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Text in bold letters is read, as worded, by the interviewer. Instructions for the interviewer are preceded by the word "INTERVIEWER" and are not read out loud to the respondent. The options "refuse" (R) and "don't know" (DK) are allowed on every question unless otherwise stated. However, the response categories are shown in this document only when the flow from these responses is not to the next question.

Question numbers

For each section, the question numbers refer to the actual numbers used in the programmed application which appear on the interviewer's computer screen.

Naming conventions

Naming conventions conform to the standards for Statistics Canada social surveys.

Questions with:

Q (e.g. SL_Q01) = question text read to a respondent
C (e.g. JOIC01) = internal check
N (e.g. CRN_N02) = interviewer instruction
E (e.g. AWC_E03) = edit message
?(e.g. ?ARC_R01) = F1 help available

Pre-fill items

These are items specific to each respondent's interview. The software adds the relevant information into the question, making the interviewer's job easier. Prefill items (shown in square brackets [ ] ) include:

["English"/"French"/"Other"] - This is the language in which the previous interview was conducted.
[Does[respondent name]/Do any of the following people] - If there is only one respondent living in the household, the first wording is used for the question and the appropriate respondent name is pre-filled. If there is more than one respondent living in the household, the second wording is used for the question and the list of members appears below the question text.
[respondent name] - This is the first and last name of the person to whom the question refers. This is not necessarily the person who is talking to the interviewer.
[month of birth], [day of birth], [year of birth] - This is the date of birth information recorded in the first interview with each respondent and confirmed in each subsequent interview. It is used to calculate the household member's age.
[calculated age] - Calculated from the reported date of birth, it is used to verify the date of birth information.
[reference date] - A predetermined date that is prefilled in the question text (December 31, reference year).
[reference year] - This is the year for which the information is collected (2006).
[marital status] - The reported value, used in subsequent questions to identify dates of changes in marital status.
[address] - For persons reporting a move, this is the previous address of residence.
[mailing address] - The mailing address obtained during the previous interview.

Headers

For some question groups in CAI, important information is noted at the top of the screen. This information is given at the beginning of each section description.

Ranges

Hard ranges of acceptable responses are specified for some of the questions. For example, in JOIQ04 (when moved in) a hard range minimum of "January 1, [reference year]" exists. If the interviewer tries to enter a date earlier than this, the system will not accept it.

Dates

All dates are entered by number in boxes, using the dd/mm/yyyy format. "Refuse" and "don't know" are also acceptable responses.

Outcome codes

The outcome code is a two-digit code which indicates the result of a contact or attempted contact with a household during the conduct of a survey. The codes are grouped into "in progress" and "final" and some of the same outcome codes may appear on both lists.

Action codes

An action code is assigned for "refusal" cases only. It is a one-digit code which indicates the action to be taken for the next collection. Only a senior interviewer or a PM has the authority to assign these codes.