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Description: This video provides a general overview of the income data collection process and specifies the target population as well as the reference period for income data. It also points out important aspects to consider when looking at income data in conjunction with other demographic, social, ethnocultural, education and labour characteristics.

Description: This reference guide may be useful to both new and experienced users who wish to familiarize themselves with and find specific information about the Census of Agriculture.

It provides an overview of the Census of Agriculture communications, content determination, collection, processing, data quality evaluation and dissemination activities. It also summarizes the key changes to the census and other useful information.

Description: Canada’s diversity and rich cultural heritage have been shaped by the people who have come from all over the world to call it home. But even in our multicultural society, eliminating all forms of discrimination remains a challenge. In this episode, we turn a critical eye to the ways that cognitive bias risks perpetuating systemic racism. Statistics are supposed to accurately reflect the world around us, but are all data created equal? Join our guests, Sarah Messou-Ghelazzi, Communications Officer, Filsan Hujaleh, Analyst with the Centre for Social Data Insights and Innovation, and Jeff Latimer, Director General - Accountable for Health, Justice, Diversity and Populations at Statistics Canada as we explore the role data can play to make Canada a more equal society for all.

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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 provides a high-level overview of Statistics Canada’s Disaggregated Data Action Plan, which will produce detailed statistical information on specific population groups. This plan is essential to highlight the lived experiences of diverse groups of people in Canada, such as women, Indigenous peoples, racialized populations and people living with disabilities.

Description: The Open Database of Recreational and Sport Facilities (ODRSF) is a listing of recreational and sport facilities across Canada from open sources. Facilities are classified into one of the following eighteen types: trails, sports fields, arenas, athletic parks, beaches, casinos, community centres, gyms, marinas, parks, playgrounds, pools, race tracks, rinks, skate parks, splash pads, stadiums, and miscellaneous. The listing contains the names, addresses, and geo coordinates of facilities, as well as the facility type as assigned in the data source. The ODRSF is based on data from authoritative sources that include among them provincial, territorial and municipal governments. The ODRSF is released as open data under the Open Government License - Canada and provided as a zipped comma-separated values (.csv) file.

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This paper presents an open-source system that was developed for automatic estimation of building height from street-view images using Deep Learning (DL), advanced image processing techniques, and geospatial data. The goal of the developed system is to ultimately be used to enrich the Open Database of Buildings (ODB), that was published by Statistics Canada, as a part of the Linkable Open Data Environment (LODE). Some of the obtained results for building-height estimation are presented. Some challenging cases and the scalability of the system are discussed as well.

Description:

Recent advances in artificial intelligence have rekindled ancient fears that robots will replace humans in the economy. Previous waves of automation changed but did not reduce labour’s role, but robots’ human-like flexibility could make this time different. Whether or not it will is an empirical question that has lacked suitable data to answer. This paper describes the creation of a dataset to fill the evidence gap in Canada. Robots! is firm-level panel data on robot adoption created using Canadian import data. The data identify a substantial amount of the robot investment in the Canadian economy from 1996 to 2017. Although many robots are imported by robotics wholesalers or programmers for resale, the majority of them can be attributed to their final (direct) adopting firm. The data can be used to study the impact of robot adoption at the economic region, industry or firm-level.

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Data gathering involves first determining what data you need, then where to find it, how to get it and how to keep it safe. This module introduces you to things you should consider when gathering data.

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This white paper presents Statistics Canada’s planned approach to the 2021 Census of Population and provides a clear explanation of the processes behind the census program, touching on historical, legal, operational and content aspects. Statistics Canada recognizes that it is important to not only successfully conduct the census, but also to be transparent and informative about the way in which those efforts are accomplished. Painting a Portrait of Canada: The 2021 Census of Population gives readers an exclusive, detailed look at how census data is collected, analyzed and given back to Canadians, in the form of high-quality statistical information, used to make evidence-based decisions in Canadian society.

Description: The Open Database of Buildings (ODB) is a collection of open data on buildings, primarily building footprints, originating from municipal, regional, and provincial governments. It is a centralized and harmonized repository of building data made available under the Open Government License - Canada. This exploratory initiative aims to contribute to the creation of a complete, comprehensive and open database of buildings in Canada. The current version (version 2.0) of the ODB contains approximately 4.4 million building footprints collected from seven provinces and one territory. These files are made available for download as zipped shapefiles.

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 Open Database of Recreational and Sport Facilities (ODRSF) is a listing of recreational and sport facilities across Canada from open sources. Facilities are classified into one of the following eighteen types: trails, sports fields, arenas, athletic parks, beaches, casinos, community centres, gyms, marinas, parks, playgrounds, pools, race tracks, rinks, skate parks, splash pads, stadiums, and miscellaneous. The listing contains the names, addresses, and geo coordinates of facilities, as well as the facility type as assigned in the data source. The ODRSF is based on data from authoritative sources that include among them provincial, territorial and municipal governments. The ODRSF is released as open data under the Open Government License - Canada and provided as a zipped comma-separated values (.csv) file.

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:

The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) was a collaborative effort by twenty governments and three intergovernmental organizations. The countries of Australia, Belgium/Flanders, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland (French, German and Italian), United Kingdom, United States, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Norway, and Slovenia participated in the IALS.

The Canadian IALS survey had a number of objectives. These were: a) to provide an updated profile of adult literacy abilities for Canada for comparison to that provided by the 1989 Survey of Literacy Skills Used in Daily Activities (LSUDA); b) to provide sufficiently large numbers of Franco-Ontarians, seniors, social assistance recipients, unemployment insurance recipients and out-of-school youth to profile their skill levels; c) to shed light on the relationship between performance, educational attainment, labour market participation and employment for those at certain literacy levels; and d) to compare Canadian literacy levels with those in other countries.

Description: This product provides an overview of the Canadian greenhouse industry. Included are annual estimates of the total area under glass and plastic, months of operation and the total sales. Estimates of employment, labour costs, investments, purchases of plant materials and heating fuel costs are also available. Information on the value of sales of greenhouse vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants are published, as well as the production of flowers by variety. Also included are estimates on the area, cost of purchases, employment and value of nursery stock and sod. Finally, there is information on the proportion of sales through various channels.

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The Public Service Employee Survey was designed to solicit the views of Public Service employees on their work environment and overall job satisfaction. Employees expressed their opinions on their work units, their communications with their supervisors, skills and career aspirations, client services and labour management relations. General information such as age, gender, years of service and province of work were collected and questions were asked on specific themes such as staffing fairness, official languages, health and safety, harassment and discrimination and retention issues. The results were aggregated at the department and Public Service-wide levels. The survey ensures a measurement capacity between the 1999, 2002 and 2005 questionnaires.

In 2008, the 2005 questionnaire was used as the basis for the survey. New questions were added to construct an employee engagement model that will be used to evaluate each organization. As well, the scale of the response category was increased from 4 to 5 to include a neutral category.

Description:

Special Surveys Division was originally contacted by the Health Council of Canada (HCC) during the summer of 2006 to conduct the first iteration of this survey which resulted in the Canadian Survey of Experiences with Primary Health Care (CSE-PHC), 2006-2007 survey. The HCC was created when the First Ministers' Accord on Health Care Renewal was signed in 2003. Their mandate is to report publicly on the progress of health care renewal in Canada. One of the Council's goals is to provide a system-wide perspective on health care reform to the Canadian public with a particular focus on issues related to accountability and transparency.

Once the results of the 2006-2007 survey were released, work began on the 2007-2008 questionnaire. The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) joined members of the HCC and the project team at Statistics Canada to begin shaping the 2007-2008 survey. The CIHI, which became a co-sponsor with the HCC, is an independent, national, not-for-profit organization working to improve the health of Canadians and the health care system by providing quality, reliable and timely health information. The research information they produce focuses on health care services, health spending and human resources working in the health sector, as well as issues surrounding the health of the population.

The 2007-2008 survey differed from the 2006-2007 version in several ways. Along with some content changes, mostly around barriers to access and use of health care, the survey sample was expanded and a sampling strategy was developed to permit national as well as provincial level estimates of survey results. A new questionnaire was developed and tested with focus groups during the month of January 2008, in four cities across the country. The collection mode was also changed from a paper/pencil survey collected over the telephone in 2006-2007 to a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) application in 2007-2008. Collection began in three Statistics Canada regional offices in April and continued until the end of June 2008.

Description:

This compendium provides data from the new Workplace and Employee Survey (WES) conducted by Statistics Canada with the support of Human Resources Development Canada. The survey consists of two components: (1) a workplace survey on the adoption of technologies, organizational change, training and other human resource practices, business strategies, and labour turnover in workplaces; and (2) a survey of employees within these same workplaces covering wages, hours of work, job type, human capital, use of technologies and training. The result is a rich new source of linked information on workplaces and their employees.

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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.

Description:

The context of the discussion is the increasing incidence of international surveys, of which one is the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project, which began in 2002. The ITC country surveys are longitudinal, and their aim is to evaluate the effects of policy measures being introduced in various countries under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The challenges of organization, data collection and analysis in international surveys are reviewed and illustrated. Analysis is an increasingly important part of the motivation for large scale cross-cultural surveys. The fundamental challenge for analysis is to discern the real response (or lack of response) to policy change, separating it from the effects of data collection mode, differential non-response, external events, time-in-sample, culture, and language. Two problems relevant to statistical analysis are discussed. The first problem is the question of when and how to analyze pooled data from several countries, in order to strengthen conclusions which might be generally valid. While in some cases this seems to be straightforward, there are differing opinions on the extent to which pooling is possible and reasonable. It is suggested that for formal comparisons, random effects models are of conceptual use. The second problem is to find models of measurement across cultures and data collection modes which will enable calibration of continuous, binary and ordinal responses, and produce comparisons from which extraneous effects have been removed. It is noted that hierarchical models provide a natural way of relaxing requirements of model invariance across groups.

Description:

A year ago, Communications and Operations field initiated what is considered as Statistics Canada's first business architecture activity. This concerted effort was focused on collection related activities and processes, and was conducted over a short period during which over sixty STC senior and middle managers were consulted.

We will introduce the discipline of business architecture, an approach based on "business blueprints" to interface between enterprise needs and its enabling solutions. We will describe the specific approach used to conduct Statistics Canada Collection Business Architecture, summarize the key lessons learned from this initiative, and provide an update on where we are and where we are heading.

We will conclude by illustrating how this approach can serve as the genesis and foundation for an overall Statistics Canada business architecture.

Description:

Data Collection Methodology (DCM) enable the collection of good quality data by providing expert advice and assistance on questionnaire design, methods of evaluation and respondent engagement. DCM assist in the development of client skills, undertake research and lead innovation in data collection methods. This is done in a challenging environment of organisational change and limited resources. This paper will cover 'how DCM do business' with clients and the wider methodological community to achieve our goals.

Description:

Prior to 2004, the design and development of collection functions at Statistics New Zealand (Statistics NZ) was done by a centralised team of data collection methodologists. In 2004, an organisational review considered whether the design and development of these functions was being done in the most effective way. A key issue was the rising costs of surveying as the organisation moved from paper-based data collection to electronic data collection. The review saw some collection functions decentralised. However, a smaller centralised team of data collection methodologists was retained to work with subject matter areas across Statistics NZ.

This paper will discuss the strategy used by the smaller centralised team of data collection methodologists to support subject matter areas. There are three key themes to the strategy. First, is the development of best practice standards and a central standards repository. Second, is training and introducing knowledge sharing forums. Third, is providing advice and independent review to subject matter areas which design and develop collection instruments.

Description:

In the mid 1990s the first question testing unit was set-up in the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS). The key objective of the unit was to develop and test the questions and questionnaire for the 2001 Census. Since the establishment of this unit the area has been expanded into a Data Collection Methodology (DCM) Centre of Expertise which now sits in the Methodology Directorate. The DCM centre has three branches which support DCM work for social surveys, business surveys, the Census and external organisations.

In the past ten years DCM has achieved a variety of things. For example, introduced survey methodology involvement in the development and testing of business survey question(naire)s; introduced a mix-method approach to the development of questions and questionnaires; developed and implemented standards e.g. for the 2011 census questionnaire & showcards; and developed and delivered DCM training events.

This paper will provide an overview of data collection methodology at the ONS from the perspective of achievements and challenges. It will cover areas such as methods, staff (e.g. recruitment, development and field security), and integration with the survey process.

Description:

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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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 next census will be conducted in May 2011. Being a major survey, it presents a formidable challenge for Statistics Canada and requires a great deal of time and resources. Careful planning has been done to ensure that all deadlines are met. A number of steps have been planned in the questionnaire testing process. These tests apply to both census content and the proposed communications strategy. This paper presents an overview of the strategy, with a focus on combining qualitative studies with the 2008 quantitative study so that the results can be analyzed and the proposals properly evaluated.

Description: The Survey on the Official Language Minority Population (SOLMP) user guide contains a description of the survey, along with survey concepts and definitions and an overview of the content development. The target and survey populations, the sample design and sample size are described in the Methodology section, while the Data Collection module provides the collection period and instrument, modes of collection, collection and communications strategies and response rates.

Updates to the guide include descriptions of the survey data processing, survey error and weighting, and guidelines for tabulations and analysis. Appendices will provide a listing of questions and variables which changed between the current and previous occasions of the survey, as well as various primers on the survey methodology.

Description: This product is the dictionary for the Longitudinal Administrative Databank (LAD). The dictionary contains a complete description for each of the income and demographic variables in the LAD, including name, acronym, definition, source, historical availability and historical continuity.

The following is a partial list of LAD variables: age, sex, marital status, family type, number and age of children, total income, wages and salaries, self-employment, Employment Insurance, Old Age Security, Canada and Quebec Pension Plans, social assistance, investment income, rental income, alimony, registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) income and contributions, low-income status, full-time education deduction, provincial refundable tax credits, goods and service tax (GST) credits, Canada Child Tax Benefits, selected immigration variables, Tax Free Savings (TFSA) information and Canadian Controlled Private Corporations (CCPC) information.

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: The Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours contains a dictionary of concepts and definitions and covers topics such as survey methodology, data collection and processing, and data quality. It also provides information on products and services, as well as the survey questionnaire.

Description: The Survey on the Official Language Minority Population (SOLMP) user guide contains a description of the survey, along with survey concepts and definitions and an overview of the content development. The target and survey populations, the sample design and sample size are described in the Methodology section. Finally, in the Data Collection module, the collection period and instrument, modes of collection, collection and communications strategies and response rates are provided.

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.

Description:

This report deals with Indigenous identity, Indigenous ancestry, Indigenous group, Registered or Treaty Indian status, Membership in a First Nation or Indian band, Membership in a Métis organization or Settlement, and Enrollment under an Inuit land claims agreement, and contains explanations of concepts, data quality, historical comparability and comparability with other sources, as well as information on data collection, processing and dissemination.

Description: Census of Agriculture data provide statistical information on farms and farm operators at fine geographic levels and for small subpopulations. Quality evaluation activities are essential to ensure that census data are reliable and that they meet user needs.

This report provides data quality information pertaining to the Census of Agriculture, such as sources of error, error detection, disclosure control methods, data quality indicators, response rates and collection rates.

Description: The Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) is a national survey of Canadians aged 15 and over whose everyday activities are limited because of a long-term condition or health-related problem. The 2022 CSD Concepts and Methods Guide is designed to assist CSD data users by providing relevant information on survey content and concepts, sampling design, collection methods, data processing, data quality and product availability.