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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:

The Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey contains a dictionary of concepts and definitions, and covers topics such as survey methodology, data collection, processing, and data quality. The guide covers both components of the survey: the job vacancy component, which is quarterly, and the wage component, which is annual.

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 Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey contains a dictionary of concepts and definitions, and covers topics such as survey methodology, data collection, processing, and data quality. The guide covers both components of the survey: the job vacancy component, which is quarterly, and the wage component, which is annual.

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:

The Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey contains a dictionary of concepts and definitions, and covers topics such as survey methodology, data collection, processing, and data quality. The guide covers both components of the survey: the job vacancy component, which is quarterly, and the wage component, which is annual.

Description:

This publication is a catalogue of strategies and mechanisms that a statistical organization should consider adopting, according to its particular context. This compendium is based on lessons learned and best practices of leadership and management of statistical agencies within the scope of Statistics Canada’s International Statistical Fellowship Program (ISFP). It contains four broad sections including, characteristics of an effective national statistical system; core management practices; improving, modernizing and finding efficiencies; and, strategies to better inform and engage key stakeholders.

Description:

Careful design of a dual-frame random digit dial (RDD) telephone survey requires selecting from among many options that have varying impacts on cost, precision, and coverage in order to obtain the best possible implementation of the study goals. One such consideration is whether to screen cell-phone households in order to interview cell-phone only (CPO) households and exclude dual-user household, or to take all interviews obtained via the cell-phone sample. We present a framework in which to consider the tradeoffs between these two options and a method to select the optimal design. We derive and discuss the optimum allocation of sample size between the two sampling frames and explore the choice of optimum p, the mixing parameter for the dual-user domain. We illustrate our methods using the National Immunization Survey, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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:

This paper introduces a general framework for deriving the optimal inclusion probabilities for a variety of survey contexts in which disseminating survey estimates of pre-established accuracy for a multiplicity of both variables and domains of interest is required. The framework can define either standard stratified or incomplete stratified sampling designs. The optimal inclusion probabilities are obtained by minimizing costs through an algorithm that guarantees the bounding of sampling errors at the domains level, assuming that the domain membership variables are available in the sampling frame. The target variables are unknown, but can be predicted with suitable super-population models. The algorithm takes properly into account this model uncertainty. Some experiments based on real data show the empirical properties of the algorithm.

Description: The public use microdata file from the 2010 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating is now available. This file contains information collected from nearly 15,000 respondents aged 15 and over residing in private households in the provinces.The public use microdata file provides provincial-level information about the ways in which Canadians donate money and in-kind gifts to charitable and nonprofit organizations; volunteer their time to these organizations; provide help directly to others. Socio-demographic, income and labour force data are also included on the file.

Description:

The Public-Use Microdata File (PUMF) for the Survey of Household Spending (SHS) provides information on household expenditures as well as selected information on dwelling characteristics and household equipment. The production of this file includes many safeguards to prevent the identification of any one person or household.

PUMFs were produced on an annual basis for SHS 1997 to 2009, before a redesigned survey was introduced with the 2010 reference year. The SHS 2017 PUMF is the first SHS PUMF based on data collected after the 2010 survey redesign.

Due to changes to data collection, processing and estimation methods introduced with the 2010 redesign, users are advised not to compare data from SHS 1997 to 2009 with data from any subsequent years, unless otherwise noted.

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:

Statistics Canada was approached by Stentor Resource Centre Incorporated to conduct a survey to monitor the telephone penetration rates across Canada. The survey determines if the respondents have a telephone line in their residence. If they do not have a telephone line, information is collected as to the reasons why. Information is also collected on the income characteristics of the selected households.

The management of the survey was transferred from Stentor to Bell Canada in the Fall of 1998.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) supplementary capacity is used to conduct this biannual survey. A sample of approximately 44,000 respondents is used for this survey (five out of six rotation groups). The survey data are collected using Computer Assisted Interviewing (CAI). The first data collection procedure took place during November's LFS week in 1996.

This microdata file is prepared biannually and contains the variables from the survey, plus geographical variables from the LFS (province, census metropolitan area, urban/rural breakdown). No other variables from the LFS are added to the file.

Description:

This product provides an overview of trends in the surveying and mapping services industry. It provides users with information required for making corporate decisions, monitoring programs and reviewing policies. The tables focus on financial and operating data.

Description:

This topic presents data on education, labour, place of work, commuting to work and language of work in Canada. The topic presents data on the paid work of the Canadian workforce, including detailed industry and occupation data, class of worker, and work activity during the reference year. Data on workers' place of work and journey to work are also included.

This topic also presents data on four main education concepts: completed education credentials, major field of study, location of study and attendance at school.

Together, these data provide information on education and the work activities of Canadians.

Analytical products

The analytical document provides analysis on the key findings in the data, and is complimented with the short articles found in NHS in Brief and the data in NHS Focus on Geography Series.

Data products

The NHS Profile is one data product that provides a statistical overview of user selected geographic areas based on several detailed variables and/or groups of variables. Other data products include data tables which represent a series of cross tabulations ranging in complexity and are available for various levels of geography.

Description: Governments and other stakeholders are increasingly interested in assessing the skills of their adult populations in order to monitor how well prepared they are for the challenges of the modern knowledge-based society. Adults are expected to use information in complex ways and to maintain and enhance their literacy skills to adapt to ever changing technologies. Literacy is important not only for personal development, but also for positive educational, social, and economic outcomes. Adult literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills encompass a continuum of learning that enables individuals to achieve their goals, develop their knowledge and potential, and participate fully in their communities and society as a whole.

Canada has been participating in adult skills assessment surveys for several decades. The surveys are repeated every ten years, with the first in the series taking place in 1994. First there was the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), then the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) in 2003 and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) cycles 1 and 2 in 2012 and 2022 respectively. Each of these surveys builds on the concepts of the previous surveys. Over the years, the framework has broadened the definition of literacy to adapt it to the information age, notably by including reading skills in digital environments.

Description: This report details the methodology and results of the Farm Environmental Management Survey (FEMS).

The FEMS is conducted to gather information about farming practices on Canadian crop and livestock operations. The survey focuses on information related to manure storage and spreading, pesticide application, crop and nutrient management, grazing and the implementation of environmental farm plans.

Description:

This table presents a cross-tabulation of data using selected characteristics from the National Household Survey.

Description:

This table presents a cross-tabulation of data using selected characteristics from the National Household Survey.

Description:

In this Issue is a column where the Editor biefly presents each paper of the current issue of Survey Methodology. As well, it sometimes contain informations on structure or management changes in the journal.

Description:

The past 25 years has seen a more or less continuous deterioration in the economic outcomes for immigrants entering Canada. However, economic outcomes for second-generation Canadians (children of immigrants) are more positive, and in spite of the economic difficulties, after four years in Canada most immigrants entering in 2000 remained positive regarding their immigration decision, citing the freedom, safety, rights, security and prospects for the future as the aspects they appreciate most in Canada. This paper reviews what we know about the economic deterioration, and the possible reasons behind it, in particular based on the research conducted at Statistics Canada. It also outlines the data development undertaken by Statistics Canada and its policy department partners to support increased research of this topic. From 2002 to 2008, Statistics Canada released 64 research articles on the above topics, and others related to immigration. The research suggests that through the 1980s and 1990s three factors were associated with the deterioration in economic outcomes: (1) the changing mix of source regions and related issues such as language and school quality, (2) declining returns to foreign experience, and (3) the deterioration in economic outcomes for all new labour market entrants, of which immigrants are a special case. After 2000, the reasons appear to be different, and are associated more with the dramatic increase in the number of engineers and information technology (IT) workers entering Canada, and the IT economic downturn. Data also suggest that, by and large, Canadians continue to see immigration as an important part of the development of Canada and that they continue to support it. The paper reviews Statistics Canada research that indicates that economic outcomes for most second-generation Canadians remain very positive. Finally, there is a discussion of the interaction between immigration and social cohesion in Canada, and possible reasons as to why we have not seen the discontent with immigration policy in Canada that has been observed in some European countries.

Description:

This report summarizes the main issues raised in these meetings. Four questions used to identify Aboriginal people from the Census and surveys were considered in the discussions.Statistics Canada regularly reviews the questions used on the Census and other surveys to ensure that the resulting data are representative of the population. As a first step in the process to review the questions used to produce data about First Nations, Inuit and Métis populations, regional discussions were held with more than 350 users of Aboriginal data in over 40 locations across Canada during the winter, spring and early summer of 2007.

This report summarizes the main issues raised in these meetings. Four questions used to identify Aboriginal people from the Census and surveys were considered in the discussions.

Description:

In this paper we describe a methodology for combining a convenience sample with a probability sample in order to produce an estimator with a smaller mean squared error (MSE) than estimators based on only the probability sample. We then explore the properties of the resulting composite estimator, a linear combination of the convenience and probability sample estimators with weights that are a function of bias. We discuss the estimator's properties in the context of web-based convenience sampling. Our analysis demonstrates that the use of a convenience sample to supplement a probability sample for improvements in the MSE of estimation may be practical only under limited circumstances. First, the remaining bias of the estimator based on the convenience sample must be quite small, equivalent to no more than 0.1 of the outcome's population standard deviation. For a dichotomous outcome, this implies a bias of no more than five percentage points at 50 percent prevalence and no more than three percentage points at 10 percent prevalence. Second, the probability sample should contain at least 1,000-10,000 observations for adequate estimation of the bias of the convenience sample estimator. Third, it must be inexpensive and feasible to collect at least thousands (and probably tens of thousands) of web-based convenience observations. The conclusions about the limited usefulness of convenience samples with estimator bias of more than 0.1 standard deviations also apply to direct use of estimators based on that sample.

Description:

This paper summarizes the results of several research studies conducted by the Micro-economic Analysis Division of Statistics Canada that investigate the impact of advanced technology use on business performance. These studies combine establishment-level survey data on advanced technology practices with longitudinal data that measure changes in relative performance. Together, these studies provide strong evidence that technology strategies have considerable bearing on competitive outcomes after other correlates of plant performance are taken into account. Advanced communications technologies warrant special emphasis, as the use of these technologies has been shown to be closely associated with changes in relative productivity.

Description:

In sample surveys where units have unequal probabilities of inclusion in the sample, associations between the probability of inclusion and the statistic of interest can induce bias. Weights equal to the inverse of the probability of inclusion are often used to counteract this bias. Highly disproportional sample designs have large weights, which can introduce undesirable variability in statistics such as the population mean estimator or population regression estimator. Weight trimming reduces large weights to a fixed cutpoint value and adjusts weights below this value to maintain the untrimmed weight sum, reducing variability at the cost of introducing some bias. Most standard approaches are ad-hoc in that they do not use the data to optimize bias-variance tradeoffs. Approaches described in the literature that are data-driven are a little more efficient than fully-weighted estimators. This paper develops Bayesian methods for weight trimming of linear and generalized linear regression estimators in unequal probability-of-inclusion designs. An application to estimate injury risk of children rear-seated in compact extended-cab pickup trucks using the Partners for Child Passenger Safety surveillance survey is considered.

Description:

Auxiliary information is often used to improve the precision of survey estimators of finite population means and totals through ratio or linear regression estimation techniques. Resulting estimators have good theoretical and practical properties, including invariance, calibration and design consistency. However, it is not always clear that ratio or linear models are good approximations to the true relationship between the auxiliary variables and the variable of interest in the survey, resulting in efficiency loss when the model is not appropriate. In this article, we explain how regression estimation can be extended to incorporate semiparametric regression models, in both simple and more complicated designs. While maintaining the good theoretical and practical properties of the linear models, semiparametric models are better able to capture complicated relationships between variables. This often results in substantial gains in efficiency. The applicability of the approach for complex designs using multiple types of auxiliary variables will be illustrated by estimating several acidification-related characteristics for a survey of lakes in the Northeastern US.

Description:

For a number of years, Statistics Canada has been taking incremental steps to improve its survey programs through the use of tax data substitution, content fine tuning and earlier data releases. The approach is to focus survey collection and analysis on the large, complex enterprises where tax data is insufficient to meet the needs of the Canadian statistical system.

Description:

The Survey of Principals collects information on various topics related to the work of school principals. This article presents a brief description of this survey 's challenges and provides examples to illustrate the problems observed. The steps taken to resolve the challenges are described, and their impact on data quality is analyzed.

Description:

A large part of sample survey theory has been directly motivated by practical problems encountered in the design and analysis of sample surveys. On the other hand, sample survey theory has influenced practice, often leading to significant improvements. This paper will examine this interplay over the past 60 years or so.

Description: The Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey contains a dictionary of concepts and definitions, and covers topics such as survey methodology, data collection, processing, and data quality.

Description:

This paper introduces and explains modifications made to the Labour Force Survey estimates.

Description:

The Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey contains a dictionary of concepts and definitions, and includes topics such as survey methodology, data collection, processing, and data quality.

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:

The Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey contains a dictionary of concepts and definitions, and covers topics such as survey methodology, data collection, processing, and data quality. The guide covers both components of the survey: the job vacancy component, which is quarterly, and the wage component, which is annual.

Description:

The Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey contains a dictionary of concepts and definitions, and covers topics such as survey methodology, data collection, processing, and data quality. The guide covers both components of the survey: the job vacancy component, which is quarterly, and the wage component, which is annual.

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:

The Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey contains a dictionary of concepts and definitions, and covers topics such as survey methodology, data collection, processing, and data quality. The guide covers both components of the survey: the job vacancy component, which is quarterly, and the wage component, which is annual.

Description:

This overview document describes the conceptual underpinnings of the Integrated Business Statistics Program and explains how program components facilitate a more integrated approach to economic surveying at Statistics Canada.