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Description: Ethnic minorities are often underrepresented in survey research, due to the challenges many researchers face in including these populations. While some studies discuss several methods in comparison, few have directly compared these methods empirically, leaving researchers seeking to include ethnic minorities in their studies unsure of their best options. In this article, I briefly review the methodological and ethical reasons for increasing ethnic minority representation in social science research, as well as challenges of doing so. I then present findings from ten studies which empirically compare methods of sampling and/or recruiting ethnic minority individuals. Finally, I discuss some implications for future research.

Description: We present design-based Horvitz-Thompson and multiplicity estimators of the population size, as well as of the total and mean of a response variable associated with the elements of a hidden population to be used with the link-tracing sampling variant proposed by Félix-Medina and Thompson (2004). Since the computation of the estimators requires to know the inclusion probabilities of the sampled people, but they are unknown, we propose a Bayesian model which allows us to estimate them, and consequently to compute the estimators of the population parameters. The results of a small numeric study indicate that the performance of the proposed estimators is acceptable.

Description: To overcome the traditional drawbacks of chain sampling methods, the sampling method called “network sampling with memory” was developed. Its unique feature is to recreate, gradually in the field, a frame for the target population composed of individuals identified by respondents and to randomly draw future respondents from this frame, thereby minimizing selection bias. Tested for the first time in France between September 2020 and June 2021, for a survey among Chinese immigrants in Île-de-France (ChIPRe), this presentation describes the difficulties encountered during collection—sometimes contextual, due to the pandemic, but mostly inherent to the method.

Description: This article discusses and provides comments on the Ardilly, Haziza, Lavallée and Tillé’s summary presentation of Jean-Claude Deville’s work on survey theory. It sheds light on the context, applications and uses of his findings, and shows how these have become engrained in the role of statisticians, in which Jean-Claude was a trailblazer. It also discusses other aspects of his career and his creative inventions.

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.

Description:

This report describes sampling, weighting and estimation procedures used in the Census of Population. It provides operational and theoretical justifications for them, and presents the results of the evaluations of these procedures.

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 report provides data quality information pertaining to the Agriculture–Population Linkage, such as sources of error, matching process, response rates, imputation rates, sampling, weighting, disclosure control methods and data quality indicators.

Description: In this paper, with and without-replacement versions of adaptive proportional to size sampling are presented. Unbiased estimators are developed for these methods and their properties are studied. In the two versions, the drawing probabilities are adapted during the sampling process based on the observations already selected. To this end, in the version with-replacement, after each draw and observation of the variable of interest, the vector of the auxiliary variable will be updated using the observed values of the variable of interest to approximate the exact selection probability proportional to size. For the without-replacement version, first, using an initial sample, we model the relationship between the variable of interest and the auxiliary variable. Then, utilizing this relationship, we estimate the unknown (unobserved) population units. Finally, on these estimated population units, we select a new sample proportional to size without-replacement. These approaches can significantly improve the efficiency of designs not only in the case of a positive linear relationship, but also in the case of a non-linear or negative linear relationship between the variables. We investigate the efficiencies of the designs through simulations and real case studies on medicinal flowers, social and economic data.

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: 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:

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:

This publication presents a comprehensive overview of the Canadian trucking industry, both for-hire and private (own account). Principal information includes statistics on revenues and expenses, equipment operated, investment, employment, and commodities transported from point of origin to point of destination. Also included are special studies, a glossary and an explanation of data quality measures and methodology.

Description:

This guide is for the Household Internet Use Survey microdata file. The Household Internet Use Survey is being conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of Industry Canada. The information from this survey will assist the Science and Technology Redesign Project at Statistics Canada to fulfil a three-year contractual agreement between them and the Telecommunications and Policy Branch of Industry Canada. The Household Internet Use Survey is a voluntary survey. It will provide information on the use of computers for communication purposes, and households' access and use of the Internet from home.

The objective of this survey is to measure the demand for telecommunications services by Canadian households. To assess the demand, we measure the frequency and intensity of use of what is commonly referred to as "the information highway" among other things. This was done by asking questions relating to the accessibility of the Internet to Canadian households both at home, the workplace and a number of other locations. The information collected will be used to update and expand upon previous studies done by Statistics Canada on the topic of the Information Highway.

Description:

The main objective of the 2002 Youth Smoking Survey (YSS) is to provide current information on the smoking behaviour of students in grades 5 to 9 (in Quebec primary school grades 5 and 6 and secondary school grades 1 to 3), and to measure changes that occurred since the last time the survey was conducted in 1994. Additionally, the 2002 survey collected basic data on alcohol and drug use by students in grades 7 to 9 (in Quebec secondary 1 to 3). Results of the Youth Smoking Survey will help with the evaluation of anti-smoking and anti-drug use programs, as well as with the development of new programs.

Description:

The Adult Education and Training Survey (AETS) is Canada's most comprehensive source of data on individual participation in formal adult education and training. It is the only Canadian survey to collect detailed information about the skill development efforts of the entire adult Canadian population. The AETS provides information about the main subject of training activities, their provider, duration and the sources and types of support for training. Furthermore, the AETS allows for the examination of the socio-economic and demographic profiles of both training participants and non-participants. This survey also identifies barriers faced by individuals who wish to take some form of training but cannot. The AETS was administered three times during the 1990s, in 1992, 1994 and 1998, as a supplement to the Labour Force Survey (LFS).

The content of the AETS was revised to take into account recommendations coming from consultation exercises. As a result, more than half of the 2003 survey is made up of new questions and the target population has been modified.

The main objectives are:1) To measure the incidence and intensity of adults' participation in job-related formal training.2) To profile employer support to job-related formal training.3) To analyze the aspects of job-related training activities such as: training provider, expenses, financial support, motivations, outcomes and difficulties experienced while training.4) To identify the barriers preventing individuals from participating in the job-related formal training they want or need to take.5) To identify reasons explaining adults' lack of participation and of interest in job-related formal training.6) To relate adults' current participation patterns to their past involvement in and plans about future participation in job-related training.7) To measure the incidence and frequency of adults' participation in job-related informal training.8) To examine the interactions between participation in formal and informal job-related training.

The population covered by the AETS consists of Canadians 25 years of age and older. This is a change from the population previously targeted by the AETS, which consisted of Canadians aged 17 years of age and older. A primary consideration for this change was the practical difficulties in applying the definition of adult education to individuals in the 17 to 24 years of age group. By definition, adult education excludes students who are still involved in their first or initial stage of schooling. As previous AETS did not precisely identify students still in their initial stage of schooling, analyses using these data had to rely on an ad hoc definition of adult learners. According to this definition, individuals aged 17 to 24 who were not in one of the following situations were excluded from the analysis: full-time students subsidized by an employer and full-time students over 19 enrolled in elementary or secondary programs.

Description:

This article proposes a criterion for calculating the trade-off in so-called “mixed” allocations, which combine two classic allocations in sampling theory. In INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) business surveys, it is common to use the arithmetic mean of a proportional allocation and a Neyman allocation (corresponding to a trade-off of 0.5). It is possible to obtain a trade-off value resulting in better properties for the estimators. This value belongs to a region that is obtained by solving an optimization program. Different methods for calculating the trade-off will be presented. An application for business surveys is presented, as well as a comparison with other usual trade-off allocations.

Description:

Based on auxiliary information, calibration is often used to improve the precision of estimates. However, calibration weighting may not be appropriate for all variables of interest of the survey, particularly those not related to the auxiliary variables used in calibration. In this paper, we propose a criterion to assess, for any variable of interest, the impact of calibration weighting on the precision of the estimated total. This criterion can be used to decide on the weights associated with each survey variable of interest and determine the variables for which calibration weighting is appropriate.

Description:

This paper develops statistical inference based on super population model in a finite population setting using ranked set samples (RSS). The samples are constructed without replacement. It is shown that the sample mean of RSS is model unbiased and has smaller mean square prediction error (MSPE) than the MSPE of a simple random sample mean. Using an unbiased estimator of MSPE, the paper also constructs a prediction confidence interval for the population mean. A small scale simulation study shows that estimator is as good as a simple random sample (SRS) estimator for poor ranking information. On the other hand it has higher efficiency than SRS estimator when the quality of ranking information is good, and the cost ratio of obtaining a single unit in RSS and SRS is not very high. Simulation study also indicates that coverage probabilities of prediction intervals are very close to the nominal coverage probabilities. Proposed inferential procedure is applied to a real data set.

Description:

This paper investigates the linearization and bootstrap variance estimation for the Gini coefficient and the change between Gini indexes at two periods of time. For the one-sample case, we use the influence function linearization approach suggested by Deville (1999), the without-replacement bootstrap suggested by Gross (1980) for simple random sampling without replacement and the with-replacement of primary sampling units described in Rao and Wu (1988) for multistage sampling. To obtain a two-sample variance estimator, we use the linearization technique by means of partial influence functions (Goga, Deville and Ruiz-Gazen, 2009). We also develop an extension of the studied bootstrap procedures for two-dimensional sampling. The two approaches are compared on simulated data.

Description:

The U.S. Census Bureau is investigating nonrespondent subsampling strategies for usage in the 2017 Economic Census. Design constraints include a mandated lower bound on the unit response rate, along with targeted industry-specific response rates. This paper presents research on allocation procedures for subsampling nonrespondents, conditional on the subsampling being systematic. We consider two approaches: (1) equal-probability sampling and (2) optimized allocation with constraints on unit response rates and sample size with the objective of selecting larger samples in industries that have initially lower response rates. We present a simulation study that examines the relative bias and mean squared error for the proposed allocations, assessing each procedure’s sensitivity to the size of the subsample, the response propensities, and the estimation procedure.

Description:

The probability-sampling-based framework has dominated survey research because it provides precise mathematical tools to assess sampling variability. However increasing costs and declining response rates are expanding the use of non-probability samples, particularly in general population settings, where samples of individuals pulled from web surveys are becoming increasingly cheap and easy to access. But non-probability samples are at risk for selection bias due to differential access, degrees of interest, and other factors. Calibration to known statistical totals in the population provide a means of potentially diminishing the effect of selection bias in non-probability samples. Here we show that model calibration using adaptive LASSO can yield a consistent estimator of a population total as long as a subset of the true predictors is included in the prediction model, thus allowing large numbers of possible covariates to be included without risk of overfitting. We show that the model calibration using adaptive LASSO provides improved estimation with respect to mean square error relative to standard competitors such as generalized regression (GREG) estimators when a large number of covariates are required to determine the true model, with effectively no loss in efficiency over GREG when smaller models will suffice. We also derive closed form variance estimators of population totals, and compare their behavior with bootstrap estimators. We conclude with a real world example using data from the National Health Interview Survey.

Description:

In this paper, we compare the EBLUP and pseudo-EBLUP estimators for small area estimation under the nested error regression model and three area level model-based estimators using the Fay-Herriot model. We conduct a design-based simulation study to compare the model-based estimators for unit level and area level models under informative and non-informative sampling. In particular, we are interested in the confidence interval coverage rate of the unit level and area level estimators. We also compare the estimators if the model has been misspecified. Our simulation results show that estimators based on the unit level model perform better than those based on the area level. The pseudo-EBLUP estimator is the best among unit level and area level estimators.

Description:

In this work we compare nonparametric estimators for finite population distribution functions based on two types of fitted values: the fitted values from the well-known Kuo estimator and a modified version of them, which incorporates a nonparametric estimate for the mean regression function. For each type of fitted values we consider the corresponding model-based estimator and, after incorporating design weights, the corresponding generalized difference estimator. We show under fairly general conditions that the leading term in the model mean square error is not affected by the modification of the fitted values, even though it slows down the convergence rate for the model bias. Second order terms of the model mean square errors are difficult to obtain and will not be derived in the present paper. It remains thus an open question whether the modified fitted values bring about some benefit from the model-based perspective. We discuss also design-based properties of the estimators and propose a variance estimator for the generalized difference estimator based on the modified fitted values. Finally, we perform a simulation study. The simulation results suggest that the modified fitted values lead to a considerable reduction of the design mean square error if the sample size is small.

Description:

The regression estimator is extensively used in practice because it can improve the reliability of the estimated parameters of interest such as means or totals. It uses control totals of variables known at the population level that are included in the regression set up. In this paper, we investigate the properties of the regression estimator that uses control totals estimated from the sample, as well as those known at the population level. This estimator is compared to the regression estimators that strictly use the known totals both theoretically and via a simulation study.

Description:

In the Netherlands, statistical information about income and wealth is based on two large scale household panels that are completely derived from administrative data. A problem with using households as sampling units in the sample design of panels is the instability of these units over time. Changes in the household composition affect the inclusion probabilities required for design-based and model-assisted inference procedures. Such problems are circumvented in the two aforementioned household panels by sampling persons, who are followed over time. At each period the household members of these sampled persons are included in the sample. This is equivalent to sampling with probabilities proportional to household size where households can be selected more than once but with a maximum equal to the number of household members. In this paper properties of this sample design are described and contrasted with the Generalized Weight Share method for indirect sampling (Lavallée 1995, 2007). Methods are illustrated with an application to the Dutch Regional Income Survey.

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.

Description:

This report describes sampling, weighting and estimation procedures used in the Census of Population. It provides operational and theoretical justifications for them, and presents the results of the evaluations of these procedures.

Description: This report provides data quality information pertaining to the Agriculture–Population Linkage, such as sources of error, matching process, response rates, imputation rates, sampling, weighting, disclosure control methods and data quality indicators.

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 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:

In over 70 years, the methodology and questionnaire, as well as the collection and processing techniques of the Canadian Labour Force Survey have undergone major changes. This document summarizes these changes chronologically and provides references to more detailed information sources. Among the most significant changes were two questionnaire redesigns, which occurred approximately 20 years apart, in 1976 and 1997.

Description:

This report describes sampling and weighting procedures used in the 2011 National Household Survey. It provides operational and theoretical justifications for them, and presents the results of the evaluation studies of these procedures.

Description:

This report describes the quality indicators produced for the 2004 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.

Description:

This report describes the quality indicators produced for the 2005 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.