Excel Tables for the Survey of Household Spending, 2008 and Back

Question

We are receiving more demand for these tables and in the process, we have hit a couple of coverage/documentation roadblocks.

I’d like to inquire about the following please …

1. Is the “Accompanying User Guide”/« Guide de l’utilisateur en annexe» available for these tables as referred to on the Notes worksheet for the tables, or does this refer to the User Guide to the microdata? If this is available as a guide to the tables, how could we access this (in English and in French)?

2. This question may be answerable by the answer to question 1. What does the Size of Area of Residence refer to when it gives ranges like: 30,000-99,000, 100,000-249,000*, etc. (e.g., is it the “market value” of the dwelling?)?

*… as noted in 62FPY0035XDB, Detailed Average Household Expenditure by Size of Area of Residence and 62FPY0045XDB, Dwelling Characteristics and Household Equipment by Size of Area of Residence

3. Our researchers noticed a while ago that some CMA’s (e.g., Ottawa and Quebec City**) were dropped around 2007. Is there any chance of these being reinstated in the next round?

**… as noted in: 62FPY0031XDB, Detailed Average Household Expenditure - Geographic and 62FPY0041XDB, Dwelling Characteristics and Household Equipment - Geography

We’d like to answer these questions for our users and ensure that the page we’re in the process of putting up to meet demand is accurate at http://uottawa.ca.libguides.com/content.php?pid=14806&sid=695367 (French under construction) .

Answer

Answers to your three questions about the Survey of Household Spending (SHS) 2008 standard tables follow:

1- The 2008 SHS User Guide should be used. I will send you a copy of these guides (French and English) by email and we will add them to our website and FTP.

2- Size of area of residence refers to the population size of the area in which the dwellings are located. The user guide defines it as follows:

"4.6.8 Size of area of residence:
Sampled dwellings are assigned to the following groups depending on the 2001 population size (according to the 2001 census boundaries) of the metropolitan area, municipality, or area in which they are located.

– Urban
• 1,000,000 and over
• 500,000–999,999
• 250,000–499,999
• 100,000–249,999
• 30,000–99,999
• under 30,000
– Rural"

(Source: User Guide for the Survey of Household Spending, 2008, p.22)

3- Ottawa and Quebec City were not dropped, there were insufficient respondent responses to offer reliable SHS data in these tables. Data for these areas may be available in future editions.