Thursday, April 30, 2015

Food Borne Illnesses Caused by Imported Food

Question

I have a student who is looking for Canadian data on "food safety outbreaks caused by imported food". I have offered 'Estimates of Food-borne illness in Canaada" and CFIAs list of non-compliant imported food but have not found data on food-borne illnesses or outbreaks caused by imported food.

Answer

I contacted subject matter and we don’t have this information unfortunately. As recommended by subject matter, PHAC does have information on food borne illnesses – it would not hurt to check their site.

Interprovincial trade flows

Question

I have a student who’s looking for interprovincial trade flow statistics. Table 386-0003 covers 2007 – 2011, but he’s looking for figures dating back to 1980, or as near to that date as possible.

Answer
Our interprovincial trade flows only go back to 1997, which is the year we staring the provincial Input-Output programme. The trade flows back to 1997 can be found in CANSIM Table 386-0002.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

LFS User Guide

Question

Will there be a 2015 LFS (Labour Force Survey) User Guide coming out?

Answer

We are expecting the 2015 LFS (Labour Force Survey) User Guide to be available by mid June 2015.

Canadian Income Survey inquiry

Question

I have a researcher inquiring about whether there is a PUMF for the Canadian Income Survey. Unless I have missed something, the appended message indicates that there were plans for a possible PUMF. However, I have checked the Tentative Release dates <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/dli/prod_date> and I do not see this survey listed, which leads me to suspect that any PUMF plans may have been cancelled? On a quick look, I do not see this on the RDC list of data sets, <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/rdc/data> so perhaps it is still being processed?

Answer

The subject matter has confirmed that - "There are no plans at present to release a PUMF for the Canadian Income Survey. This is a new survey and a PUMF is still sometime away. I would suggest that you get the client to read 'Note to Users of Data from the 2012 CIS' in the attached link.

<http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-513-x/75-513-x2014001-eng.htm>

It provides all the information regarding:

Methodology of CIS
Differences between CIS and SLID"

We would, however, need more detailed information about what the client needs.Would a custom tabulation be of interest? I can confirm with the RDCs when the file will be available.

Historical Release Dates for Economic Indicators

Question

A researcher is looking for historical (pre-2011 going back to 2002) release dates for a few economic indicators. Would these be the correct sources for release dates these indicators?

LFS releases in The Daily online going back to June 1995:

[LINK]

CPI releases in The Daily online from 2010, going back to June 1995:

[LINK]
Real GDP releases in The Daily online from 2010, going back to June 1995:

[LINK]

Answer

Yes your are correct those would be the correct sources for release dates of those indicators.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Public Service Employee Survey

Question

A PhD student is inquiring about the availability of the Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) through DLI. We have access to several cycles, the most recent being 2008. Is there a plan to produce a public file for the 2011 and 2014 cycles? I did not find anything on the listserv about this survey.

Answer

They did not create a PUMF for 2011. Detailed aggregate tables were released in the Open Data portal. The microdata file is available in the RDCs. For 2014, subject matter was looking at once again creating a PUMF, pending resources. Chris will follow up with subject matter to confirm. Once again detailed aggregate tables were released in the Open Data portal and the masterfile will be available in the RDCs.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Ordering instructions for Survey of Financial Security on CD-ROM

Question

I have provided data from the most recent Survey of Financial Security to a faculty member. He mentioned that he is working with collaborators in the UK and in Uruguay – one or both of them are interested in receiving the data file in order that they may do some of the analysis.

Is there anywhere to direct them other than to the information about the SFS PUMF in the Daily - http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/150414/dq150414d-eng.htm? Clicking on http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/olc-cel/olc.action?ObjId=13M0006X&ObjType=2&lang=en&limit=0 (the link given to product 13M0006X from that page) takes me to a completely blank screen (in both firefox and chrome).

A couple of more general questions. Are Statistics Canada data free to overseas users as well as Canadians? Do non-Canadian institutions or individuals use the same order mechanism as Canadians?

Would sending a request for the file to be sent on CD to infostats@statcan.gc.ca work? They don’t really want more information – they want to order it.

Answer

Check the link again, I have tried it several times and only about 1/10 attempts failed to load in internet explorer but the other times I was successful without issue. 

To address your other questions I confirmed that with regards to the PUMFs this Statistics Canada data is free to overseas users as well as Canadians and they would use the same order mechanism as Canadians. I believe sending the request for the file to be sent on CD to infostats@statcan.gc.ca would work.

International data users can contact Statcan with the information supplied. There is also the generic ordering form from the SFS PUMF product page. They will need to sign a licence agreement, which is counter signed by the director of the surveys division. I do believe they will then disseminate the product via the Electronic File Transfer (EFT) web portal.

.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Flash Drives for Researchers

Question

Just wondering if you provide a flash drive/memory stick to a researcher with data on it, do you ask that the stick be returned to you so you can use it again or do you just keep buying more media?

Answer

We keep a couple for researchers to use, but we ask that they return them for re-use. We will also burn data onto DVD/CD for clients, as they are relatively inexpensive (as flash drives are NOT). We encourage our clients to bring their own memory sticks or external drives for large files so we can skip the CD/DVD-creation process. 

Alternatively, if bringing a flash drive is not feasible, then: for lower demand files, this is as simple as sending the files including a readme file as email attachments; where files of some value, like ones that other researchers may want to use, or ones that took considerable time to produce, then we put the files on our secure data server as appropriate with distribution via html file links that we insert into an e-mail or via multiple links on class libguide pages. 

Because new mobile devices and laptops mostly lack CD / DVD drives, welend flash drives to users through our circ system as we do for other centre materials like maps. These flash drives are on lanyards with barcodes. We can also deposit the file on a secure server, and he can download it with a password (student identifier). Html link to the file is sent by e-mail.

Updated Products - ICO Q1 2015

Please note the products listed below and the path to access them via the DLI EFT.

Inter-corporate ownership (ICO) – Q1 2015
This product is a directory of corporate ownership in Canada that provides information on every individual corporation that is part of a group of commonly controlled corporations with combined assets exceeding $600 million or combined revenue exceeding $200 million. Individual corporations with debt obligations or equity owing to non-residents exceeding a net book value of $1 million are covered as well.

Ultimate corporate control is determined through a careful study of holdings by corporations, the effects of options, insider holdings, convertible shares and interlocking directorships.

The information presented is based on non-confidential returns filed by Canadian corporations under the Corporations Returns Act and on research using public sources such as Internet sites. Entries for each corporation provide both the country of control and the country of residence.

/MAD_DLI/Root/other-products/Inter-corporate ownership – ico

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

PCCF+

Question

Please forgive my confusion, but where on the EFT site do I find the latest PCCF+? Rooting around, I can't find anything labelled as such, but I must be missing something. I would be grateful for any enlightenment you can offer.

Answer

When you first connect, you should see options for what EFT folder to connect to - MAD_DLI, MAD_DLI_CIHI, MAD_DLI_Nesstar, and MAD_DLI_PCCF - you want to go into the last of those options. If you are set up to move directly into one of the folders (e.g., MAD_DLI, you will have to change directories to go up to MAD_DLI_PCCF.

We are, however, waiting for the 2015 April release of the Postal CodeOM Conversion File (PCCF) and Postal CodesOM by Federal Ridings File (PCFRF) from Geography Division. These files reflect postal codeOM data from the Canada Post Corporation up to and including November 2014. Once we receive these files from subject matter and place them on the EFT, will notify the community right away.

Question Regarding Updated Products: PCCF & PCFRF

Question

Is there a plan to provide the data for each province as has been the case previously rather than just the national file? I'm downloading the national file at the moment. It is big and will take about 75 minutes to download from the FTP site.

Answer

As noted in the reference guides: “The PCCF is available as a national file” as with the previous release.

The PCCF is available as a standard package for Canada. Custom orders are available on request. These would be cost recoverable.

Updated Products: PCCF & PCFRF

2015 April RELEASE: Postal CodeOM Conversion File – Postal CodesOM by Federal Ridings File

The Postal CodeOM Conversion File (PCCF) and Postal CodesOM by Federal Ridings File (PCFRF) are now available on the DLI EFT to authorized DLI institutions.

These files reflect postal codeOM data from the Canada Post Corporation up to and including November 2014.

Access to the data products is subject to the End-use Licence Agreement for Postal CodeOM Conversion File, Postal Codes OM by Federal Ridings File and Postal CodeOM Conversion File Plus (“data product”).

The Postal CodeOM Conversion File (PCCF) links six-character postal codesOM to standard geographic areas such as dissemination areas, census tracts, and census subdivisions. By linking postal codesOM to standard geographic areas, the file facilitates the extraction and subsequent aggregation of data for selected geographic areas. The PCCF also associates each postal codeOM with a longitude and latitude coordinate to support mapping applications.

The Postal CodesOM by Federal Ridings File (PCFRF) provides a link between the six-character postal codeOM and Canada's federal electoral districts. A federal electoral district (FED) is any place or territorial area entitled to return a Member of Parliament (MP) to serve in the House of Commons and is commonly referred to as a federal riding.

Reference guides have been produced for each of these products. These guides describe the content of the product, as well as providing information on data quality, record layouts and methodology.

<http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/92-154-g/92-154-g2015001-eng.htm>

EFT : /MAD_DLI_PCCF/Root/2015

Thank you.

OM. Postal code is an official mark of Canada Post Corporation.

Updated Products - Survey of Financial Security (SFS), 2012

Survey of Financial Security (SFS), 2012

The 2012 SFS PUMF is now available on the EFT.

The cross-sectional public-use microdata file for the Survey of Financial Security is a collection of income, expenses, assets, debts and wealth data on the economy of Canadian families. The production of this file includes many safeguards to prevent the identification of any one person or family.

The file is produced at the economic family level with information on family demographics; income; expenses; behaviours and attitudes; principal residence; assets, debts and net worth; family composition and size; and the major income recipient.

EFT: /MAD_DLI/Root/other-products/Survey of Financial Security – sfs/2012

For more information: Record number 2620 <http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb_internal/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=2620&adm=0&dis=1> or use the following link instead:<http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=2620>

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Updated Products - Labour Force Survey (LFS) March 2015

Labour Force Survey (LFS) – March 2015

LFS data for March 2015 are now available on the EFT site.

The Labour Force Survey estimates are based on a sample, and are therefore subject to sampling variability. Estimates for smaller geographic areas, industries, occupations or cross tabulations will have more variability. For an explanation of sampling variability of estimates, and how to use standard errors to assess this variability, consult the Data Quality section in the Guide to the Labour Force Survey.

The LFS guide: <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/71-543-g/71-543-g2014001-eng.htm>

Eft: /MAD_DLI/Root/other-products/Labour Force Survey - lfs/1976-2013/data/micro2015-03.zip

Friday, April 17, 2015

Dissemination Area - Census of Population

Question

I have a faculty member here at Acadia who is interested in getting Census of Population - dissemination area units - for Ontario only, for 1996, 2001, and 2006. He would like all of the variables to be included.

A few years ago he was retrieved Census of Population FSA data, but found that the area unit wasn’t small enough for his research.

After digging through the EFT & Nesstar it became clear that Census units this small wouldn’t be readily available to me. Is there a way I can get a hold of this data, or will he have to request it directly through Stats Can?

Answer

They should all be available. Check out the aggregated data files listed below to see if they have what he needs:

For 1996 – you’ll be getting enumeration areas, not dissemination areas
- /MAD_DLI/Root/census_pop_recens/1996/profile-b2020/ea
- 95f0185sdbont.zip

For 2001 – DAs
- /MAD_DLI/Root/census_pop_recens/2001/B2020/Profiles/cumulative-electronic-profiles-b2020/ont/
- 95f0495xcb01002-ont-ivt.zip

For 2006 – Das
- /MAD_DLI/Root/census_pop_recens/2006/Profiles/complete-cumulative- profile/b2020
- 94-581-xcb2006002v2-ivt.zip

If he is looking for microdata, he’s out of luck – the most detailed census geography available is either CSD or CT, and only on the files in the Research Data Centres, I believe.

Variance for Mean Housing Value from the NHS

Question

A user needs variance estimates for the mean and median values of dwellings for a number of cities in Canada. Statistics Canada publishes these medians and means in tables from the NHS, but I cannot find their standard errors.

Here is an example for windsor:

http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3537039&Data=Count&SearchText=Windsor&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=3537039&TABID=1

Are these available anywhere, or would it be a special request?

Answer

In regards to the variance of the means and median value of dwelling for select cities in Canada, the subject matter does not believe this to be available or possible at this time.This link will take you to a reference note regarding CVs for NHS 2011 (and relation to NHS 2006 CVs) that you may find helpful: <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/ref/cv/cvnote.cfm?Lang=E>

Here is a new link that should provide you access to what we have available for NHS 2011 , I have tried it but please let me know if you experience any issues with it: <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Ap-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=0&PID=106639&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=98&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=>

From what the subject matter has provided regarding your questions the variance estimates for the mean and median values of dwellings for a number of cities would not be available at that level of geography. Only at the national, provincial and territorial geography levels. These would also not be available through special request due to confidentiality.

Below are some questions and answers regarding the 2011 NHS that were publicly released when the survey became available in case it is of any help to you or your researcher:

Q. Why is there no standard error (SE) of average income reported in the National Household Survey (NHS)?

A. The voluntary 2011 NHS replaced the mandatory census long form. As with most voluntary surveys, there are more risks associated with non-response in the NHS. In order to limit the effects of non-response, the systems and methodology normally used for the census long form were changed to introduce new methods at the collection, sampling and estimation stages.

The NHS is now a two-phase sample design, compared to the single-phase sample design in the census. This makes the estimation methodology more complex for the 2011 NHS. A two-phase sample design involves selecting a first-phase sample with data mostly collected via Internet and mail returns. The second phase consists in selecting and following up on a sub-sample of the non‑respondents from the first phase via more effective modes, i.e., telephone and in-person interviews.

Standard errors (SE) released in previous censuses were derived assuming a simple random sample without replacement. The same assumption cannot be made for the 2011 NHS, because of its more complex design. In the fall, Statistics Canada will be releasing coefficients of variation which are another measure of sampling variability, related to the SE, for key variables.

Q. Will Statistics Canada produce standard errors for NHS data at a later date?

A. Statistics Canada will produce coefficients of variation (CVs) at a later date. Standard errors can be calculated from CVs by multiplying the estimated figure and then dividing by 100. In the fall, there will be a special release of CVs at the national, provincial and territorial levels only for key variables.

Q. Can standard errors be calculated on a custom basis?

A. Standard errors will not be calculated for, nor provided with, custom tabulations.

Q. Can standard errors be calculated on a custom basis?

A. Standard errors will not be calculated for, nor provided with, custom tabulations.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Seven Up: A Longitudinal Survey of Sorts

Question

You've probably seen the documentary that followed a group of children into middle age, at 7 year intervals. I've only seen the first four, starting when the children were 7, back in 1964. I wondered how long he pursued the project, and it turns out, right up to when the "cohorts" were 56 in 2012. <http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32315451>

Answer

The series is now up to 56 Up. See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058578/ for additional information.

Monday, April 13, 2015

RELEASE: 2016 Census and National Household Survey (NHS) Questions

APRIL 13, 2015 RELEASE: 2016 Census and National Household Survey (NHS) Questions

The 2016 Census Program is pleased to announce the release of the 2016 Census and NHS questions that will be included on the questionnaires. The questions have been marked up in HTML and present the sequence, some instructions and response patterns. The full content of the formal questionnaires themselves will be posted at a later date.

The link to the 2016 Census questions <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/ref/questionnaires/questions-eng.cfm> appears on the 2011 Census web module home page in the left-hand side bar under 'Future censuses.' The link to the 2016 NHS questions <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2016/ref/questionnaires/questions-eng.cfm> appears on the 2011 NHS web module home page in the right-hand side bar under 'Other links.'

Friday, April 10, 2015

Historic Highschool Graduation Rates

Question

I'm looking for an easy solution. I have a student who is looking for 1970-1990 historical high school graduation rates. I've already let him know about CANSIM Table 282-0004 which contains statistics pulled the Labour Force Survey:https://tinyurl.com/q7cabzq and provides information between 1990 - 2014.

I haven't found anything similar for preceding years and I understand that methodologies in data gathering changed in 1990.

Other than looking at the LFS or GSS, is there anything that may be more accessible?

Answer

There is some recent data from the Elementary-Secondary Education Survey (ESES). I found tables pertaining to graduation rates in fact. The survey replaces several surveys which were used for the collection of enrollment, graduate, and educator data:

- Elementary-Secondary School Enrollment Survey (ESSE - record number 3128),

- Minority and Second Language Education - Elementary and secondary levels Survey (record number 3129),

- Secondary School Graduate Survey (SSGS - record number 5082),

- Elementary-Secondary Education Staff Survey (ESESS - record number 3127).

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

2011 Income of Families

Question

I have a student requesting the 2011 income of families broken down by income ranges. (Similar to this table for income of households: <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Data=Count&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=Income%20of%20households&B1=All&Custom=&amp;TABID=1>)

It is available for previous Census years? Where can I find it?

Answer

Would any of the following CANSIM tables be of interest?

Table 202-0201: Distribution of market income, by economic family type, 2011 constant dollars, Annual <http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=2020201&pattern=202-0201..202-0203&tabMode=dataTable&srchLan=-1&p1=-1&p2=31>

Distribution of total income, by economic family type, 2011 constant dollars, annual, 1976 to 2011 202-0401 <http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=2020401&pattern=202-0401..202-0411&tabMode=dataTable&srchLan=-1&p1=-1&p2=31>

Distribution of total income, by census family type, 2011 constant dollars, annual, 1976 to 2011 202-0408 <http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=2020408&pattern=202-0401..202-0411&tabMode=dataTable&srchLan=-1&p1=-1&p2=31>

Distribution of after-tax income, by economic family type, 2011 constant dollars, annual, 1976 to 2011 202-0601 <http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=2020601&pattern=202-0601..202-0606&tabMode=dataTable&srchLan=-1&p1=-1&p2=31>

Of potential interest - Income of Canadians, 2011 <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/130627/dq130627c-eng.htm>

Confirmation on Cycle 9 of the National Population Health Survey

Question

I have a researcher interested in accessing the last iteration of the NPHS (Cycle 9). I'm looking for confirmation that in order to do so, she needs to apply for access via the Research Data Centres since it appears that PUMFs ceased distribution after 1999 (Cycle 3)?

Answer

That is correct, a researcher would need to access the files via the RDCs. We also have synthetic files available on the EFT site so that researchers can test their files. HD offers remote access to NPHS:

"Remote access

In some instances where access to Research Data Centres is not feasible and the public use microdata files do not provide enough information for their project, researchers can apply for remote access to the CCHS and the NPHS. Once their project is approved, researchers are provided with synthetic data from which they develop and test their computer programs (in SAS or SPSS), and then transmit them to the Health Statistics Division Client Services Unit via a dedicated e-mail address. The programs are run on the secure data servers by Client Services staff, who also vet the outputs for disclosure issues and return the vetted outputs to the user via e-mail. Remote access to the data is offered free of charge, but is restricted to projects with demonstrated needs. For more information on remote access, contact the Health Statistics Division Client Services Unit."
<http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/health/acces>

Synthetic files on EFT site:

/MAD_DLI/Root/other-products/National Population Health Survey – nphs/Synthetic_Files-Dummy_files

Data available in the RDCs: <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/rdc/data>

GSS on Giving, Volunteering and Participating - Release Date

Question

I have a student looking for the PUMF for the 2013 General Social Survey (GSS) on Giving, Volunteering and Participating. Is it forthcoming or am I missing something?

Answer

Please see the Tentative Release dates for DLI Products <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/dli/prod_date>

Product: General Social Survey - Social Identity (SI) Cycle 27 PUMF
Expected date of release: May 2015
Information updated on: February 2015

Product: General Social Survey – Giving, Volunteering and Participating (GVP) Cycle 27 PUMF
Expected date of release: June 2015
Information updated on: February 2015


K-8 Teachers by Province

Question

I found this table in CANSIM that breaks down teachers by province, age, sex. What I am looking for it a break down by grade. Any ideas?

Alternatively, Is there anyway to get this data broken up by elementary vs secondary? So, one number per province of for all k-8 educators, excluding the secondary school educators?

Answer
I confirmed with Education Statistics Division that unfortunately this information is not available: "Unfortunately we do not have the breakdown by grade by the educators."

Likewise, the subject matter confirmed that: "Unfortunately we cannot produce by that level(breakdown) which has been confirmed by the analyst." 

Monday, April 6, 2015

Vital Statistics Question (CANSIM)

Question

We have a researcher working on determining if death by alcoholic liver disease (K70) is related to vulnerable populations. She is looking more specifically at death by K70 and race/ethnicity and death by K70 and age. Is this available?

Answer

The author division has confirmed that –

The race/ethnicity data is nonexistent on the record layout for Vital therefore even as a custom we are unable to help. The following statistical data items are reported for each death by the appropriate authorities for inclusion in the Canadian Vital Statistics system:

- Age, sex, marital status, place of residence and birthplace of the deceased
- Date of death
- Underlying cause of death classified to the " World Health Organization International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems" (ICD).
- Province or territory of occurrence of death
- Place of accident (for most non-transport accidental deaths)
- Autopsy (whether one was held, and if so, whether the results of it were taken into account in establishing the cause of death)

The rest of the information is available with Table 102-0531.

Discharge Abstract Database


Question

A researcher is using the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD), and has the following question:

The codes in the Intervention frequency table REPEAT as you move down the table. I'm not sure how to interpret this. Are they listed in chronological order in terms of when they were reported/recorded, such that if I add up all of the frequencies reported for each code in the entire table from start to finish, I will be summing the total reported frequency for the 2 year reported time period (ex. 2009-2011)? I think this is the case, but want to be sure before moving forward.

Answer

As far as the variables themselves go, all that we know is that the responses to I_CCI_1 were the “Most important and resource intensive intervention performed during the patient’s stay.” I don’t believe that there is necessarily any relationship between the other variables in terms of timing – it would, possibly, have depended on when the records in the hospital/reporting unit were updated, or more than one intervention might have occurred more or less concurrently (and the order depended on the person doing the inputting, or the department doing the inputting, if multiple departments might be involved). This is something that I think would need to be explored more with CIHI.

In the frequency tables which I prepared (to which I’m assuming the researcher is referring), the researcher is correct – if the researchers sums all 20 responses for, for example, intervention 1AA52SETS, they will find out the total number of times that that intervention was reported on the file. That will not necessarily match the number of patients on whom the intervention was performed – the same intervention might be reported more than once for the same patient record (I don’t know this to be true, but I also don’t know it to be false).

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Updated Products: NGS 2013 (Class of 2009-2010)

National Graduates Survey (NGS)

The documentation for the NGS 2013 PUMF (Class of 2009/2010) was updated and is available on the EFT site.

Files updated:

end2013annxh_v2.doc Annexe H: variables dérivées
end2013cbk_v2.pdf Livre de codes
ngs2013appxh_v2.doc Appendix H: Derived variables
ngs2013cbk_v2.pdf Codebook

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 5012.

EFT: /MAD_DLI/Root/other-products/National graduates survey -ngs/2013

Census Concordance

Question

I have a student asking the following question."When comparing census data from, say, the
Census of Population over multiple censuses (say 1981-2011) is there a sort of concordance table for the actual data to allow for longitudinal analysis? For example, in 1981 there are less data types than in 2011, and I would like to figure out which ones are similar and/or can be compared over the period?" Any help with this would be appreciated.

Answer

If by longitudinal analysis they mean following the same people over time, I think that the short answer is no (unless you work for Statistics Canada, and even then with some considerable difficulty of matching individuals).

If that's not what's meant by longitudinal analysis, the Census Dictionary <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/ref/dict/98-301-X2011001-eng.pdf> for 2011 gives the detailed history of how a variable was defined.

Example: CENSUS FARM
A farm, ranch or other agricultural operation producing agricultural products for sale. Also includes: feedlots, greenhouses, mushroom houses and nurseries; farms producing Christmas trees, fur, game, sod, maple syrup or fruit and berries; beekeeping and poultry hatchery operations; operations with alternative livestock (bison, deer, elk, llamas, alpacas, wild boars, etc.) or alternative poultry (ostriches, emus, etc.), when the animal or derived products are intended for sale; backyard gardens if agricultural products are intended for sale; operations involved in boarding horses, riding stables and stables for housing and/or training horses even if no agriculture products are sold. Sales in the previous 12 months are not required, but there must be the intention to sell.
Note: For the Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories only, the definition also includes operations involved in the following:
• herding wild animals (such as caribou and muskox)
• breeding sled dogs
• horse outfitting and rigging
• harvesting indigenous plants and berries.
Notes:
1. For the 1981 and 1986 censuses, a census farm was defined as a farm, ranch or other agricultural holding with sales of agricultural products of $250 or more during the previous 12 months. Agricultural holdings with anticipated sales of $250 or more were also included.
2. For the 1976 Census, a census farm was defined as a farm, ranch or other agricultural holding of one acre or more with sales of agricultural products of $1,200 or more during the year 1975. The basic unit for which a questionnaire was collected was termed ‘agricultural holding’. This term was defined as a farm, ranch or other agricultural holding of one acre or more with sales of agricultural products of $50 or more during the 12-month period prior to the Census Day.
3. Prior to the 1976 Census, a census farm was defined as a farm, ranch or other agricultural holding of one acre or more with sales of agricultural products of $50 or more during the 12-month period prior to the Census Day.)

However, comparing any census to 2011 is somewhat fraught. Unless they want to look only at the 2011 Census variables (age/sex/language/household relationships/etc.), most of the data disappeared into the NHS, and Statistics Canada warns in various guides/reference material against its comparability with Censuses (especially for small area data).

The period from Confederation to 2001 can be tracked using the 2001 Census Handbook,t
he relevant table begins on page 29: <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/access_acces/archive.action-eng.cfm?/english/census01/Products/Reference/2001handbook/pdf/92-379-XIE02001.pdf>

2011 is fairly easy to map to this, though 2006 would take longer. Perhaps a similar table was made for 2006 but I can't find one. There is this appendix from the 2011 Census Dictionary which details which variables were available from Confederation until 2011: Appendix A: Census questionnaire content and derived variables since Confederation
<http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/ref/dict/app-ann001-eng.cfm>.

Along with the sources already mentioned, there is the "Census PUMFs
Variable Guide":

Walter Giesbrecht, Alia Ahmad, Elaine Grisola, Joshua Mildenberger and Nazia Sheikh, "Replication data for: Census PUMFs Variable Guide", <http://hdl.handle.net/10864/10540> V2 [Version]

Click on the 'Data & Analysis' tab to get the Excel file and explanatory PDF. It lists all the variables appearing in individual census PUMFs from 1971-2006 (2011 is yet to be added). You can easily see what variables are available in what census years, with the variable names listed for easy look-up in the code books.

Something that also matters is the geography they are examining. Cities and CMAs have changed quite a bit overtime, as have the geographies of eas, das, cts and so on. Boundaries shift, amalgamation occurred from the mid 1990s onward on many cities in Canada. Therefore, not only have concepts changed, but so too have the underlying geographies. if they are looking at any geography below the level of the province then they will have to look at maps.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Energy Stats for Canada

Question

I have a student who is looking for the energy consumption and source (I assume he means production) for Canada for years 1932 and 1993. I have no problem finding stats for 1993, but having trouble with 1932.

For example, I found Cansim table 128-0003 – Supply and demand of primary and secondary in natural units. Is there anything else, I should be looking at? Could you please help me find the stats for 1932?

Answer

Try the Canada Year Book, 1932 <http://www66.statcan.gc.ca/eng/acyb_c1932-eng.aspx?opt=/eng/1932/193200050000_Title%20Page.pdf>. There is a chapter (pp. 287-304) on water power and a section on fuel (coal/natural gas/petroleum, pp. 278-282); mineral production of Canada by provinces (p.253) includes coal, natural gas, peat, crude petroleum (for 1930, so you might want the 1934 book).

Report on Accessing Health and Health-Related Data in Canada

The Council of Canadian Academies has announced the release of a 260 page report on health dataAccessing Health and Health-Related Data in Canada  <http://www.scienceadvice .ca/e n/assessments /completed/health-data.aspx>.

This report, requested by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), represents the work of a 14-member expert panel, chaired by Dr. Andrew K. Bjerring, Former President and CEO of CANARIE Inc. In its report, the Panel assesses the current state of knowledge surrounding timely access to health and health-related data — key for both health research and health system innovation.

The Panel’s report provides a foundation of knowledge that will support policy-makers, administrators, clinicians, and researchers in health-related fields who seek to improve the delivery of health and social services to the public.

The full report is available for download, free of charge, on the Council’s website <www.scienceadvice.ca>.