Analysis

Description: Nonprobability samples emerge rapidly to address time-sensitive priority topics in different areas. These data are timely but subject to selection bias. To reduce selection bias, there has been wide literature in survey research investigating the use of propensity-score (PS) adjustment methods to improve the population representativeness of nonprobability samples, using probability-based survey samples as external references. Conditional exchangeability (CE) assumption is one of the key assumptions required by PS-based adjustment methods. In this paper, I first explore the validity of the CE assumption conditional on various balancing score estimates that are used in existing PS-based adjustment methods. An adaptive balancing score is proposed for unbiased estimation of population means. The population mean estimators under the three CE assumptions are evaluated via Monte Carlo simulation studies and illustrated using the NIH SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study to estimate the proportion of U.S. adults with COVID-19 antibodies from April 01-August 04, 2020.

Description: Our comments respond to discussion from Sen, Brick, and Elliott. We weigh the potential upside and downside of Sen’s suggestion of using machine learning to identify bogus respondents through interactions and improbable combinations of variables. We join Brick in reflecting on bogus respondents’ impact on the state of commercial nonprobability surveys. Finally, we consider Elliott’s discussion of solutions to the challenge raised in our study.

Description: This discussion summarizes the interesting new findings around measurement errors in opt-in surveys by Kennedy, Mercer and Lau (KML). While KML enlighten readers about “bogus responding” and possible patterns in them, this discussion suggests combining these new-found results with other avenues of research in nonprobability sampling, such as improvement of representativeness.

Description: Kennedy, Mercer, and Lau explore misreporting by respondents in non-probability samples and discover a new feature, namely that of deliberate misreporting of demographic characteristics. This finding suggests that the “arms race” between researchers and those determined to disrupt the practice of social science is not over and researchers need to account for such respondents if using high-quality probability surveys to help reduce error in non-probability samples.

Description: Nonprobability samples are quick and low-cost and have become popular for some types of survey research. Kennedy, Mercer and Lau examine data quality issues associated with opt-in nonprobability samples frequently used in the United States. They show that the estimates from these samples have serious problems that go beyond representativeness. A total survey error perspective is important for evaluating all types of surveys.

Description: Statistical approaches developed for nonprobability samples generally focus on nonrandom selection as the primary reason survey respondents might differ systematically from the target population. Well-established theory states that in these instances, by conditioning on the necessary auxiliary variables, selection can be rendered ignorable and survey estimates will be free of bias. But this logic rests on the assumption that measurement error is nonexistent or small. In this study we test this assumption in two ways. First, we use a large benchmarking study to identify subgroups for which errors in commercial, online nonprobability samples are especially large in ways that are unlikely due to selection effects. Then we present a follow-up study examining one cause of the large errors: bogus responding (i.e., survey answers that are fraudulent, mischievous or otherwise insincere). We find that bogus responding, particularly among respondents identifying as young or Hispanic, is a significant and widespread problem in commercial, online nonprobability samples, at least in the United States. This research highlights the need for statisticians working with commercial nonprobability samples to address bogus responding and issues of representativeness – not just the latter.

Description: This paper is an introduction to the special issue on the use of nonprobability samples featuring three papers that were presented at the 29^th Morris Hansen Lecture by Courtney Kennedy, Yan Li and Jean-François Beaumont.

Description: Using data from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) and the Census of Population, 2021, this infographic provides information on enrolment in Canadian public postsecondary institutions for transgender and non-binary people.

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

Description: This report presents the results of the population projections by age group and sex for Canada, the provinces and territories. These projections are based on assumptions that take into account the most recent trends relating to components of population growth, particularly fertility, mortality, immigration, emigration and interprovincial migration.

The detailed data tables are available in CODR: tables 1710005701 and 1710005801.

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

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

Description: This infographic details the prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy among the Canadian population aged 3 to 79 by focusing on risk factors as well as behaviours that can reduce the likelihood of low vitamin D.

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

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

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

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

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

Description: A series of articles on various subjects which explore the impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic landscape. New articles will be released periodically.

Description: This article provides insights into the rates of COVID-19 mortality among First Nations peoples and Métis living in private dwellings and the social determinants of COVID-19 mortality among these populations using data from the 2016 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts linked to the Canadian Vital Statistics – Death Database from 2016 to 2021.

Description:

This paper discusses some of the changes in market research we should expect in the next decade. Currently, studies are issue oriented: they provide answers to specific questions or marketing issues. The next decade will see research projects with a broader scope: to understand how markets work and why consumers behave as they do. Measurements will be more complex, and multivariate analysis techniques will be used extensively to identify the subtle relationships within the data. Marketing models will be the conceptual framework for these more complex studies. Market analysis identifying consumer responsiveness segments provides a case example of what might be expected from model-based market research studies.

Description:

This paper identifies the stages in the life-cycle of government policies and programs. For each stage, examples are given of how survey research is presently used and likely trends over the next decade are identified.

Description:

This document describes the process of commissioning market research at Imperial Oil Limited. It outlines the management processes that precede commissioning and defines the expectations of a typical buyer of research work. It also examines the need to have a satisfactory business relationship between the buyer and the seller, and it provides a list of the attributes most often considered by a company seeking a supplier for a particular research project.

Description:

This paper provides a summary description of some of the characteristics of the proposals for new surveys submitted to Statistics Canada for review and consultation by other federal government departments. It describes which departments have been involved, gives details of the types of studies proposed and methodologies used, and deals briefly with some of the problems which the review process has uncovered.

Description:

This paper examines the effects of fertility, mortality and migration on the age profile of the Canadian population, particularly the effect of fluctuating fertility patterns which have occurred since the second World War. The author analyses the impact on social services and the economy as the shifting requirements of the “Baby Boom” cohorts move through their life cycle.

Description:

A major packaged goods manufacturer details his firm’s assemblage and application of market understanding information, impact information, market tracking, share/volume forecasting and documentation procedure.

Description:

Increasing costs without a concomitant increase in research budgets are putting severe strains on research quality. Improvements in technology, however, both in the physical domain and in the conceptual domain are sufficient to maintain research productivity at least at its prior level.

Description:

Due to the absence of hard data and the lack of standardization with respect to nonresponse terminology and reporting procedures, U.S. commercial survey researchers have been unable to obtain an accurate assessment of the nature and extent of the nonresponse problem. However, the results of two recent studies conducted by the author among leading U.S. based market and public opinion research firms revealed that nonresponse is one of the major problems now confronting the commercial survey research industry. This paper discusses the results of the two studies and their implications.

Description:

The article provides a general overview of the concepts of incomplete data and non-response. It is recognized that non-response is an important indicator of data quality, as it affects the estimators by introducing bias and increasing variance due to a reduction in the effective sample size. The relationship between bias and the non-response rate is less obvious, since it depends on the extent of non-response and on the difference in the various characteristics between respondents and non-respondents.

The most effective way of dealing with the effects of non-response is to minimize its extent. However, any attempt to control the extent of non-response must be based on a good understanding of its origins. The causes and extent of non-response are fundamentally related to (i) the type of survey, (ii) the data capture methods, and (iii) the sample design. However, given a sample design, the extent of non-response will be influenced by factors such as the type of region and the type of non-response.

There are several ways to handle incomplete data. Each one, in the end, assigns a value to the missing or incorrect data, unless it is decided to publish “raw” data. The procedure for assigning values is called imputation and such an imputed value presumably describes the characteristic of the non-respondent.

The article provides a brief philosophical explanation about validation and imputation and their applications in the methodology of the various imputation procedures. These include weighting, replication, hot deck imputation using previous data and substitution by a zero value. The using of imputation compared with the methods used in the Canadian Labour Force Survey (LFS) is also discussed. A decision table is provided indicating the various steps to follow for a particular case of a partially completed LFS questionnaire.

Description:

This presentation focuses on the present and future social needs of the public, and tracking these needs by surveys. It is divided into two parts. First, the writer gives some history of the tracking systems. Then, he speaks about the future and his forecasts for the new tracking systems.

Description:

This on-line product Insights on... is a newsletter from Statistics Canada highlighting trends in business and trade statistics. Using information from the latest Statistics Canada surveys, Insights on... provides factual analysis of emerging trends in Canadian industry, documents what's new in Canadian business, and shows how businesses are responding to the challenges and opportunities posed by new types of business practices - globalization, new technologies, increasingly competitive markets, uncompromising standards of product quality, etc.

Each edition of Insights on... will deal with one or two topics. Non-technical analysis and user-friendly graphs will provide a complete and balanced interpretation of the facts - quickly, clearly and concisely.

Description:

Travel Agencies in Canada enter the new millennium with many challenges. The gap that they must bridge is a possible erosion of both revenue and customers. The aviation industry has been imposing caps on commissions resulting in the requirement for agencies to sell more product to generate the same revenue. At the same time, selling more product could be more difficult as air carriers and hotels are increasingly offering more direct sales on the Internet. This web presence has enabled carriers and hotels to deliver their product bypassing the travel agencies in the supply chain. There is also increased competition from travel sales web-sites that attempt to attract the business that local travel agents once could have considered as their own. The paper will examine the nature of the challenges facing this service industry and the possible responses.

Description:

For several years, urban transit ridership in Canada has been declining. In the late 1990s, ridership began to stabilize but at a level well below the peaks reached in previous years. Many have postulated reasons for the decline, including the dominance of the automobile, changes in work locations and hours, increasing fares, decreasing subsidies and increasing suburbanization.

Using data from approximately 85 Canadian urban transit service providers, over a period of 8 years, this paper outlines the empirical results of analysis to measure factors that have affected urban transit ridership. Among the key goals of this project was the development of measures of fare elasticity.

Demographic, socio-economic and level of service variables were used in the research to explain changes in ridership. A variety of dummy variables was also used to account for structural differences.

The paper concludes with an examination of major Canadian cities that carry the majority of all commuters in the country.

Description:

Data from the Annual Survey of manufactures (ASM) is the prime source for this publication. The results of the 1997 survey are supplemented by data from sub-annual Statistics Canada surveys and major economic indicators.

Description:

The latest issue contains the article "Performance of the textile products industries. by Yasmin Sheikh. The business climate under which the manufacturing sector has been operating has evolved particularly in the last decade. Within manufacturing, certain industries have responded better than others to the challenge brought about by advancement in technology and increased globalization. Textile products was the fastest growing industry in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 1961 to 1987 compared to the overall economy, the manufacturing sector and closely related Primary Textile Industries. However, this industry's GDP declined sharply between 1988 and 1992. Except for 1996, the industry again experienced growth from 1993 onwards but its GDP growth index is well below its peak in 1987.

Results of the Annual Survey of Manufacturers show that manufacturing shipments of textile products in constant 1992 dollars peaked in 1988 and have since declined. This paper reviews data from this survey for the period 1988 to 1997 to underline the changes in the size, structure and performance of this industry and how it has fared in comparison to the Primary Textiles Industry. It also highlights current developments using results of the Monthly Survey of Manufacturers.

Description:

The latest issue contains the article "Refined petroleum and coal products industries" by Randall Sheldrick. The Canadian economy has been on the rise for almost a decade. But, the economy suffered a modest set back in 1998 due to the effects of the Asian economic and financial market crisis. While most manufacturing industries continued to expand, resource-based industries such as refined petroleum were hard hit by a slump in commodity prices.

This document presents an overview of the Refined Petroleum Products Industry. Most of the findings are based on the Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM). According to this survey the total value of shipments for the industry stalled at just over $21 billion in 1997. Despite the fact that the industry tends to be cyclical in nature, demand for refined petroleum products is expected to increase steadily into the next century.

Description:

The most recent issue contains the article "The beverage industries: two markets" by Peter Zylstra.This paper presents recent developments in the Beverage Industries. Following a brief introduction, the industry is analysed in terms of the four component sub-industries, which fall into two groups: soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. The two groups constitute different overall markets. The summary of recent developments is based on results of the 1997 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM). Other sources are used to provide industry environment and economic backgroun.

Description:

This research paper series publishes research pertaining to the logging industry based on data from the Annual Survey of Logging and Forestry and other surveys dealing with related topics. The purpose of those research papers is to disseminate general information on this sector of the Canadian economy.

Description:

The importance attached to trade in the context of Canadian economic performance has grown in recent years, in part as a result of the free trade agreement with the United States and a new round of multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). As a consequence, questions about the relative strength of Canadian exports on foreign markets and import penetration in Canada have become increasingly topical. This text describes the nature of the adjustments applied to the United Nations data which have permitted the development of the World Trade Database.

Description:

In recent years, several economic forces have caused a change in the structure of the economy. Factors such as globalization and trade liberalization, among others, have intensified competition resulting in reallocation of resources among sectors in Canada. As business services, communications and wholesale trade emerged as engines of growth, it is generally perceived that the manufacturing industry has lost its significance. In contrast, a review of historical data on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) show that the share of manufacturing output was slightly up, from 17.2% in 1961 to 17.8% in 1998.

This paper reflects upon the importance of manufacturing in the economy and focuses on one industry - Primary Textiles. It concentrates on the evolution and significance of this industry within an overall changing economic structure using Statistics Canada's data base, CANSIM, results of the Annual Survey of Manufactures (1988 to 1997) along with current findings of the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing (1998 and 1999).