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Statistics Canada On-line Reference Tools

There are a variety of options for searching for data within the Statistics Canada Web Site (). Click on the SEARCH option on the home page to get immediate access to all the search engines available to you, including:

The Daily covering news releases and highlights of new products, including publications, surveys, and data files

Information on Products and Services (IPS) Catalogue, a searchable database of up-to-date information on Statistics Canada products and services

Thematic Search Tool for Research in Social Statistics (TST), a Folio-based guide to data or variables available on the microdata files of a wide range of Statistics Canada sources dating from 1985

Research Papers, a searchable database of some of the research and working papers done by Statistics Canada divisions

Canadian Socio-Economic Information Management System (CANSIM) is a database containing more than 650,000 time series relating to various aspects of the Canadian economy and society

Trade Data, a fee-based retrieval system for the Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database

Statistics Canada web site, allowing searching of the Statistics Canada web site itself.

THE DAILY: This site can be useful for tracking down references for researchers who come to the desk asking for a Statistics Canada survey they saw written up in the Globe and Mail the previous day. Issues of The Daily are available for searching from June 1995 to date on the Statistics Canada web site. The search engine, Excite for Web Servers, allows Boolean searches, presenting results as “best matches.” Though not a complex search engine, the site does provide searching tips on the search page to help you understand some basic query techniques. No provision is allowed for truncation nor can a search be limited by date; proximity searching and string searching are also not supported.

Example: search literacy

Search result: Hit list begins with The Daily, 6 December 1995, announcing release of the International Adult Literacy Survey.

Information On Products And Services (IPS) Catalogue.

This is a searchable database of up-to-date information on Statistics Canada products and services. It has been regarded as an electronic edition of the printed Statistics Canada Catalogue. A public version of IPS has been available for several months, and has recently been improved with the addition of a thesaurus and the ability to do title searches as well catalogue number searches. An additional feature permits organization of search results by medium.

The IPS contains descriptions of Statistics Canada’s current publications, electronic products, and services, and is searchable by keywords, title, or by catalogue number. The public database, updated weekly, includes information about products and services which are currently available, either for sale or free. The IPS does not include information about historical products, those which have been discontinued, or products which are forthcoming.

There are three search options: keyword searching, searching by title, and searching by catalogue number. If you are unfamiliar with the Statistics Canada numbering system or do not know the title, keyword searching will be your primary searching mode. The online thesaurus allows you to expand or narrow your search using Statistics Canada subject headings.

As a result of keyword searches, IPS will display a comprehensive list of catalogue numbers with their corresponding titles. Selecting a particular catalogue number will lead you to a description of the item. It is intended that IPS records will link, whenever possible, to the data itself. This includes free and priced data, for example, IPS records will link to related CANSIM matrices.

Keyword Searches: some points to remember:

-- Searches are based on the text in the description (e.g. title, abstract, etc.) as well as an extensive list of subject terms which are not displayed.

-- There are still some features of the IPS which require refinement. Try a search several ways to note the variations in the searching parameters. When the enhanced IPS was released, for example, a space at the end of the search term affected the search results. These details will be adjusted as they are discovered but, as with all new products, users should be flexible in their searching techniques.

-- Keywords are searched as entered, with no word boundary before the first word or after the last word.

e.g. user input: mental

searched string: mental (will find "environmental", "environmentally", "experimental", "mental")

-- Keyword strings are searched with no word boundary before the first word or after the last word:

e.g. user input: employment insurance

searched string: employment insurance (will find "unemployment insurance", "unemployment insurance/population", "employment insurance")

-- All words with fewer than three characters will be eliminated as will some three-character words:

e.g. user input: a social survey

searched string: social survey

Catalogue Number Searches: some points to remember:

♦ Enter the full or the root IPS catalogue number to obtain its description:

e.g. 65-001-XPB or 65-001

-- To obtain a list of all catalogue numbers that start with the subject "65," keep in mind that you cannot use wildcards (*) in your search. Instead, enter the subject part of the IPS catalogue number alone: e.g. 65

What do the responses mean?

The result of your search is provided as a “hit” list, which gives a brief summary of the product and provides links from the catalogue number to a more extensive description of the product or service. These longer descriptions give information on frequency, medium, starting date (for serials), availability, status, and pricing. In searching “aboriginal peoples survey,” the hit list included workshops, microdata products, custom tabulations, paper products, and electronic products.

89M0013XTB 1991 aboriginal peoples survey - Adults microdata file, Occasional, Micro Data File Tape.

This public use microdata file provides unaggregated data on the Aboriginal adult population - those who identify with their Aboriginal origin(s) and those who do not. For persons who identify, it contains almost 700 variables from the 1991 survey, such as, the group with which they identify, language proficiency, disability, chronic health conditions, schooling, work experience and the 1991 Census variables such as, income levels, marital status, fertility. The same census variables are provided for the population who does not identify.

One of the keys to interpreting the hit list is the numbers used by Statistics Canada. Under the numbering system used for publicly released products, the numbers were composed of five digits:

89 - 547E

where the first digit indicates the major subject group or division responsible for the publication (in this case, 8 is Education, Culture, Health and Welfare); the second digit for the sub-group within that subject area (9 indicates social analytical studies); the third digit reflects the frequency of the publication (5 is for occasional publications), and the final two digits (47) acting as a unique publication number. An “E” or “F” was added to indicate language of publication.

With the move to wider availability of product descriptions, Statistics Canada has extended their numbering system to reflect the class of product and mode of delivery. The first two digits indicate the major subject group and sub-group. Those digits are followed by an alphabetic character representing product class; a four-digit identification number; and a series of codes reflecting the product description, the mode of distribution, and language.

89 M 0013 X T B

Educ. Culture, etc. F-Fixed product Unique no. P-Preliminary T-Tape E-Eng.

- Social Analytical C-Custom product S-Supplement D-Diskette F-Fr.

M-Microdata product R-Revision M-Microfiche B-Bil.

S-Surveys U-Update C-CD-ROM

H-Other M-Monographic Series N-Online Access

L-License I-Internet

G-Guide P-Paper

X -not applicable F-Fax

H-Other

Note that data files usually have an “M” following the subject category, as is the case in 89M0013XTB, the number for the 1991 Aboriginal Peoples Survey-Adults microdata file.

Thematic Search Tool For Research In The Social Statistics (TST)

This Folio-based guide to microdata files and variables is useful for locating variables within data files. This search tool covers primarily social data at present, but work is underway to add economic, business and trade sources to the database. The files originate from a wide range of Statistics Canada sources, dating from 1985 to the present.

Currently, there are over 125 data files included in the TST and, of those, record layouts are provided for approximately 46 data files allowing for identification of specific variables within a data file. The TST is updated as files become available; not all information is available for data files listed when the file first appears in the TST.

Searching: an Evolving Art:

The search tool has been built in a thematic way assuming most users will commence their search from a subject perspective. Thus, the first screen viewed shows a main subject list. Clicking on any given subject leads to a detailed alphabetical listing of all variables and their sources associated with that subject. Clicking on a source leads to a series of options in which the user can choose to view baseline information about the source, the dictionary of terms (where available), the questionnaire used for the source, a thematic listing of variables available for the source, the record layouts for microdata (either public use files or confidential master files), references to published output from the source (linked to the Statistics Canada Catalogue or the IPS system when available) and contact points to obtain data from sources of interest.

The search tool can also be used for a keyword search on variables, but the search engine is not intuitive at the present time and the help screens are inadequate to guide a first-time user through a query. The most straight-forward method of retrieving relevant results if you are looking for particular variables is:

1. Click on the QUERY icon

2. Type the keywords where indicated. Scroll down the page and tick all the display options presented in the second part of the screen. Click on the SEARCH button to begin the search. The results will be displayed indicating the number of hits relevant to your search.

3. Click on the DOCUMENT icon

4. Click on any of the hypertext links for the main survey description.

Note: It is often difficult to get back to the main subject list from a query. Remember that you can use the “GO” option, available in many web browsers, or the “BACK” arrow in the browser to move back through the TST pages.

RESEARCH PAPERS

Statistics Canada produces many research and working papers. A number are now available in electronic format through the Statistics Canada site and more will be placed online as they become available. The site provides a listing of research papers, grouped by categories: analytical studies; services, science and technology; agriculture; labour and income; Labour Force Survey redesign; and other papers. Users can also search the site using Excite for Web Servers, the search engine used for The Daily.

CANSIM

CANSIM (Canadian Socio-Economic Information Management System) is Statistics Canada’s computerized socio-economic database and retrieval system, and contains data for time series going back, in some cases, as far as 1914. The database was designed in the over two decades ago and the initial design has proved to have limitations. A new version of CANSIM is currently under discussion, but because of the complexity of the data base and variety of contributors, the revision of CANSIM will evolve over several years.

CANSIM is currently available in several formats, including CD-ROM, some of which are available through the DLI program. Although DLI libraries cannot access the CANSIM directly from the Statistics Canada web site, users can perform searches and identify matrices or series of interest to them on the site. The following are some of the options users have for accessing CANSIM:

CANSIM time series directory [CD-ROM]: This product serves as a guide to the data in the CANSIM time series database and allows searches by keyword, by topic, or by publication number. The CD-ROM contains the entries in the Statistical Data Documentation System (SDDS), a database of information about the surveys and statistical programs used by Statistics Canada. There is an instructional module called “About Statistics Canada data” which contains additional information on available data and services. Updated quarterly.

CANSIM [CD-ROM]: This product contains the CANSIM time series database, plus publications and survey information (the SDDS database), and the Statistics Canada thesaurus. It is searchable by keyword/topic, or publication number, and many libraries have prepared user guides to assist students in using the product. Updated semi-annually.

CANSIM University Base: The CANSIM univerity base is offered exclusively to universities and colleges for the purpose of teaching and academic research. The entire CANSIM time series database is available through the University Base Internet Service. Many DLI libraries are accessing the CANSIM University Base throught the University of Toronto web interface, available through subscription. Updated weekly.

CANSIM on E-STAT [CD-ROM]: The E-STAT CD-ROM contains a subset of the CANSIM database. There are 2668 CANSIM matrices available on E-STAT. Terminated matrices are not included on the E-STAT CD-ROM. Updated annually.

CANSIM through StatsCan Online: This version of CANSIM is an electronic subscription service accessed via Datapac. There is a one-time registration fee and a monthly service fees. There are no connect fees and volume discounts are available. Updated daily.

CANSIM through Statistics Canada’s web site: Users can browse the CANSIM database on Statistics Canada’s web site and have relevant time series identified for them. The user only pays for the time series which are actually retrieved. Updated daily.

TRADE DATA

This search engine allows a user to search by commodity description or by Harmonized System code. If you search by commodity, the search engine will give you a list of results from which you can highlight the HS code which corresponds to your request, and proceed to the next step, the retrieval option.

The program guides the user through selection of countries, provinces, type of trade and time period. The user moves through the options, selecting the elements of interest; as with the CD-ROM product, the user can also sort and aggregate the results. The final step is the estimation of cost and ordering process.

STATISTICS CANADA WEB SITE

There is a search engine which works on the Statistics Canada web site itself. Like The Daily, the Statistics Canada Web Site is searchable using the Excite for Web Servers search engine, which describes itself as capable of searching using Boolean operands (and, or, not). The results are a bit unpredictable, however. Compare searches on “stress and health” and “(stress OR worry) and health” as an example of the need to consider various ways of constructing searches.

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