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Description:

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire with a nationally representative sample of Canadian children and adolescents.

Description:

This presentation gives an overview of the topics discussed during the virtual roundtables on the 2021 Census of Population questionnaire content. The five main topics are the following: family, demography and activity limitations; languages, ethnocultural diversity and immigration (including citizenship, religion, population groups, minority language education rights); Indigenous peoples; education, labour, commuting, and Veterans; and housing, income and expenditures.

Description:

The Guide to the Labour Force Survey contains a dictionary of concepts and definitions and covers topics such as survey methodology, data collection, data processing and data quality. It also contains information on products and services, sub-provincial geography descriptions as well as the survey questionnaire.

Description:

This document brings together guidelines and checklists on many issues that need to be considered in the pursuit of quality objectives in the execution of statistical activities. Its focus is on how to assure quality through effective and appropriate design or redesign of a statistical project or program from inception through to data evaluation, dissemination and documentation. These guidelines draw on the collective knowledge and experience of many Statistics Canada employees. It is expected that Quality Guidelines will be useful to staff engaged in the planning and design of surveys and other statistical projects, as well as to those who evaluate and analyze the outputs of these projects.

Description: To stay relevant, preparing for a new Census of Agriculture requires a thorough evaluation of data requirements. Before each census, Statistics Canada conducts consultations to solicit input and feedback on the Census of Agriculture's content. This report describes those consultations and the process that was followed to test and determine which topics could be potentially retained for the next census.

Description: The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide an overview of the evolution of disability in Canada since the mid-1980's. It explains how the federal government, academics and person's with disabilities have worked together to develop survey questions that reflect this evolution and the impact that this evolution has had on the ability to measure change.

Description: The Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CTADS) is a biennial general population survey of tobacco, alcohol and drug use among Canadians aged 15 years and older, with the primary focus on 15- to 24-year-olds. The CTADS is a telephone survey conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of Health Canada.

Description:

The Canadian Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the official source of monthly estimates of total employment and unemployment. Following the 2011 census, the LFS underwent a sample redesign to account for the evolution of the population and labour market characteristics, to adjust to changes in the information needs and to update the geographical information used to carry out the survey. The redesign program following the 2011 census culminated with the introduction of a new sample at the beginning of 2015. This report is a reference on the methodological aspects of the LFS, covering stratification, sampling, collection, processing, weighting, estimation, variance estimation and data quality.

Description:

In over 70 years, the methodology and questionnaire, as well as the collection and processing techniques of the Canadian Labour Force Survey have undergone major changes. This document summarizes these changes chronologically and provides references to more detailed information sources. Among the most significant changes were two questionnaire redesigns, which occurred approximately 20 years apart, in 1976 and 1997.

Description:

Statistical matching is a technique for integrating two or more data sets when information available for matching records for individual participants across data sets is incomplete. Statistical matching can be viewed as a missing data problem where a researcher wants to perform a joint analysis of variables that are never jointly observed. A conditional independence assumption is often used to create imputed data for statistical matching. We consider a general approach to statistical matching using parametric fractional imputation of Kim (2011) to create imputed data under the assumption that the specified model is fully identified. The proposed method does not have a convergent EM sequence if the model is not identified. We also present variance estimators appropriate for the imputation procedure. We explain how the method applies directly to the analysis of data from split questionnaire designs and measurement error models.

Description:

The Adult Education and Training Survey (AETS) is Canada's most comprehensive source of data on individual participation in formal adult education and training. It is the only Canadian survey to collect detailed information about the skill development efforts of the entire adult Canadian population. The AETS provides information about the main subject of training activities, their provider, duration and the sources and types of support for training. Furthermore, the AETS allows for the examination of the socio-economic and demographic profiles of both training participants and non-participants. This survey also identifies barriers faced by individuals who wish to take some form of training but cannot. The AETS was administered three times during the 1990s, in 1992, 1994 and 1998, as a supplement to the Labour Force Survey (LFS).

The content of the AETS was revised to take into account recommendations coming from consultation exercises. As a result, more than half of the 2003 survey is made up of new questions and the target population has been modified.

The main objectives are:1) To measure the incidence and intensity of adults' participation in job-related formal training.2) To profile employer support to job-related formal training.3) To analyze the aspects of job-related training activities such as: training provider, expenses, financial support, motivations, outcomes and difficulties experienced while training.4) To identify the barriers preventing individuals from participating in the job-related formal training they want or need to take.5) To identify reasons explaining adults' lack of participation and of interest in job-related formal training.6) To relate adults' current participation patterns to their past involvement in and plans about future participation in job-related training.7) To measure the incidence and frequency of adults' participation in job-related informal training.8) To examine the interactions between participation in formal and informal job-related training.

The population covered by the AETS consists of Canadians 25 years of age and older. This is a change from the population previously targeted by the AETS, which consisted of Canadians aged 17 years of age and older. A primary consideration for this change was the practical difficulties in applying the definition of adult education to individuals in the 17 to 24 years of age group. By definition, adult education excludes students who are still involved in their first or initial stage of schooling. As previous AETS did not precisely identify students still in their initial stage of schooling, analyses using these data had to rely on an ad hoc definition of adult learners. According to this definition, individuals aged 17 to 24 who were not in one of the following situations were excluded from the analysis: full-time students subsidized by an employer and full-time students over 19 enrolled in elementary or secondary programs.

Description:

This publication provides estimates of assets, revenues and expenditures, and the asset portfolio composition of trusteed pension funds for Canada. Most data are presented as a time series of five years. An analysis of quarterly changes, as well as the relationship between the estimates and financial market conditions, is included.

Description:

This publication provides the most current monthly labour market statistics. Each month, this publication contains a brief commentary highlighting recent developments in the Canadian labour market. It also includes a series of charts and tables on a variety of labour force characteristics, such as employment and unemployment for Canada, the provinces, metropolitan areas and economic regions.

Description:

This microdata file provides data from the Compensation Sector Survey. The purpose of the survey is to obtain a profile of members of the compensation community in the Human Resources community of the federal public service. The results will allow the Human Resources Community Secretariat to renew recruiting, training and development programs for this community in such a manner that these programs would take into account current data.

Description:

The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), developed jointly by Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada, is a comprehensive survey which follows the development of children in Canada and paints a picture of their lives. The survey monitors children's development and measures the incidence of various factors that influence their development, both positively and negatively.

Description:

The National Population Health Survey (NPHS) used the Labour Force Survey sampling frame to draw the initial sample of approximately 20,000 households starting in 1994 and for the sample top-up this third cycle. The survey is conducted every two years. The sample collection is distributed over four quarterly periods followed by a follow-up period and the whole process takes a year. In each household, some limited health information is collected from all household members and one person in each household is randomly selected for a more in-depth interview.

The survey is designed to collect information on the health of the Canadian population and related socio-demographic information. The first cycle of data collection began in 1994, and continues every second year thereafter. The survey is designed to produce both cross-sectional and longitudinal estimates. The questionnaires includes content related to health status, use of health services, determinants of health, a health index, chronic conditions and activity restrictions. The use of health services is probed through visits to health care providers, both traditional and non-traditional, and the use of drugs and other mediciations. Health determinants include smoking, alcohol use and physical activity. A special focus content for this cycle includes family medical history with questions about certain chronic conditions among immediate family members and when they were acquired. As well, a section on self care has also been included this cycle. The socio-demographic information includes age, sex, education, ethnicity, household income and labour force status.

Description:

Cycle 13 of the General Social Survey (GSS) is the third cycle (following cycles 3 and 8) that collected information in 1999 on the nature and extent of criminal victimisation in Canada. Focus content for cycle 13 addressed two areas of emerging interest: public perception toward alternatives to imprisonment; and spousal violence and senior abuse. Other subjects common to all three cycles include perceptions of crime, police and courts; crime prevention precautions; accident and crime screening sections; and accident and crime incident reports. The target population of the GSS is all individuals aged 15 and over living in a private household in one of the ten provinces.

Description:

The National Population Health Survey (NPHS) program is designed to collect information related to the health of the Canadian population. The first cycle of data collection began in 1994. The institutional component includes long-term residents (expected to stay longer than six months) in health care facilities with four or more beds in Canada with the principal exclusion of the Yukon and the Northwest Teritories. The document has been produced to facilitate the manipulation of the 1996-1997 microdata file containing survey results. The main variables include: demography, health status, chronic conditions, restriction of activity, socio-demographic, and others.

Description:

This publication presents information on the income, expenditure and assets of all trusteed pension funds in Canada in both the public and private sectors. Data are presented at the Canada level. The publication contains an analysis of the funds based on the size of the fund, the number of members and the type of benefit. It is a continuation of a series of reports produced since 1957. As a single pool of investment capital in Canada, these funds are surpassed in size only by the aggregate reserves held by the chartered banks.

Description:

Information in this microdata file refers to survey data collected in September - November, 1994 for persons 15 years of age and older in Canada's ten provinces. The survey's main data objectives were to measure the prevalence and patterns of alcohol and other drug use, to assess harm and other consequences of drug use and to evaluate trends in recent patterns of use. Canada's Alcohol and Other Drugs Survey (CADS) also updates and expands upon data collected in the first survey, the National Alcohol and Other Drugs Survey (NADS), conducted in 1989.

Description:

Past survey instruments, whether in the form of a paper questionnaire or telephone script, were their own documentation. Based on this, the ESRC Question Bank was created, providing free-access internet publication of questionnaires, enabling researchers to re-use questions, saving them trouble, whilst improving the comparability of their data with that collected by others. Today however, as survey technology and computer programs have become more sophisticated, accurate comprehension of the latest questionnaires seems more difficult, particularly when each survey team uses its own conventions to document complex items in technical reports. This paper seeks to illustrate these problems and suggest preliminary standards of presentation to be used until the process can be automated.

Description:

The expansion in scope of UK equality legislation has led to a requirement for data on sexual orientation. In response, the Office for National Statistics has initiated a project aiming to provide advice on best practice with regard to data collection in this field, and to examine the feasibility of providing data that will satisfy user needs. The project contains qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in relation to question development and survey operational issues. This includes:A review of UK and international surveys already collecting data on sexual orientation/identityA series of focus groups exploring conceptual issues surrounding "sexual identity" including related terms and the acceptability of questioning on multi-purpose household surveysA series of quantitative trials with particular attention to item non-response; question administration; and data collectionCognitively testing to ensure questioning was interpreted as intended.Quantitative research on potential bias issues in relation to proxy responsesFuture analysis and reporting issues are being considered alongside question development e.g. accurately capturing statistics on populations with low prevalence

The presentation also discusses the practical survey administration issues relating to ensuring privacy in a concurrent interview situation, both face to face and over the telephone

Description:

The use of Computer Audio-Recorded Interviewing (CARI) as a tool to identify interview falsification is quickly growing in survey research (Biemer, 2000, 2003; Thissen, 2007). Similarly, survey researchers are starting to expand the usefulness of CARI by combining recordings with coding to address data quality (Herget, 2001; Hansen, 2005; McGee, 2007). This paper presents results from a study included as part of the establishment-based National Center for Health Statistics' National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS) which used CARI behavior coding and CARI-specific paradata to: 1) identify and correct problematic interviewer behavior or question issues early in the data collection period before either negatively impact data quality, and; 2) identify ways to diminish measurement error in future implementations of the NHHCS. During the first 9 weeks of the 30-week field period, CARI recorded a subset of questions from the NHHCS application for all interviewers. Recordings were linked with the interview application and output and then coded in one of two modes: Code by Interviewer or Code by Question. The Code by Interviewer method provided visibility into problems specific to an interviewer as well as more generalized problems potentially applicable to all interviewers. The Code by Question method yielded data that spoke to understandability of the questions and other response problems. In this mode, coders coded multiple implementations of the same question across multiple interviewers. Using the Code by Question approach, researchers identified issues with three key survey questions in the first few weeks of data collection and provided guidance to interviewers in how to handle those questions as data collection continued. Results from coding the audio recordings (which were linked with the survey application and output) will inform question wording and interviewer training in the next implementation of the NHHCS, and guide future enhancement of CARI and the coding system.

Description:

Business surveys differ from surveys of populations of individual persons or households in many respects. Two of the most important differences are (a) that respondents in business surveys do not answer questions about characteristics of themselves (such as their experiences, behaviours, attitudes and feelings) but about characteristics of organizations (such as their size, revenues, policies, and strategies) and (b) that they answer these questions as an informant for that organization. Academic business surveys differ from other business surveys, such as of national statistical agencies, in many respects as well. The one most important difference is that academic business surveys usually do not aim at generating descriptive statistics but at testing hypotheses, i.e. relations between variables. Response rates in academic business surveys are very low, which implies a huge risk of non-response bias. Usually no attempt is made to assess the extent of non-response bias and published survey results might, therefore, not be a correct reflection of actual relations within the population, which in return increases the likelihood that the reported test result is not correct.

This paper provides an analysis of how (the risk of) non-response bias is discussed in research papers published in top management journals. It demonstrates that non-response bias is not assessed to a sufficient degree and that, if attempted at all, correction of non-response bias is difficult or very costly in practice. Three approaches to dealing with this problem are presented and discussed:(a) obtaining data by other means than questionnaires;(b) conducting surveys of very small populations; and(c) conducting surveys of very small samples.

It will be discussed why these approaches are appropriate means of testing hypotheses in populations. Trade-offs regarding the selection of an approach will be discussed as well.

Description:

Statistics Netherlands (SN) has been using electronic questionnaires for Business surveys since the early nineties. Some years ago SN decided to invest in a large scale use of electronic questionnaires. The big yearly production survey of about 80 000 forms, divided over many different economical activity areas, was redesigned using a meta database driven approach. The resulting system is able to generate non-intelligent personalized PDF forms and intelligent personalized Blaise forms. The Blaise forms are used by a new tool in the Blaise system which can be downloaded by the respondents from the SN web site to run the questionnaire off-line. Essential to the system is the SN house style for paper and electronic forms. The flexibility of the new tool offered the questionnaire designers the possibility to implement a user friendly form according to this house style.

Part of the implementation is an audit trail that offers insight in the way respondents operate the questionnaire program. The entered data including the audit trail can be transferred via encrypted e-mail or through the internet to SN. The paper will give an outline of the overall system architecture and the role of Blaise in the system. It will also describe the results of using the system for several years now and some results of the analysis of the audit trail.

Description:

Surveys that employ simultaneous web, CATI, and paper modes (or any two-way subset) are increasingly common. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc (MPR) has deployed several of these types of surveys in Blaise. This paper reviews MPR's experiences and issues with these efforts by addressing instrumentation, survey management, and other considerations. The paper emphasizes the electronic implementation of these surveys and covers topics that emerge solely from the surveys' multimode nature; that is, material that goes beyond the implementation of a single-mode survey.

Description:

Statistics Canada has embarked on a program of increasing and improving the usage of imaging technology for paper survey questionnaires. The goal is to make the process an efficient, reliable and cost effective method of capturing survey data. The objective is to continue using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to capture the data from questionnaires, documents and faxes received whilst improving the process integration and Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QC) of the data capture process. These improvements are discussed in this paper.

Description:

This paper will focus on establishment survey questionnaire design guidelines. More specifically, it will discuss the process involved in transitioning a set of guidelines written for a broad, survey methodological audience to a more narrow, agency-specific audience of survey managers and analysts. The process involved the work of a team comprised of individuals from across the Census Bureau's Economic Directorate, working in a cooperative and collaborative manner. The team decided what needed to be added, modified, and deleted from the broad starting point, and determined how much of the theory and experimental evidence found in the literature was necessary to include in the guidelines. In addition to discussing the process, the paper will also describe the end result: a set of questionnaire design guidelines for the Economic Directorate.

Description:

Census developers and social researchers are at a critical juncture in determining collection modes of the future. Internet data collection is technically feasible, but the initial investment in hardware and software is costly. Given the great divide in computer knowledge and access, internet data collection is viable for some, but not for all. Therefore internet cannot fully replace the existing paper questionnaire - at least not in the near future.

Canada, Australia and New Zealand are pioneers in internet data collection as an option for completing the census. This paper studies four driving forces behind this collection mode: 1) responding to social/public expectations; 2) longer term economic benefits; 3) improved data quality; and 4) improved coverage.

Issues currently being faced are: 1) estimating internet uptake and maximizing benefits without undue risk; 2) designing a questionnaire for multiple modes; 3) producing multiple public communication approaches; and 4) gaining positive public reaction and trust in using the internet.

This paper summarizes the countries' collective thinking and experiences on the benefits and limitation of internet data collection for a census of population and dwellings. It also provides an outline of where countries are heading in terms of internet data collection in the future.

Description:

Prior to 2006, the Canadian Census of Population relied on field staff to deliver questionnaires to all dwellings in Canada. For the 2006 Census, an address frame was created to cover almost 70% of dwellings in Canada, and these questionnaires were delivered by Canada Post. For the 2011 Census, Statistics Canada aims to expand this frame further, with a target of delivering questionnaires by mail to between 80% and 85% of dwellings. Mailing questionnaires for the Census raises a number of issues, among them: ensuring returned questionnaires are counted in the right area, creating an up to date address frame that includes all new growth, and determining which areas are unsuitable for having questionnaires delivered by mail. Changes to the address frame update procedures for 2011, most notably the decision to use purely administrative data as the frame wherever possible and conduct field update exercises only where deemed necessary, provide a new set of challenges for the 2011 Census.

Description: Data from the Census of Population are important for all communities and are vital to plan services that support education, employment, transportation, health care and housing. To maintain the relevance of the census, Statistics Canada evaluates and reviews the census questionnaire content for each census cycle. In preparation for the 2026 Census, Statistics Canada consulted Canadians from fall 2022 to spring 2023. Detailed responses were received from organizations and individuals representing federal, provincial, territorial and local government departments; First Nations people, Métis and Inuit; the general public; academia; special interest groups; and the private sector.

This report focuses on the findings of the 2026 Census data needs consultation and stakeholder discussions. Chapter 1 explains whom we consulted. Chapter 2 describes the strength of census data users’ needs such as the size of the population of interest. Chapter 3 provides an assessment of the perceived data gaps in census content and the availability and suitability of alternative data sources. Chapter 4 focuses on information needs by census topic and how preparations for the 2024 Census Test will help meet these needs.

Description: User consultation is the first step in determining Census Program content. The findings of content consultations are presented in these reports.

Description:

As is the case in advance of each Census, content consultations are being held with data users. The Census Content Consultation Guide gives you the opportunity to provide input.

Description:

This is a series of fact sheets offering an overview of changes in content for the 2021 Census questionnaire. These include 19 fact sheets focusing on new and modified content and one fact sheet providing information about the design and methodology of the 2019 Census Content Test.

Description:

The Guide to the Labour Force Survey contains a dictionary of concepts and definitions and covers topics such as survey methodology, data collection, data processing and data quality. It also contains information on products and services, sub-provincial geography descriptions as well as the survey questionnaire.

Description:

This document brings together guidelines and checklists on many issues that need to be considered in the pursuit of quality objectives in the execution of statistical activities. Its focus is on how to assure quality through effective and appropriate design or redesign of a statistical project or program from inception through to data evaluation, dissemination and documentation. These guidelines draw on the collective knowledge and experience of many Statistics Canada employees. It is expected that Quality Guidelines will be useful to staff engaged in the planning and design of surveys and other statistical projects, as well as to those who evaluate and analyze the outputs of these projects.

Description: To stay relevant, preparing for a new Census of Agriculture requires a thorough evaluation of data requirements. Before each census, Statistics Canada conducts consultations to solicit input and feedback on the Census of Agriculture's content. This report describes those consultations and the process that was followed to test and determine which topics could be potentially retained for the next census.

Description:

The Canadian Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the official source of monthly estimates of total employment and unemployment. Following the 2011 census, the LFS underwent a sample redesign to account for the evolution of the population and labour market characteristics, to adjust to changes in the information needs and to update the geographical information used to carry out the survey. The redesign program following the 2011 census culminated with the introduction of a new sample at the beginning of 2015. This report is a reference on the methodological aspects of the LFS, covering stratification, sampling, collection, processing, weighting, estimation, variance estimation and data quality.

Description:

In over 70 years, the methodology and questionnaire, as well as the collection and processing techniques of the Canadian Labour Force Survey have undergone major changes. This document summarizes these changes chronologically and provides references to more detailed information sources. Among the most significant changes were two questionnaire redesigns, which occurred approximately 20 years apart, in 1976 and 1997.

Description:

The 2016 Census Program Content Test was conducted from May 2 to June 30, 2014. The Test was designed to assess the impact of any proposed content changes to the 2016 Census Program and to measure the impact of including a social insurance number (SIN) question on the data quality.

This quantitative test used a split-panel design involving 55,000 dwellings, divided into 11 panels of 5,000 dwellings each: five panels were dedicated to the Content Test while the remaining six panels were for the SIN Test. Two models of test questionnaires were developed to meet the objectives, namely a model with all the proposed changes EXCEPT the SIN question and a model with all the proposed changes INCLUDING the SIN question. A third model of 'control' questionnaire with the 2011 content was also developed. The population living in a private dwelling in mail-out areas in one of the ten provinces was targeted for the test. Paper and electronic response channels were part of the Test as well.

This report presents the Test objectives, the design and a summary of the analysis in order to determine potential content for the 2016 Census Program. Results from the data analysis of the Test were not the only elements used to determine the content for 2016. Other elements were also considered, such as response burden, comparison over time and users’ needs.