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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.

Description:

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.

Description:

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).

Description:

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.

Description:

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.

Description:

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.

Description:

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.

Description:

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.

Description:

Series Description - The Nation Series (1996 Census of Population) is the first released series where basic data at a high level of geography are presented on variables collected by the 1996 Census.There are a total of 143 tables in the Nation Series which cover all census variables.The Complete Edition CDROM, Catalogue number 93F0020XCB96004 contains the cumulative set of all data tables from all Nation Series CDROMs.This comprehensive CDROM provides a full range of statistics on characteristics of the population which includes:Demographic information (100% data only for Age and Sex, Marital Status and Common-law Unions); Families (Number, Type and Structure); Structural Type of Dwelling and Household Size; Immigration and Citizenship; Languages; Aboriginal Origin, Ethnic Origin and Visible Minorities (Population Groups); Labour Market Activities and Household Activities (unpaid work); Place of Work and Mode of Transportation; Education; Mobility and Migration; Family, Dwellings and Household Information; as well as Individual and Family Income. Selected variables, such as occupation, are available to illustrate the analytical potential of the data based on cross-tabulations (i.e. sex by age and occupation).These data are national in coverage and provide information for Canada, provinces and territories and, in some tabulations, census metropolitan area levels. Some tables include comparisons with data from earlier censuses to provide an historical perspective.A variety of Nation Series data table extracts presenting social and economic characteristics of the Canadian population are available at the Statistics Canada Census Web site (www.statcan.gc.ca).

Description:

The National Population Health Survey (NPHS) uses the Labour Force Survey sampling frame to draw a sample of approximately 22,000 households. The sample is distributed over four quarterly collection periods. In each household, some limited information is collected from all household members and one person, aged 12 years and over, in each household is randomly selected for a more in-depth interview.

The questionnaire includes content related to health status, use of health services, determinants of health and a range of demographic and economic information. For example, the health status information includes self-perception of health, a health status 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 medications. Health determinants include smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and in the first survey, emphasis has been placed on the collection of selected psycho-social factors that may influence health, such as stress, self-esteem and social support. The demographic and economic information includes age, sex, education, ethnicity, household income and labour force status.

Description:

This public use microdata file provides unaggregated data on the Aboriginal adult population - those who identify with their Aboriginal origin(s) and those who do not. For persons who identify, it contains almost 700 variables from the 1991 survey, such as, the group with which they identify, language proficiency, disability, chronic health conditions, schooling, work experience and the 1991 Census variables such as, income levels, marital status, fertility. The same census variables are provided for the population who does not identify.

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.

Description:

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.

Description:

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).

Description:

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.

Description:

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.

Description:

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.

Description:

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.

Description:

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.

Description:

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

Description:

This on-line product describes the personalization of the long-form questionnaires of Canada's Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM). Personalization was motivated by the desire to reduce respondent burden. Prior to personalization, long-form questionnaires were the same for all the establishments of a given 4-digit SIC industry. Each questionnaire contained a list comprising almost all the commodities likely to be used as inputs or produced as outputs by that industry. For the typical establishment, only a small subset of the commodities listed was applicable. Personalization involved tailoring those lists to each individual establishment, based on the previous reporting of that same establishment.

After first defining terms and then providing some quantification of the need for personalization, the paper details a number of the prerequisites - an algorithm for commodity selection, a set of stand-alone commodity descriptions, and an automated questionnaire production system. The paper next details a number of the impacts of personalization - and does so in terms of response burden, loss of information, and automation. The paper concludes with a summary and some recommendations.

Description:

This report documents the edit and imputation approach taken in processing Wave 1 income data from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID).

Description:

This paper describes the collection method and content of the 1997 Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) income interview.

Description:

The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) is a long-term research program (started in 1994) that will track a large sample of children over many years, enabling researchers to monitor children's well-being and development.

Not all the information collected for the first cycle of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth are included in this first microdata file. The second release will be in 1997.

Description:

This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of an approach to collecting income data being tested for the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) whereby respondents would be encouraged to refer to their T1 income tax forms.

Description:

This paper presents responses from a sample of interviewers from each Regional Office who were selected to complete a debriefing questionnaire for the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) preliminary interview.

Description:

This report presents a summary evaluation of the quality of the data collected during the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) field test of labour market activity data, held in January and February 1993.

Description:

This report examines the results of the January 1993 test of questions on the impact of unpaid care-giving and receipt of unpaid care on labour market participation, and discusses whether these questions adequately met the objectives.

Description:

This paper presents the results from test 3A of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID), conducted in January 1993, with a view to identify any necessary changes to the questions or to the algorithm used to derive labour force status.