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Description: This series provides detailed documentation on the issues, concepts, methodology, data quality and other relevant research related to household expenditures from the Survey of Household Spending, the Homeowner Repair and Renovation Survey and the Food Expenditure Survey.

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This infographic explains the steps involved in collecting data for all Statistics Canada household and business surveys. The responses are compiled, analyzed and used to make important decisions and are kept strictly confidential.

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This infographic demonstrates the journey of data and how respondents' answers to our surveys become useful data used to make informed decisions. The infographic highlights the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the Survey of Household Spending (SHS), and the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS).

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Web surveys are generally connected with low response rates. Common suggestions in textbooks on Web survey research highlight the importance of the welcome screen in encouraging respondents to take part. The importance of this screen has been empirically proven in research, showing that most respondents breakoff at the welcome screen. However, there has been little research on the effect of the design of this screen on the level of the breakoff rate. In a study conducted at the University of Konstanz, three experimental treatments were added to a survey of the first-year student population (2,629 students) to assess the impact of different design features of this screen on the breakoff rates. The methodological experiments included varying the background color of the welcome screen, varying the promised task duration on this first screen, and varying the length of the information provided on the welcome screen explaining the privacy rights of the respondents. The analyses show that the longer stated length and the more attention given to explaining privacy rights on the welcome screen, the fewer respondents started and completed the survey. However, the use of a different background color does not result in the expected significant difference.

Description:

Coca is a native bush from the Amazon rainforest from which cocaine, an illegal alkaloid, is extracted. Asking farmers about the extent of their coca cultivation areas is considered a sensitive question in remote coca growing regions in Peru. As a consequence, farmers tend not to participate in surveys, do not respond to the sensitive question(s), or underreport their individual coca cultivation areas. There is a political and policy concern in accurately and reliably measuring coca growing areas, therefore survey methodologists need to determine how to encourage response and truthful reporting of sensitive questions related to coca growing. Specific survey strategies applied in our case study included establishment of trust with farmers, confidentiality assurance, matching interviewer-respondent characteristics, changing the format of the sensitive question(s), and non enforcement of absolute isolation of respondents during the survey. The survey results were validated using satellite data. They suggest that farmers tend to underreport their coca areas to 35 to 40% of their true extent.

Description:

When there is unit (whole-element) nonresponse in a survey sample drawn using probability-sampling principles, a common practice is to divide the sample into mutually exclusive groups in such a way that it is reasonable to assume that each sampled element in a group were equally likely to be a survey nonrespondent. In this way, unit response can be treated as an additional phase of probability sampling with the inverse of the estimated probability of unit response within a group serving as an adjustment factor when computing the final weights for the group's respondents. If the goal is to estimate the population mean of a survey variable that roughly behaves as if it were a random variable with a constant mean within each group regardless of the original design weights, then incorporating the design weights into the adjustment factors will usually be more efficient than not incorporating them. In fact, if the survey variable behaved exactly like such a random variable, then the estimated population mean computed with the design-weighted adjustment factors would be nearly unbiased in some sense (i.e., under the combination of the original probability-sampling mechanism and a prediction model) even when the sampled elements within a group are not equally likely to respond.

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In January 2006, a conference on longitudinal surveys hosted by Statistics Canada, the Social and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) concluded that Canada lacks a longitudinal survey which collects information on multiple subjects such as family, human capital, labour health and follows respondents for a long period of time. Following this conference, funds were received from the Policy Research Data Gaps fund (PRDG) to support a pilot survey for a new Canadian Household Panel Survey (CHPS-Pilot). Consultations on the design and content were held with academic and policy experts in 2007 and 2008, and a pilot survey was conducted in the fall of 2008. The objectives of the pilot survey were to (1) test a questionnaire, evaluate interview length and measure the quality of data collected, (2) evaluate several design features; and (3) test reactions to the survey from respondents and field workers. The pilot survey achieved a response rate of 76%, with a median household interview time of 64 minutes. Several innovative design features were tested, and found to be viable. Response to the survey, whether from respondents or interviewers, was generally positive. This paper highlights these and other results from the CHPS-Pilot.

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This article examines the internal consistency of the English and French versions of the Medical Outcomes Study social support scale for a sample of older adults. The second objective is to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis to assess the factor structure of the English and French versions of the scale. A third purpose is to determine if the items comprising the scale operate in the same way for English- and French-speaking respondents.

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Data collection for poverty assessments in Africa is time consuming, expensive and can be subject to numerous constraints. In this paper we present a procedure to collect data from poor households involved in small-scale inland fisheries as well as agricultural activities. A sampling scheme has been developed that captures the heterogeneity in ecological conditions and the seasonality of livelihood options. Sampling includes a three point panel survey of 300 households. The respondents belong to four different ethnic groups randomly chosen from three strata, each representing a different ecological zone. In the first part of the paper some background information is given on the objectives of the research, the study site and survey design, which were guiding the data collection process. The second part of the paper discusses the typical constraints that are hampering empirical work in Sub-Saharan Africa, and shows how different challenges have been resolved. These lessons could guide researchers in designing appropriate socio-economic surveys in comparable settings.

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The current economic downturn in the US could challenge costly strategies in survey operations. In the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), ending the monthly data collection at 31 days could be a less costly alternative. However, this could potentially exclude a portion of interviews completed after 31 days (late responders) whose respondent characteristics could be different in many respects from those who completed the survey within 31 days (early responders). We examined whether there are differences between the early and late responders in demographics, health-care coverage, general health status, health risk behaviors, and chronic disease conditions or illnesses. We used 2007 BRFSS data, where a representative sample of the noninstitutionalized adult U.S. population was selected using a random digit dialing method. Late responders were significantly more likely to be male; to report race/ethnicity as Hispanic; to have annual income higher than $50,000; to be younger than 45 years of age; to have less than high school education; to have health-care coverage; to be significantly more likely to report good health; and to be significantly less likely to report hypertension, diabetes, or being obese. The observed differences between early and late responders on survey estimates may hardly influence national and state-level estimates. As the proportion of late responders may increase in the future, its impact on surveillance estimates should be examined before excluding from the analysis. Analysis on late responders only should combine several years of data to produce reliable estimates.

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The Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) is Canada's national survey that gathers information about adults and children whose daily activities are limited by a physical, mental, or other health-related condition or problem.

This report presents a series of tables on the help with everyday activities as well as unmet needs and help providers.

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This publication presents a series of tabulations produced from the General Social Survey on time use of Canadians. It includes information on average amounts of time spent on various activities by sex, by age, by selected role groups.

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This report presents the results of a pilot survey conducted by Statistics Canada to measure the fuel consumption of on-road motor vehicles registered in Canada. This study was carried out in connection with the Canadian Vehicle Survey (CVS) which collects information on road activity such as distance traveled, number of passengers and trip purpose.

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Cycle 15 of the General Social Survey (GSS) is the third cycle to collect detailed information on family life in Canada. The previous GSS cycles that collected family data were Cycles 5 and 10. Topics include demographic characteristics such as age, sex, and marital status; family origin of parents; brothers and sisters; marriages of respondent; common-law unions of respondent; fertility and family intentions; values and attitudes; education history; work history; main activity and other characteristics.

The target population for Cycle 15 of the GSS is all persons 15 years of age and older in Canada, excluding residents of the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, and full-time residents of institutions.

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This table is part of the topic "Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada," which shows 2001 Census data on ethnic groups in Canada, such as their size, geographic location and demographic characteristics. Similar information is available for Canada's visible minority population.

Data on the socio-economic characteristics of these populations will be available at a later date. As well, data on religions in Canada will be available in May 2003.

Additional information on ethnocultural diversity will be available from the Ethnic Diversity Survey in the summer of 2003.

This table can be found in the Topic Bundle: Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada, 2001 Census, Catalogue No. 97F0010XCB2001000.

It is also possible to subscribe to all the day-of-release bundles. For more information, refer to Catalogue No. 97F0023XCB.

This table is available FREE on the Internet, Catalogue No. 97F0010XIE2001001.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Cycle 11 collected data from persons 15 years and older and concentrated on help given or received during temporary difficult times or out of necessity due to long-term health or physical limitations in daily activities either inside or outside the household. The target population of the General Social Survey consisted of all individuals aged 15 and over living in a private household in one of the ten provinces.

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This population-based analysis uses data from the 2007/2008 Canadian Community Health Survey to provide estimates of the prevalence of chronic pain by socio-demographic characteristics for a sample of respondents aged 12 to 44.

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In 2009, as part of its General Social Survey program, Statistics Canada conducted a survey on victimization and public perceptions of crime and the justice system. It was the fifith time that the General Social Survey (GSS) had examined victimization - previous surveys were conducted in 2004, 1999, 1993 and 1988.

For the 2009 survey, interviews were conducted by telephone with approximately 19,500 respondents, aged 15 and older, living in the 10 provinces. Respondents were asked about their experiences with criminal victimization. Those respondents who had been victims of a crime in the previous 12 months were asked for detailed information on each incident, including when and where it occurred; whether the incident was reported to the police; and how they were affected by the experience.

This Juristat explores the overall trends and regional variations of criminal victimization, as well as the individual risk factors associated with victimization.

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On behalf of Statistics Canada, I would like to welcome you all, friends and colleagues, to Symposium 2008. This the 24th International Symposium organized by Statistics Canada on survey methodology.

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This paper addresses the efforts of the U.S. Energy Information Administration to design, test and implement new and substantially redesigned surveys. The need to change EIA's surveys has become increasingly important, as U.S. energy industries have moved from highly regulated to deregulated business. This has substantially affected both their ability and willingness to report data. The paper focuses on how EIA has deployed current tools for designing and testing surveys and the reasons that these methods have not always yielded the desired results. It suggests some new tools and methods that we would like to try to improve the quality of our data.

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In a survey where results were estimated by simple averages, we will compare the effect on the results of a follow-up among non-respondents, and weighting based on the last ten percents of the respondents. The data used are collected from a Survey of Living Conditions among Immigrants in Norway that was carried out in 2006.

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As survey researchers attempt to maintain traditionally high response rates, reluctant respondents have resulted in increasing data collection costs. This respondent reluctance may be related to the amount of time it takes to complete an interview in large-scale, multi-purpose surveys, such as the National Survey of Recent College Graduates (NSRCG). Recognizing that respondent burden or questionnaire length may contribute to lower response rates, in 2003, following several months of data collection under the standard data collection protocol, the NSRCG offered its nonrespondents monetary incentives about two months before the end of the data collection,. In conjunction with the incentive offer, the NSRCG also offered persistent nonrespondents an opportunity to complete a much-abbreviated interview consisting of a few critical items. The late respondents who completed the interviews as the result of the incentive and critical items-only questionnaire offers may provide some insight into the issue of nonresponse bias and the likelihood that such interviewees would have remained survey nonrespondents if these refusal conversion efforts had not been made.

In this paper, we define "reluctant respondents" as those who responded to the survey only after extra efforts were made beyond the ones initially planned in the standard data collection protocol. Specifically, reluctant respondents in the 2003 NSRCG are those who responded to the regular or shortened questionnaire following the incentive offer. Our conjecture was that the behavior of the reluctant respondents would be more like that of nonrespondents than of respondents to the surveys. This paper describes an investigation of reluctant respondents and the extent to which they are different from regular respondents. We compare different response groups on several key survey estimates. This comparison will expand our understanding of nonresponse bias in the NSRCG, and of the characteristics of nonrespondents themselves, thus providing a basis for changes in the NSRCG weighting system or estimation procedures in the future.

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Telephone Data Entry (TDE) is a system by which survey respondents can return their data to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using the keypad on their telephone and currently accounts for approximately 12% of total responses to ONS business surveys. ONS is currently increasing the number of surveys which use TDE as the primary mode of response and this paper gives an overview of the redevelopment project covering; the redevelopment of the paper questionnaire, enhancements made to the TDE system and the results from piloting these changes. Improvements to the quality of the data received and increased response via TDE as a result of these developments suggest that data quality improvements and cost savings are possible as a result of promoting TDE as the primary mode of response to short term surveys.

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Increasingly, children of all ages are becoming respondents in survey interviews. While juveniles are considered to be reliable respondents for many topics and survey settings it is unclear to what extend younger children provide reliable information in a face-to-face interview. In this paper we will report results from a study using video captures of 205 face-to-face interviews with children aged 8 through 14. The interviews have been coded using behavior codes on a question by question level which provides behavior-related indicators regarding the question-answer process. In addition, standard tests of cognitive resources have been conducted. Using visible and audible problems in the respondent behavior, we are able to assess the impact of the children's cognitive resources on respondent behaviors. Results suggest that girls and boys differ fundamentally in the cognitive mechanisms leading to problematic respondent behaviors.

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:

In a multi-divisional initiative within the U. S. Census Bureau, a highly sophisticated and innovative system was developed and implemented for the capturing, tracking, and scanning of respondent data that implements Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Optical Mark Recognition (OMR), and keying technology with heavy emphasis on error detection and control. The system, known as the integrated Computer Assisted Data Entry (iCADE) System, provides digital imaging of respondent questionnaires which are then processed by a combination of imaging algorithms, sent through Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) to collect check box data, and automatically collect and send only write-in areas to data-keying staff for the data capture process. These capabilities have produced great efficiencies in the data capture process and have led to a novel and efficient approach to post-collection activities.

Description:

Starting in 1994, the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) will follow individuals and families for at least six years, tracking their labour market experiences, changes in income and family circumstances. An initial proposal for the content of SLID, entitled Content of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics : Discussion Paper, was distributed in February 1992.

That paper served as a background document for consultation wit h interested users. The content underwent significant change during this process. Based upon the revised content, a large-scale test of SLID will be conducted in February and May 1993.

This document outlines the current demographic and labour content, leading into the test.

Description:

When a survey respondent is asked to recall various events, it is known that the quality of the responses diminishes as the length of recall increases. On the other hand, increasing the frequency of data collection increases both the costs of collection and the burden on the respondents. The paper examines options which attempt to strike a reasonable balance between these factors. As it relates to this decision, the paper also describes how the sample has been designed to ensure that it remains representative of the target population, both for a given year and over time.

The conclusion is that, at this time, SLID should collect labour data in January to cover the previous calendar year and to collect income data in May, again to cover the previous calendar year.

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This report describes the comments received as a result of the second round of the 2006 Census consultations. As with the previous 2006 Census consultation, this second round of consultations integrated discussions on the dissemination program, questionnaire content and census geography. However, the focus of this second round of consultations was placed on the 2001 Census of Population dissemination program and proposed directions for 2006 geography. Consultations were held from January to June 2004. Approximately 1,000 comments were captured through written submissions and the organization of over 40 meetings across Canada.

This report describes users' feedback on dissemination and geography issues received through this second round of consultations. In addition to user's comments, web metrics information serves as a valuable tool when evaluating the accessibility of public good data tables. Therefore, page view counts have been integrated in this report.

Some general planning assumptions that focus on the production and dissemination of 2006 Census products are also included in this report.

Description:

The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) is the first Canada-wide survey of children. Starting in 1994, it will gather information on a sample of children and their life experiences. It will follow these children over time. The survey will collect information on children and their families, education, health, development, behaviour, friends, activities, etc. This document describes the survey instruments of cycle 4.

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This guide provides general information on the ethnic origin concept in the census and how the question of ethnicity has changed over time. In addition, the guide discusses the historical comparability of the ethnic origin data.

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This guide will be of assistance in understanding the concepts, methodology and data quality of the surveys conducted as well as the data analysed by the Pensions and Wealth Surveys Section of the Income Statistics Division. It covers the following surveys/programs:- Pension Plans in Canada;- Trusteed Pension Funds (Census and Quarterly);- Survey of Financial Security; and- Pension adjustment/registered retirement savings plans data file provided by Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

Description:

This paper discusses in detail issues dealing with the technical aspects of designing and conducting surveys. It is intended for an audience of survey methodologists.

In surveys with low response rates, non-response bias can be a major concern. While it is not always possible to measure the actual bias due to non-response, there are different approaches that help identify potential sources of non-response bias. In the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), surveys with a response rate lower than 70% must conduct a non-response bias analysis. This paper discusses the different approaches to non-response bias analyses using examples from NCES.

Description:

The 2001 Census Handbook is a reference tool covering every aspect of the 2001 Census of Population and Census of Agriculture. It provides an overview of every phase of the census, from content determination to data dissemination. It traces the history of the census from the early days of New France to the present. It also contains information about the protection of confidential information in census questions and variables, along with information about data quality and the possible uses of census data. Also covered are census geography and the range of products and services available from the 2001 Census database.

This series includes six general reference products: Preview of Products and Services, Census Dictionary, Catalogue, Standard Products Stubsets, Census Handbook and Technical Reports.

Description:

Cycle 1.1 of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) will provide information for 136 health regions. A brief overview of the CCHS design, sampling strategy, interviewing procedures, data collection and processing is presented.

Description:

This paper describes the collection method and content of the 1999 Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) income interview.