Analysis

Description: This paper includes a description of interviewer techniques and procedures used to minimize non-response, an outline of methods used to monitor and control non-response, and a discussion of how non-respondents are treated in the data processing and estimation stages of the Canadian Labour Force Survey. Recent non-response rates as well as data on the characteristics of non-respondents are also given. It is concluded that a yearly non-response rate of approximately 5 percent is probably the best that can be achieved in the Labour Force Survey.

Description: Two methods for estimating the correlated response variance of a survey estimator are studied by way of both theoretical comparison and empirical investigation. The variance of these estimators is discussed and the effects of outliers examined. Finally, an improved estimator is developed and evaluated.

Description: Let U = {1, 2, …, i, …, N} be a finite population of N identifiable units. A known “size measure” x_i is associated with unit i; i = 1, 2, ..., N. A sampling procedure for selecting a sample of size n (2 < n < N) with probability proportional to size (PPS) and without replacement (WOR) from the population is proposed. With this method, the inclusion probability is proportional to size (IPPS) for each unit in the population.

Description: Approximate cutoff rules for stratifying a population into a take-all and take-some universe have been given by Dalenius (1950) and Glasser (1962). They expressed the cutoff value (that value which delineates the boundary of the take-all and take-some) as a function of the mean, the sampling weight and the population variance. Their cutoff values were derived on the assumption that a single random sample of size n was to be drawn without replacement from the population of size N.

In the present context, exact and approximate cutoff rules have been worked out for a similar situation. Rather than providing the sample size of the sample, the precision (coefficient of variation) is given. Note that in many sampling situations, the sampler is given a set of objectives in terms of reliability and not sample size. The result is particularly useful for determining the take-all - take-some boundary for samples drawn from a known population. The procedure is also extended to ratio estimation.

Description: Under a sequential sampling plan, the proportion defective in the sample is generally a biased estimator of the population value. In this paper, an unbiased estimator is given. Also, an unbiased estimator of its variance is derived. These results are applied to an estimation problem from the 1976 Canadian Census.

Description: I.P. Fellegi and D. Holt proposed a systematic approach to automatic edit and imputation. An implementation of this proposal was a Generalized Edit and Imputation System by the Hot-Deck Approach, that was utilized in the edit and imputation of the 1976 Canadian Census of Population and Housing. This paper discusses that application, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology with some empirical evidence. The system will be considered in relation to the general issues of the edit and imputation of survey data. Some directions for future developments will also be considered.

Description: Owners of small businesses complain about the quantity of forms they are required to collectors of statistics. Administrative data are an alternative source but do not usually include all the information required by the survey takers.

The “Tax Data Imputation System” makes use of tax data collected from a large number of businesses by Revenue Canada and data obtained by sample survey for a small subset of these businesses. Survey data is imputed (estimated) for all the businesses not actually surveyed using a “hot-deck” technique, with adjustments made to ensure certain edit rules are satisfied. The results of a simulation study suggest that this procedure has reasonable statistical properties. Estimators (of means or totals) are unbiased with variances of comparable size to the corresponding ratio estimators.

Description: Frames designed for continuous surveys are sometimes used for ad hoc surveys which require selection of sampling units separate from those selected for the continuous survey. This paper presents an unbiased extension of Keyfitz’s (1951) sample updating method to the case where a portion of the frame has been reserved for surveys other than the main continuous survey. A simple although biased alternative is presented.

The scope under Platek and Singh’s (1975) design strategy for an area based continuous survey requiring updating is then expanded to encompass rotation of first stage units, establishment of a separate special survey sub-frame, and procedures to prevent re-selection of ultimate sampling units.

The methods are evaluated in a Monte Carlo study using Census data to simulate the design for the Canadian Labour Force Survey.

Description: Some estimators alternative to the usual PPS estimator are suggested in this paper for situations where the size measure used for PPS sampling is not correlated with the study variable and where data are available on another supplementary variable (size measure). Properties of these estimators are studied under super-population models and also empirically.

Description:

The problems of dealing with non-response at various stages of survey planning are discussed with implications for the mean square error, practicality and possible advantages and disadvantages. Conceptual issues of editing and imputation are also considered with regard to complexity and levels of imputation. The methods of imputation include weighting, duplication, and substitution of historical records. The paper includes some methodology on the bias and variance.

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: 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: Using the Employment Insurance Coverage Survey, this paper studies the share of spouses or partners of biological or adoptive mothers who claimed or intended to claim parental benefits from 2006 to 2022.

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

Description:

Computation is an integral part of statistical analysis in general and survey sampling in particular. What kinds of analyses can be carried out will depend upon what kind of computational power is available. The general development of sampling theory is traced in connection with technological developments in computation.

Description:

Mahalanobis provided an example of how to use statistics to enlighten and inform government policy makers. His pioneering work was used by the US Bureau of the Census to learn more about measurement errors in censuses and surveys. People have many misconceptions about censuses, among them who is to be counted and where. Errors in the census do occur, among them errors in coverage. Over the years, the US Bureau of the Census has developed statistical techniques, including sampling in the census, to increase accuracy and reduce response burden.

Description:

A components-of-variance approach and an estimated covariance error structure were used in constructing predictors of adjustment factors for the 1990 Decennial Census. The variability of the estimated covariance matrix is the suspected cause of certain anomalies that appeared in the regression estimation and in the estimated adjustment factors. We investigate alternative prediction methods and propose a procedure that is less influenced by variability in the estimated covariance matrix. The proposed methodology is applied to a data set composed of 336 adjustment factors from the 1990 Post Enumeration Survey.

Description:

The 1996 Canadian Census is adjusted for coverage error as estimated primarily through the Reverse Record Check (RRC). In this paper, we will show how there is a wealth of additional information from the 1996 Reverse Record Check of direct value to population estimation. Beyond its ability to estimate coverage error, it is possible to extend the Reverse Record Check classification results to obtain an alternative estimate of demographic growth - potentially decomposed by component. This added feature of the Reverse Record Check provides promise in the evaluation of estimated census coverage error as well as insight as to possible problems in the estimation of selected components in the population estimates program.

Description:

Longitudinal observations consist of repeated measurements on the same units over a number of occasions, with fixed or varying time spells between the occasions. Each vector observation can be viewed therefore as a time series, usually of short length. Analyzing the measurements for all the units permits the fitting of low-order time series models, despite the short lengths of the individual series.

Description:

This paper suggests estimating the conditional mean squared error of small area estimators to evaluate their accuracy. This mean squared error is conditional in the sense that it measures the variability with respect to the sampling design for a particular realization of the smoothing model underlying the small area estimators. An unbiased estimators for the conditional mean squared error is easily constructed using Stein's Lemma for the expectation of normal random variables.

Description:

Imputation is a common procedure to compensate for nonresponse in survey problems. Using auxiliary data, imputation may produce estimators that are more efficient than the one constructed by ignoring nonrespondents and re-weighting. We study and compare the mean squared errors of survey estimators based on data imputed using three difference imputation techniques: the commonly used ratio imputation method and two cold deck imputation methods that are frequently adopted in economic area surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Description:

Samples from hidden and hard-to-access human populations are often obtained by procedures in which social links are followed from one respondent to another. Inference from the sample to the larger population of interest can be affected by the link-tracing design and the type of data it produces. The population with its social network structure can be modeled as a stochastic graph with a joint distribution of node values representing characteristics of individuals and arc indicators representing social relationships between individuals.

Description:

To better understand the impact of imposing a restricted region on calibration weights, the author reviews the latter's aymptotic behaviour. Necessary and sufficient conditions are provided for the existence of a solution to the calibration equation with weights within given intervals.

Description:

For surveys which involve more than one stage of data collection, one method recommended for adjusting weights for nonresponse (after the first stage of data collection) entails utilizing auxiliary variables (from previous stages of data collection) which are identified as predictors of nonresponse.

Description: This series provides detailed documentation on the issues, concepts, methodology, data quality and other relevant research related to household expenditures from the Survey of Household Spending, the Homeowner Repair and Renovation Survey and the Food Expenditure Survey.

Description: This report summarizes the annual achievements of the Methodology Research and Development Program (MRDP) sponsored by the Modern Statistical Methods and Data Science Branch at Statistics Canada. This program covers research and development activities in statistical methods with potentially broad application in the agency’s statistical programs; these activities would otherwise be less likely to be carried out during the provision of regular methodology services to those programs. The MRDP also includes activities that provide support in the application of past successful developments in order to promote the use of the results of research and development work. Selected prospective research activities are also presented.

Description: The series covers environment accounts and indicators, environmental surveys, spatial environmental information and other research related to environmental statistics. The technical paper series is intended to stimulate discussion on a range of environmental topics.

Description: This bulletin presents the most up-to-date available information extracted from all of the Aviation Statistics Centre's surveys. Regular features include releases on principal statistics for Canada's major air carriers, airport data, fare basis statistics and traffic data for Canada's most important markets.

Description: This series of analytical articles provides insights on the socio-economic environment in rural communities in Canada. New articles will be released periodically.

Description: Statistics Canada is committed to sharing our knowledge and expertise to help all Canadians develop their data literacy skills by developing a series of data literacy training resources. Data literacy is a key skill needed in the 21st century. It is generally described as the ability to derive meaning from data. Data literacy focuses on the competencies or skills involved in working with data, including the ability to read, analyze, interpret, visualize data, as well as to drive good decision-making.

Description: The fact sheets in this series provide an "at-a-glance" overview of particular aspects of education in Canada and summarize key data trends in selected tables published as part of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP).

The PCEIP mission is to publish a set of statistical measures on education systems in Canada for policy makers, practitioners and the general public to monitor the performance of education systems across jurisdictions and over time. PCEIP is a joint venture of Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC).

Description: Statistics Canada's Quality of Employment in Canada publication is intended to provide Canadians and Canadian organizations with a better understanding of quality of employment using an internationally-supported statistical framework. Quality of employment is approached as a multidimensional concept, characterized by different elements, which relate to human needs in various ways. To cover all relevant aspects, the framework identified seven dimensions and twelve sub-dimensions of quality of employment.

Description:

The articles published in EnviroStats use statistics to illustrate topical environmental issues. The publication is intended for a general readership rather than an expert audience.

Description: Environment fact sheets will include short, focused, single-theme analysis on key issues within the changing environment with regards to all Canadians. Over the course of the series, analysis will include topics on: air and climate, pollution and waste, environmental protection and quality, and natural resources.