Transcript Slide 1

Data Daze
Statistics Canada
and DLI Data
What is (are) Data?
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Data are what statistics are derived from
In the case of Statistics Canada, Data
are files that have been anonomized and
organized in a file where the records in
the file represent the responses to survey
questions of each individual respondent
Not human readable!
Statistics or Data?
Size Concerns
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Data files can contain <10,000 to
50,000+ records
Records can contain <50 to 1,000+
variables
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Can be as few as 50 to over 2000 bytes in
length
Documentation can consist of 50 to
600+ pages
DLI Data Available
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DLI Products include:
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DLI also contains some aggregate data in
B2020 and other formats
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Public Use Micro Data Files (PUMFs)
Census/Geography Files
Databases
Canadian Business Patterns
Justice Tables
Many (but not all) DLI products are in
the Catalogue
How to recognize data questions
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“I need this data file, please”
Need data to manipulate for an
assignment
Geographic level of analysis
Variable level of analysis
Looking to combine a series of variables
“I need numbers on…”
Statistical Information available through Statistics Canada
Open
Free
Statistics
Restricted
Expensive
Data
ACCESS
Different Services
Service:
Who is
Eligible &
Conditions:
Products:
Notes
Statistics
Canada Website
General Public:
available on the
Internet at
www.statcan.ca
Depository
Service
Program
Designated
DSP Libraries
& their Users:
available on site
Data Liberation
Initiative
Post-secondary
Academic:
restricted to
teaching and
research purposes
Cu$tomized
Tabulations &
Pay per View
Individuals:
contract between
STC and
individual
Remote Job
Submission
Research Data
Centres
Approved
Researchers:
Approved
Researchers:
contract between
STC and
individual
SSHRC peer
review & deemed
STC employee
- The Daily
- Canadian
Statistics
- Census
- Statistical profiles
of Canadian
communities
- Downloadable
publications
- Paper publications
- Electronic publications, which
includes priced
down-loadable
publications &
select CD ROMS
Standard data
products:
aggregate data
bases, microdata
files and
geography files
Tables from
confidential files
that are specially
produced by
Statistics Canada
for a fee and
access to
specialized
databases
“Dummy” or
synthetic files to
build analysis
setups that must
then be submitted
to Stats Can for
processing
Confidential data
files from the
longitudinal
surveys begun in
the 1990’s
Warning: some
parts of the Website
are fee-based
Some DSP
libraries provide
off-site access to
authenticated
users
Interface to
CANSIM I and
Trade Analyzer
available through
CHASS (University
of Toronto) by
subscription
Specialized
databases include
CANSIM II and
Trade Analyzer
Services available
for selected titles.
Remote job
submission is the
most developed
for NPHS.
Applications can
now be submitted
through the
SSHRC Web site.
Example
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A student comes to the desk asking how
many people in St. John’s use the
Internet for banking
Would STC collect this data?
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Socio-Economic data
No company information
Not always the best choice (e.g., Heath=
CIHI, Business= Strategis)
http://www.statcan.ca/english/about/used.htm
The Daily
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First stop for information
It is legally required to announce every
piece of information released by STC in
the Daily
Searchable
Provides highlights of the release as well
as links to more information
ESTAT vs. CANSIM
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ESTAT
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Nicer interface (IMHO)
Easier to select multiple variables
Easier to obtain longitudinal data
Subset of CANSIM
Updated annually
CANSIM
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Contains all CANSIM tables
Can browse by Table Number
Updated weekly
If it’s a Data Question…
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You need to determine three things:
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Is the patron a current student, staff or
faculty member?
Is the patron familiar with statistical
software and analytical techniques?
Does the use of the data fall under the
terms of the data licence?
DLI Licence
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Under this licence data are made available for:
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Teaching
Planning of academic/educational services
Academic Research and Publishing
Use of data in textbooks falls under a different
set of STC licences and permissions
Data are not to be used in any commercial or
private activities (even if no money is involved)
Data cannot be shared outside the institution
Is the Data Available?
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STC Our Products and Services
catalogue will tell you if a product is
available through the DLI
Look for “information for libraries”
Public Use Data File = PUMF = DLI Data
Getting the Data
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IDLS
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Non-assisted interface for data
Does not contain all DLI data
Provides Codebooks and SPSS/SAS Syntax
files
If our patrons can use it, we need how to as
well!
Variable Searching in IDLS
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IDLS allows you to search through the
questions asked in STC surveys
Great if you have a really obscure
question – “I want sales of children's
shoes…”
Census Tables in IDLS
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Thousands of B2020 census tables are
available in IDLS
Back to 1986
Free download of B2020 viewer available
at:
www.ucalgary.ca/~landru/b2020.html
Great searching!
Summary – DLI
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Raw data PUMFs
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Contain more detail than other STC products
Not every survey has a PUMF released
PUMFs need to be massaged using statistical
software
Find them:
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Library Catalogue
STC Catalogue (Products and Services)
IDLS
Summary - DLI
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Aggregate Data
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Collection of B2020 tables and databases
Often derived from reported statistics (i.e.
Justice tables, Business)
Find them:
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Library Catalogue
STC Catalogue (Products and Services)
IDLS
Summary - DLI
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Geospatial Products
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Majority are census files
Available in ArcView and MapInfo formats
Find them:
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IDLS
Summary – Licenced Users
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Before you refer a patron for data
services, ensure:
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They are a current student, staff or faculty
member of Memorial
They are familiar with SPSS or other
statistical software package (or have a
resource to help)
Summary – IDLS
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Contains:
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DLI PUMFs & other products
Census Tables
Other free data
Searchable by:
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Browse (or search) by name/subject of
product
Variable keyword
File type
Lots more!
Summary – Search Techniques
To know if something exists:
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To find it:
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The Daily
Catalogue of Products & Services (show information for
libraries)
CANSIM/ESTAT (longitudinal, census)
Census webpage (lots of free data)
Community profiles (basic demographic data, census)
Analytical reports
Print publications
If the survey exists, but the information you’re looking
for isn’t available through one of these sources, then
you might be looking at a data question
Useful Resources – Stats & data
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The Daily http://www.statcan.ca/english/dai-quo/
Products and Services catalogue
http://www.statcan.ca/english/services/
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Definitions, Data Sources and Methods
http://www.statcan.ca/english/concepts/index.htm
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Guide to ESTAT
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Estat/promo/user-guide.pdf
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Guide to CANSIM II
http://www.library.mun.ca/qeii/govdocs/cansimII.php
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DLI Collection: survey names and acronyms
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/inventory.htm
STC Website Cheat Sheet
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Looking for community information at
the smallest geographic level?
Community Profiles!
Looking for information about
Canadians?
Census!
Looking for statistics on a subject?
The Daily!
STC Website Cheat Sheet
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Looking what products are available
from a survey?
Products and Services!
Looking to see if a question was asked
on a survey?
IDLS Variable Search!
Exercise Fun!