubly balanced panels.
Release date: 2026-06-29
8. Spreading response burden in business surveys at Statistics Netherlands: Evaluating sample coordination methods targeting highly burdened businesses
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100007
Description: National statistical institutes operate sample coordination systems to spread the response burden in business surveys. Despite the applied sample coordination and monitoring the response burden, some businesses might still be heavily sampled within a short period. This may lead to a peaking response burden for individual businesses, which could affect response rates and response quality. This paper proposes a new sample coordination method based on Adapted Spatially Correlated Poisson (ASCP) sampling that focuses on businesses with a high response burden. The effects on the response burden will be evaluated in two simulation studies and compared with a stratified approach, a pragmatic method in which sampling fractions are manually adjusted and with the baseline method of ignoring the response burden. For the simulations, real-world scenarios and data from Statistics Netherlands are used. The first simulation study considers a practical situation in which a given sample is adjusted with the aim to avoid the occurrence of businesses with a peaking response burden. The second simulation study analyzes the longer-term effects of the different sample coordination methods and focuses both on the reduction and spread of the response burden. The advantages and disadvantages of the different methods will be explained and discussed in detail, and recommendations for applying these methods at national statistical institutes and other survey agencies will be given.
Release date: 2026-06-29
9. Graphical finite population sampling
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100008
Description: This paper introduces an innovative and intuitive finite population sampling method that has been developed using a unique graphical framework. In this approach, first-order inclusion probabilities are represented as bars on a two-dimensional graph. By manipulating the positions of these bars, researchers can create a wide range of different sampling designs. This graphical visualization of sampling designs facilitates the exploration of alternative designs and may simplify certain aspects of the implementation compared to traditional mathematical algorithms. This novel approach holds significant promise for tackling complex challenges in sampling, such as achieving an optimal design. By applying a version of the greedy best-first search algorithm to this graphical approach, the potential for integrating intelligent algorithms into finite population sampling is demonstrated.
Release date: 2026-06-29
10. The inverse-variance trap: A simple ratio fix for combining skewed data
Articles and reports: 12-001-X202600100009
Description: Combining estimates from independent surveys via inverse-variance weights can lead to negative bias when unknown variances are estimated and the target variable is non-negative and positively skewed. In such cases, strong positive correlations typically arise between the estimators and their corresponding variance estimators, causing standard linear combinations with inverse-variance weights to exhibit negative bias. We introduce a strikingly simple method to reduce bias: replace the standard weight with the ratio of the estimator to the variance estimator. Under a linear model linking the two, we show that the new ratio-weighted estimator is approximately unbiased, whereas the conventional inverse-variance combination exhibits downward bias. Through simulations, we demonstrate that the new method brings both the bias and the mean squared error closer to the optimum for a wide range of different target variables. As our method uses only standardly reported summary statistics, it can be immediately adopted to reduce this widespread bias and improve the reliability of scientific findings in various fields.
Release date: 2026-06-29

Reference (59)

Reference (59) (0 to 10 of 59 results)

1. Advance indicators: Production, use and interpretation, 2026
Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 19-20-00012026003
Description: This article provides nontechnical answers to questions related to the production, use and interpretation of advance indicators for Statistics Canada’s Monthly Survey of Manufacturing, Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey and Monthly Retail Trade Survey.
Release date: 2026-06-16
2. Statistical Methods Reference Documents
Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 19-20-0001
Description: Documents in this series provide insight into the statistical methods used by Statistics Canada to produce official statistics. They include introductory material, in-depth descriptions of techniques and methods, best practices, and guidelines. All documents have undergone review to ensure that they conform to Statistics Canada's mandate and adhere to generally accepted methodological standards and practices.
Release date: 2026-06-16
3. Trend-cycle estimation: Concepts, interpretation, and calculation, 2026
Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 19-20-00012026002
Description: This reference document provides answers on selected topics related to the use, interpretation, and calculation of trend-cycle estimates for seasonally adjusted data. It is designed to complement more technical discussions of seasonal adjustment and trend-cycle estimation found in Statistics Canada publications and reference manuals.
Release date: 2026-06-08
4. Seasonal adjustment: Concepts and interpretation, 2026
Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 19-20-00012026001
Description: This reference document provides nontechnical answers on selected topics related to the use and interpretation of seasonally adjusted data. It is designed to complement more technical discussions of seasonal adjustment found in Statistics Canada publications and reference manuals.
Release date: 2026-05-11
5. Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts
Notices and consultations: 13-605-X
Description: This product contains articles related to the latest methodological, conceptual developments in the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts as well as the analysis of the Canadian economy. It includes articles detailing new methods, concepts and statistical techniques used to compile the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts. It also includes information related to new or expanded data products, provides updates and supplements to information found in various guides and analytical articles touching upon a broad range of topics related to the Canadian economy.
Release date: 2026-05-04
6. A Framework for Projecting Housing Use Associated with Immigrants and Non-Permanent Residents
Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 11-633-X2026002
Description: Recent changes in Canada’s immigration levels have heightened interest in understanding how immigration affects housing demand. This article develops a methodological framework for projecting housing use associated with permanent residents (PRs) and non-permanent residents (NPRs) under alternative immigration scenarios. The framework applies observed per capita housing use rates from the Census of Population to estimate incremental housing use by tenure over time.
Release date: 2026-04-24
7. When and How to Use Area-Level Measures for Health Analysis: A Review and Recommendation Report
Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 11-633-X2026001
Description: This report defines key concepts related to area-level analysis and introduces area-level measures developed and utilized at Statistics Canada for health analysis. It also provides a decision-making framework and practical recommendations to help researchers select appropriate methods. The goal is to guide readers on when area-level analysis is appropriate and what type of area-level measure is suitable to achieve research objectives.
Release date: 2026-03-05
8. Technical Guide on Demographic Estimates at Statistics Canada
Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 91-528-X
Description: The Technical Guide on Demographic Estimates at Statistics Canada provides detailed descriptions of the most current data sources and methods used by the Centre for demography at Statistics Canada to produce demographic estimates as part of the Demographic estimates program. They comprise postcensal and intercensal population estimates; base population; births and deaths; immigrants; emigrants; returning emigrants; non-permanent residents; interprovincial migration; subprovincial estimates of population and intraprovincial migration; population estimates by age and gender; and census family estimates. A glossary of commonly used terms is available at the end of the guide.
Release date: 2025-12-17
9. Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) Technical Report, 2024
Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 11-633-X2025004
Description: The Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) is a comprehensive source of data that plays a key role in the understanding of the economic behaviour of immigrants. It is the only annual Canadian dataset that allows users to study the characteristics of immigrants to Canada at the time of admission and their economic outcomes and regional (inter-provincial) mobility over a time span of more than 40 years.
Release date: 2025-12-08
10. Survey on the Official Language Minority Population: User guide, 2022 (2025 revisions)
Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 89-657-X2025002
Description: The Survey on the Official Language Minority Population (SOLMP) user guide contains a description of the survey, along with survey concepts and definitions and an overview of the content development. The target and survey populations, the sample design and sample size are described in the Methodology section, while the Data Collection module provides the collection period and instrument, modes of collection, collection and communications strategies and response rates.
Updates to the guide include descriptions of the survey data processing, survey error and weighting, and guidelines for tabulations and analysis. Appendices will provide a listing of questions and variables which changed between the current and previous occasions of the survey, as well as various primers on the survey methodology.
Release date: 2025-11-14

Date modified:: 2026-08-02

Language selection

WxT Language switcher

Search and menus

WxT Search form

Keyword search

Filter results by

Keyword(s)

Subject

Type

Year of publication

Geography

Survey or statistical program

Portal

Content

Results

All (332) (0 to 10 of 332 results)

Data (4) ((4 results))

Analysis (215) (0 to 10 of 215 results)

Reference (59) (0 to 10 of 59 results)

Keyword search

Filter results by

Keyword(s)

Subject

Type

Year of publication

Geography

Survey or statistical program

Portal

Content

Results

All (332) (0 to 10 of 332 results)

Data (4) ((4 results))

Analysis (215) (0 to 10 of 215 results)

Reference (59) (0 to 10 of 59 results)

How are the results ordered?

How are the results ordered?

How do I use the filters and the search box?

How do I refine my search?

How does the search work?