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Description: This course is intended for Government of Canada employees who would like to learn about evaluating the quality of data for a particular use. Whether you are a new employee interested in learning the basics, or an experienced subject matter expert looking to refresh your skills, this course is here to help.

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

Description: This document introduces and describes updates to the Labour Force Survey estimates in January 2023. These updates include the transition to National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 as well as enhancements to the LFS data processing system.

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This publication presents quarterly estimates of population for Canada, provinces and territories as well as statistics on the following components of population change: births, deaths, immigration, emigration, returning emigration, net temporary emigration, net non-permanent residents and interprovincial migration, the latter by origin and destination. The Quarterly Demographic Estimates publication contains the most recent estimates as well as a quarterly historical series. It also contains highlights and analysis of the most current demographic trends, as well as a brief description of the concepts, methods and data quality of the estimates.

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This fact sheet provides a concise description of the context to the understanding of confidence intervals. Confidence intervals are a useful data quality indicator. Confidence intervals will usually be available in data tables accessible through the Statistics Canada website.

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These guidelines provide information to help people effectively use and interpret the data quality indicators for the 2021 Census.

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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 guide describes the content and applications of the product, as well as providing information on data quality, record layouts, and methodology.

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This guide describes the content and applications of the product, as well as providing information on data quality, methodology and installation instructions.

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In the context of its "admin-first" paradigm, Statistics Canada is prioritizing the use of non-survey sources to produce official statistics. This paradigm critically relies on non-survey sources that may have a nearly perfect coverage of some target populations, including administrative files or big data sources. Yet, this coverage must be measured, e.g., by applying the capture-recapture method, where they are compared to other sources with good coverage of the same populations, including a census. However, this is a challenging exercise in the presence of linkage errors, which arise inevitably when the linkage is based on quasi-identifiers, as is typically the case. To address the issue, a new methodology is described where the capture-recapture method is enhanced with a new error model that is based on the number of links adjacent to a given record. It is applied in an experiment with public census data.

Key Words: dual system estimation, data matching, record linkage, quality, data integration, big data.

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: Microdata files are unique among census products in that they give users access to unaggregated data. This makes the public use microdata files (PUMFs) powerful research tools. Each file contains anonymous individual responses on a large number of variables. The PUMF user can group and manipulate these variables to suit his/her own data and research requirements. Tabulations not included in other census products can be created or relationships between variables can be analysed by using different statistical tests. PUMFs provide quick access to a comprehensive social and economic database about Canada and its people. All subject-matter covered by the census is included in the microdata files. However, to ensure the anonymity of the respondents, geographic identifiers have been restricted to the provinces/territories and large metropolitan areas. Microdata files have traditionally been disseminated on magnetic tape, which required access to a mainframe computer. For the first time, the 1991 PUMFs will also be available on CD-ROM for microcomputer applications. This file contains data based on a 3% of the population enumerated in the 1991 Census. It provides information on the demographic, social and economic characteristics of the Canadian population. The Individual File allows users to return to the base unit of the census, enabling them to group and manipulate the data to suit their own data and research requirements.

This product provides two basic tools to assist users in accessing and using the 1991 Census Public Use Microdata File - Individuals CD-ROM.

Description: Microdata files are unique among census products in that they give users access to unaggregated data. This makes the public use microdata files (PUMFs) powerful research tools. Each file contains anonymous individual responses on a large number of variables. The PUMF user can group and manipulate these variables to suit his/her own data and research requirements. Tabulations not included in other census products can be created or relationships between variables can be analysed by using different statistical tests. PUMFs provide quick access to a comprehensive social and economic database about Canada and its people. All subject-matter covered by the census is included in the microdata files. However, to ensure the anonymity of the respondents, geographic identifiers have been restricted to the provinces/territories and large metropolitan areas. Microdata files have traditionally been disseminated on magnetic tape, which required access to a mainframe computer. For the first time, the 1991 PUMFs will also be available on CD-ROM for microcomputer applications. This file contains data based on a 3% of the population enumerated in the 1991 Census. It provides information on the demographic, social and economic characteristics of the Canadian population. The Households and Housing File allows users to return to the base unit of the census, enabling them to group and manipulate the data to suit their own data and research requirements.

This product provides two basic tools to assist users in accessing and using the 1991 Census Public Use Microdata File - Households and Housing CD-ROM.

Description:

This publication presents quarterly estimates of population for Canada, provinces and territories as well as statistics on the following components of population change: births, deaths, immigration, emigration, returning emigration, net temporary emigration, net non-permanent residents and interprovincial migration, the latter by origin and destination. The Quarterly Demographic Estimates publication contains the most recent estimates as well as a quarterly historical series. It also contains highlights and analysis of the most current demographic trends, as well as a brief description of the concepts, methods and data quality of the estimates.

Description:

This public use microdata file is from the fourth survey in the Canadian Perspectives Survey Series and includes information about the source and quality of COVID-19 information that Canadians are accessing. Also covered are the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on the physical and mental health of individuals, and on their social and employment circumstances. This product is provided using Statistics Canada's electronic file transfer service.

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.

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This report presents estimates of national and provincial economic activity of the environment industry in Canada, including the revenues earned from the production of environmental goods, the provision of environmental services and the undertaking of environment-related construction activities.

The environment industry is composed of establishments operating in a variety of industries that produce environmental goods and services. Environmental goods and services are goods and services that are used, or can potentially be used to measure, prevent, limit or correct environmental damage (both natural or by human activity) to water, air, soil as well as problems related to waste, noise and ecosystems. They also include clean or resource-efficient (eco-efficient) technologies that decrease material inputs, reduce energy consumption, recover valuable by-products, reduce emissions and/or minimise waste disposal problems.

Description:

This publication contains population estimates by age and sex for Canada, provinces, territories, census divisions, census metropolitan areas and economic regions. It also includes, for provinces and territories, estimates by age, sex and marital status as well as estimates for census families.

The estimates are based on the 2001 Census results, which have been adjusted for net census undercoverage. The publication also includes statistics for the demographic components that were used to produce the population estimates (births, deaths, marriages, divorces, immigration, emigration, net temporary emigration, returning emigration, internal migration and non-permanent residents) by age and sex. In addition, the publication contains highlights of current demographic trends and a description of the methodology.

The print version of the publication includes a CD-ROM that provides additional data such as a chronological series of estimates by various levels of geography. With regard to provinces and territories, the estimates date back to 1971 (tables and animated age pyramid), 1986 for census divisions, census metropolitan areas and economic regions as well as census families.

The time series available on the CD-ROM can be easily captured and manipulated by analysts who want to create customized demographic analyses in any spreadsheet program. The population figures can be used, for example, to calculate per-capita rates required for market research, quantitative analysis and planning.

Description:

The 2006 Census hit the streets during the hottest labour market in a generation, with many regional unemployment rates at long-term lows and wage increases outstripping price hikes. While technological advances reduced manpower needs, tens of thousands of temporary workers were still required which proved to be a problem in many areas. Census managers extended the collection period and moved an unprecedented number of enumerators across regions to attain acceptable data quality while remaining within budget.

Description:

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) has been conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics for over forty years. The survey collects information on the health and nutritional status of the United States population using in-person interviews and standardized physical examinations conducted in mobile examination centers. During the course of these forty years, numerous lessons have been learned about the conduct of a survey using direct physical measures. Examples of these "lessons learned" are described and provide a guide for other organizations and countries as they plan similar surveys.

Description:

Using survey and contact attempt history data collected with the 2005 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a multi-purpose health survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we set out to explore the impact of participant concerns/reluctance on data quality, as measured by rates of partially complete interviews and item nonresponse. Overall, results show that respondents from households where some type of concern or reluctance (e.g., "too busy," "not interested") was expressed produced higher rates of partially complete interviews and item nonresponse than respondents from households where concern/reluctance was not expressed. Differences by type of concern were also identified.

Description:

This paper, as part of the design development process for the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID), examines the implications for data quality of accepting proxy responses. While it is apparent that rules that minimize proxy responses add to data collection costs, a review of the existing evidence suggests the effects of proxy reporting on data quality are less clear. The general conclusions of this review are that proxy respondents tended to underestimate participation in government income support programs, be subject to higher item non-response rates and lower rates of personal and household interviews, offer more consistent responses to sensitive subject matter and have greater difficulty in reporting detail and events of short duration. As a result of shortcomings in the design of the research into this question, the evidence is not conclusive. While there is no firm basis for the rejection of proxy responses, the maintenance of some control over proxy responses would be a reasonable strategy.

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This article summarizes the background, history and rationale for the Canadian Health Measures Survey, and provides an overview of the objectives, methods and analysis plans.

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The Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) is a longitudinal survey initiated in 1993. The survey was designed to measure changes in the economic well-being of Canadians as well as the factors affecting these changes.

Sample surveys are subject to errors. As with all surveys conducted at Statistics Canada, considerable time and effort is taken to control such errors at every stage of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics. Nonetheless errors do occur. It is the policy at Statistics Canada to furnish users with measures of data quality so that the user is able to interpret the data properly. This report summarizes a set of quality measures that has been produced in an attempt to describe the overall quality of SLID data. Among the measures included in the report are sample composition and attrition rates, sampling errors, coverage errors in the form of slippage rates, response rates, tax permission and tax linkage rates, and imputation rates.

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Traditional methods for statistical disclosure limitation in tabular data are cell suppression, data rounding and data perturbation. Because the suppression mechanism is not describable in probabilistic terms, suppressed tables are not amenable to statistical methods such as imputation. Data quality characteristics of suppressed tables are consequently poor.

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Regardless of the specifics of any given metadata scheme, there are common metadata constructs used to describe statistical data. This paper will give an overview of the different approaches taken to achieve the common goal of providing consistent information.

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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.

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In 2002, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) underwent a major change in the way in which it collects and compiles its business statistics.This initiative (known as Business Statistics Innovation Program or BSIP) aims through the use of innovative technological, methodological, organisational and operational initiatives, to re-engineer the ABS's business statistics processes, so as to improve the quality and relevance of ABS business statistics in a manner that is most efficient for both the ABS and its providers.

Description:

The Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) is a longitudinal survey initiated in 1993. The survey was designed to measure changes in the economic well-being of Canadians as well as the factors affecting these changes. Sample surveys are subject to sampling errors. In order to consider these errors, each estimates presented in the "Income Trends in Canada" series comes with a quality indicator based on the coefficient of variation. However, other factors must also be considered to make sure data are properly used. Statistics Canada puts considerable time and effort to control errors at every stage of the survey and to maximise the fitness for use. Nevertheless, the survey design and the data processing could restrict the fitness for use. It is the policy at Statistics Canada to furnish users with measures of data quality so that the user is able to interpret the data properly. This report summarizes the set of quality measures of SLID data. Among the measures included in the report are sample composition and attrition rates, sampling errors, coverage errors in the form of slippage rates, response rates, tax permission and tax linkage rates, and imputation rates.

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These guides provide information that enables users to effectively use, apply and interpret data from the 2006 Census. Each guide contains definitions and explanations on census concepts. Additional information will be included for specific variables to help general users better understand the concepts and questions used in the census.

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This guide focuses on the following demographic variables: First official language spoken, Home language, Knowledge of non-official languages, Knowledge of official languages, Language of work, and Mother tongue.

Provides information that enables users to effectively use, apply and interpret data from the 2006 Census. Each guide contains definitions and explanations on census concepts, data quality and historical comparability. Additional information will be included for specific variables to help general users better understand the concepts and questions used in the census.

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This guide presents information of interest to users of data from the Survey of Household Spending, which gathers information on the spending habits, dwelling characteristics and household equipment of Canadian households. The survey covers private households in the 10 provinces. (The territories are surveyed every second year, starting in 1999.)

This guide includes definitions of survey terms and variables, as well as descriptions of survey methodology and data quality. One section describes the various statistics that can be created using expenditure data (e.g., budget share, market share, aggregates and medians).

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This handbook discusses the collection and interpretation of statistical data on Canada's trade in culture services.

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This Summary Report provides an overview of the findings of a Quality Assurance Review that was conducted for nine key statistical programs during the period September 2006 to February 2007. The review was commissioned by Statistics Canada's Policy Committee in order to assess the soundness of quality assurance processes for these nine programs and to propose improvements where needed. The Summary Report describes the principal themes that recur frequently throughout these programs, as well as providing guidance for future reviews of this type.

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This Cartographic Boundary File for Canada contains the boundaries of all 82 census agricultural regions delineated for the 2006 Census of Agriculture together with the shoreline around Canada and the larger inland lakes, all integrated in a single layer. The boundary file co-ordinates are latitude/longitude and are based on the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). The file is available in both ARC/INFO Interchange and MapInfo Interchange formats and a reference guide is also provided.

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This report describes the quality indicators produced for the 2003 Survey of Household Spending. These quality indicators, such as coefficients of variation, nonresponse rates, slippage rates and imputation rates, help users interpret the survey data.

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A statistical agency faces several challenges in building Productivity Accounts. Measures of productivity require that outputs be compared to inputs.

This paper discusses the challenges that a statistical agency faces in this area -as illustrated by the Canadian experience. First, it examines the progress that has been made in developing a system that integrates the Productivity Accounts into the overall System of National Accounts. It also discusses deficiencies that still need to be overcome. Finally, the paper focuses on the need to consider whether the SNA manual should be extended into the area of productivity measurement. The paper argues that the advantage of integrating productivity accounts into the general accounts is sufficiently great that it is time to include more detail on the nature of productivity accounts in the general SNA framework.

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This report documents key aspects of the development of the International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) - its theoretical roots, the domains selected for possible assessment, the approaches taken to assessment in each domain and the criteria that were employed to decide which domains were to be carried in the final design. As conceived, the ALL survey was meant to build on the success of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) assessments by extending the range of skills assessed and by improving the quality of the assessment methods employed. This report documents several successes including: · the development of a new framework and associated robust measures for problem solving · the development of a powerful numeracy framework and associated robust measures · the specification of frameworks for practical cognition, teamwork and information and communication technology literacy The report also provides insight into those domains where development failed to yield approaches to assessment of sufficient quality, insight that reminds us that scientific advance in this domain is hard won.