Analysis

Description:

This paper analyzes the revisions of eight seasonally adjusted labour force series during recession and non-recession periods. The four seasonal adjustment methods applied are X-11 and X-11-ARIMA using either concurrent or forecast seasonal factors. The series are seasonally adjusted with these four methodologies according to both a multiplicative and an additive decomposition model. The results indicate that the X-11-ARIMA concurrent adjustment yields the smallest revisions both during recession and non-recession periods regardless of the decomposition model used.

Description:

This study purports to assess whether there are temporal relationships between Unemployment Insurance Beneficiaries, Total Unemployment, Job Losers and Job Leavers in Canada using univariate and multivariate time series methods. The results indicate that during 1975-82 the Unemployment Insurance Beneficiaries series leads: (1) Total Unemployment by one month and (2) Job Leavers by two months. On the other hand, there are evidence of a feedback relationship between Unemployment Insurance Beneficiaries and Job Losers.

Description:

Thirty basic principles of questionnaire design are presented covering the content, wording, format, and testing of questionnaires. The extent to which the questionnaire is an integral part of the survey is emphasized as is consideration of its relationship with other aspects of survey design.

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Twelve administrative data files are reviewed to determine if some of them could be used to derive migration data, in case the universality of the currently used family allowance files be limited, as a result of federal legislation.

It is found that none of the twelve files have strengths and weaknesses strictly comparable to those of the family allowance files. Further developments of the Health Care, and to a lesser extent the Old Age Security files are highly recommended.

Description:

In Canada, provincial and federal demographers have attempted to use various sets of administrative data to estimate migration flows. This paper presents the development of intra-provincial migration estimates using driver’s licence data in Ontario. An evaluation of these migration estimates has been carried out by comparing with those derived from the income tax data by Statistics Canada. Both files provide equally good and complimentary estimates of intra-provincial migration.

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This paper examines the use of administrative files from Alberta’s Health Care Insurance Plans combined with Vital Statistics data as inputs for estimating population. Results, which are presented and compared with Census data, indicate that Health Care data can be used to produce accurate population estimates at the provincial level and for smaller areas such as census divisions and municipalities.

Description:

The accuracy of small area population estimates derived from a regression based model is heavily dependent on the ability of the indicator data selected to accurately reflect population change. Hence, prior knowledge as to the characteristics of the administrative data used as potential population indicators in a regression model is important. This report summarizes the strengths and weaknesses associated with the use of residential hydro accounts in the British Columbia regression based population estimation model.

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This paper describes a method of producing current age/sex specific population estimates for small areas utilizing as inputs total population estimates, birth and death data and estimates of historical residual net migration. An evaluation based on the 1981 Census counts for census divisions and school districts in British Columbia is presented.

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A methodology has been developed for producing population estimates by single years of age and sex for small areas (census divisions and census metropolitan areas). To assure reliability, the estimates by single years of age are grouped into five years and only these grouped data are recomended for dissemination. They are based on the age-sex composition of population from the last census, births by sex, deaths by single years of age and sex, estimates of migration by age and sex, and counts of family allowance recipients in the age group 1-14 years.

Description:

Statistics Canada’s current methodologies forestimating the population of census divisions and census metropolitan areas are the regression-nested and component methods. This paper presents the experience with these estimates for the period 1981 to 1985, focusing on problems encountered with the input data on family allowance recipients.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: This product presents data on the Sustainable Development Goals. They present an overview of the 17 Goals through infographics by leveraging data currently available to report on Canada’s progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

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 video explains the key concepts of different levels of aggregation of income data such as household and family income; income concepts derived from key income variables such as adjusted income and equivalence scale; and statistics used for income data such as median and average income, quartiles, quintiles, deciles and percentiles.

Description: This video builds on concepts introduced in the other videos on income. It explains key low-income concepts - Market Basket Measure (MBM), Low income measure (LIM) and Low-income cut-offs (LICO) and the indicators associated with these concepts such as the low-income gap and the low-income ratio. These concepts are used in analysis of the economic well-being of the population.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description:

Gathering, exploring, analyzing and interpreting data are essential steps in producing information that benefits society, the economy and the environment. In this video, we will discuss the importance of considering data ethics throughout the process of producing statistical information.

As a pre-requisite to this video, make sure to watch the video titled “Data Ethics: An introduction” also available in Statistics Canada’s data literacy training catalogue.

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In this video, you will learn the answers to the following questions: What are the different types of error? What are the types of error that lead to statistical bias? Where during the data journey statistical bias can occur?

Description:

Gathering, exploring, analyzing and interpreting data are essential steps in producing information that benefits society, the economy and the environment. To properly conduct these processes, data ethics ethics must be upheld in order to ensure the appropriate use of data.

Description: Education and training is acknowledged as fundamental for the development of a society. It is a complex multidimensional phenomenon, which determinants are ascribable to several interrelated familiar and socio-economic conditions. To respond to the demand of supporting statistical information for policymaking and its monitoring and evaluation process, the Italian National Statistical Institute (Istat) is renewing the education and training statistical production system, implementing a new thematic statistical register. It will be part of the Istat Integrated System of Registers, thus allowing relating the education and training phenomenon to other relevant phenomena, e.g. transition to work.

Description: Growing Up in Québec is a longitudinal population survey that began in the spring of 2021 at the Institut de la statistique du Québec. Among the children targeted by this longitudinal follow-up, some will experience developmental difficulties at some point in their lives. Those same children often have characteristics associated with higher sample attrition (low-income family, parents with a low level of education). This article describes the two main challenges we encountered when trying to ensure sufficient representativeness of these children, in both the overall results and the subpopulation analyses.

Description: In 2021, Statistics Canada initiated the Disaggregated Data Action Plan, a multi-year initiative to support more representative data collection methods, enhance statistics on diverse populations to allow for intersectional analyses, and support government and societal efforts to address known inequalities and bring considerations of fairness and inclusion into decision making. As part of this initiative, we are building the Survey Series on People and their Communities, a new probabilistic panel specifically designed to collect data that can be disaggregated according to racialized group. This new tool will allow us to address data gaps and emerging questions related to diversity. This paper will give an overview of the design of the Survey Series on People and their Communities.

Description: At Statistics Netherlands (SN) for some economic sectors two partly-independent intra-annual turnover index series are available: a monthly series based on survey data and a quarterly series based on value added tax data for the smaller units and re-used survey data for the other units. SN aims to benchmark the monthly turnover index series to the quarterly census data on a quarterly basis. This cannot currently be done because the tax data has a different quarterly pattern: the turnover is relatively large in the fourth quarter of the year and smaller in the first quarter. With the current study we aim to describe this deviating quarterly pattern at micro level. In the past we developed a mixture model using absolute turnover levels that could explain part of the quarterly patterns. Because the absolute turnover levels differ between the two series, in the current study we use a model based on relative quarterly turnover levels within a year.

Description: Respondents to typical household surveys tend to significantly underreport their potential use of food aid distributed by associations. This underreporting is most likely related to the social stigma felt by people experiencing great financial difficulty. As a result, survey estimates of the number of recipients of that aid are much lower than the direct counts from the associations. Those counts tend to overestimate due to double counting. Through its adapted protocol, the Enquête Aide alimentaire (EAA) collected in late 2021 in France at a sample of sites of food aid distribution associations, controls the biases that affect the other sources and determines to what extent this aid is used.

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: The Longitudinal Social Data Development Program (LSDDP) is a social data integration approach aimed at providing longitudinal analytical opportunities without imposing additional burden on respondents. The LSDDP uses a multitude of signals from different data sources for the same individual, which helps to better understand their interactions and track changes over time. This article looks at how the ethnicity status of people in Canada can be estimated at the most detailed disaggregated level possible using the results from a variety of business rules applied to linked data and to the LSDDP denominator. It will then show how improvements were obtained using machine learning methods, such as decision trees and random forest techniques.

Description: The purpose of this article is to compare the linkage results for individuals from French tax sources with those of the 2019 Enquête Annuelle de Recensement (EAR), obtained through different methods. Such a comparison will decide whether the Répertoires Statistiques d'Individus et de Logements (Résil) program should be equipped with a probabilistic matching tool for its administrative source identification and matching engine.

Description:

Statistics Canada is engaged in the "Information System for Science and Technology Project" to develop useful indicators of activity and a framework to tie them together into a coherent picture of science and technology (S&T) in Canada. The working papers series is used to publish results of the different initiatives conducted within this project. The data are related to the activities, linkages and outcomes of S&T. Several key areas are covered such as: innovation, technology diffusion, human resources in S&T and interrelations between different actors involved in S&T. This series also presents data tabulations taken from regular surveys on research and development (R&D) and S&T and made possible by the project.

Description:

This publication shows readers how to design and conduct a census or sample survey. It explains basic survey concepts and provides information on how to create efficient and high quality surveys. It is aimed at those involved in planning, conducting or managing a survey and at students of survey design courses.

This book contains the following information:

-how to plan and manage a survey;-how to formulate the survey objectives and design a questionnaire; -things to consider when determining a sample design (choosing between a sample or a census, defining the survey population, choosing a survey frame, identifying possible sources of survey error); -choosing a method of collection (self-enumeration, personal interviews or telephone interviews; computer-assisted versus paper-based questionnaires); -organizing and conducting data collection operations;-determining the sample size, allocating the sample across strata and selecting the sample; -methods of point estimation and variance estimation, and data analysis; -the use of administrative data, particularly during the design and estimation phases-how to process the data (which consists of all data handling activities between collection and estimation) and use quality control and quality assurance measures to minimize and control errors during various survey steps; and-disclosure control and data dissemination.

This publication also includes a case study that illustrates the steps in developing a household survey, using the methods and principles presented in the book. This publication was previously only available in print format and originally published in 2003.

Description:

Beginning in late 2006, the Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division of Statistics Canada embarked on the process of review of questions used in the Census and in surveys to produce data about Aboriginal peoples (North American Indian, Métis and Inuit). This process is essential to ensure that Aboriginal identification questions are valid measures of contemporary Aboriginal identification, in all its complexity. Questions reviewed included the following (from the Census 2B questionnaire):- the Ethnic origin / Aboriginal ancestry question;- the Aboriginal identity question;- the Treaty / Registered Indian question; and- the Indian band / First Nation Membership question.

Additional testing was conducted on Census questions with potential Aboriginal response options: the population group question (also known as visible minorities), and the Religion question. The review process to date has involved two major steps: regional discussions with data users and stakeholders, and qualitative testing. The regional discussions with over 350 users of Aboriginal data across Canada were held in early 2007 to examine the four questions used on the Census and other surveys of Statistics Canada. Data users included National Aboriginal organizations, Aboriginal Provincial and Territorial Organizations, Federal, Provincial and local governments, researchers and Aboriginal service organizations. User feedback showed that main areas of concern were data quality, undercoverage, the wording of questions, and the importance of comparability over time.

Description:

This report presents details on the data sources and methods underlying the air quality indicators as they were reported in Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators, 2007 (16-251-XWE). The air quality indicators focus on human exposure to ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter.

Details on the indicators reported after 2007 can be found on Environment Canada's site: &&www.ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators/

Description:

This report presents details on the data sources and methods underlying the freshwater quality indicator as it was reported in the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators, 2007 (16-251-XWE). The national freshwater quality indicator provides an overall measure of the suitability of water bodies to support aquatic life in selected monitoring sites in Canada.

Details on this indicator reported after 2007 can be found on Environment Canada's site: www.ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators/

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:

This feasibility report provides a blueprint for improving data on fraud in Canada through a survey of businesses and through amendments to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey. Presently, national information on fraud is based on official crime statistics reported by police services to the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey. These data, however, do not reflect the true nature and extent of fraud in Canada due to under-reporting of fraud by individuals and businesses, and due to inconsistencies in the way frauds are counted within the UCR Survey. This feasibility report concludes that a better measurement of fraud in Canada could be obtained through a survey of businesses. The report presents the information priorities of government departments, law enforcement and the private sector with respect to the issue of fraud and makes recommendations on how a survey of businesses could help fulfill these information needs.

To respond to information priorities, the study recommends surveying the following types of business establishments: banks, payment companies (i.e. credit card and debit card companies), selected retailers, property and casualty insurance carriers, health and disability insurance carriers and selected manufacturers. The report makes recommendations regarding survey methodology and questionnaire content, and provides estimates for timeframes and cost.

The report also recommends changes to the UCR Survey in order to improve the way in which incidents are counted and to render the data collected more relevant with respect to the information priorities raised by government, law enforcement and the private sector during the feasibility study.

Description:

This document summarizes the results of content analyses of the 2004 Census Test. The first section briefly explains the context of the content analyses by describing the nature of the sample, its limitations and the strategies used to evaluate data quality. The second section provides an overview of the results for questions that have not changed since the 2001 Census by describing the similarities between 2001 and 2004 distributions and non-response rates. The third section evaluates data quality of new census questions or questions that have changed substantially: same-sex married couples, ethnic origins, levels of schooling, location where highest diploma was obtained, school attendance, permission to access income tax files, and permission to make personal data publicly available 92 years after the census. The last section summarizes the overall results for questions whose content was coded and evaluated as part of the 2004 test, namely industry, occupation and place of work variables.

Description: The Economic Analysis Methodology Paper Series circulates information on definitions employed, standards used, procedures followed and evaluations of the quality of the economic statistics produced by the System of National Accounts (SNA). These papers can be downloaded free at www.statcan.gc.ca.

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This report describes sampling and weighting procedures used in the 2001 Census. It reviews the history of these procedures in Canadian censuses, provides operational and theoretical justifications for them, and presents the results of the evaluation studies of these procedures.