1. Accessing data – a user’s perspective
Presented to the Atlantic DLI Training Workshop
Acadia University
April 11-12, 2017
E. Dianne Looker
Professor emerita

2. Outline of presentation
DLI Opportunities & Responsibilities
Secondary versus primary data
Accessing data using CANSIM
Accessing data using the RDCs
Accessing data using DLI
Ways to improve DLI access
Providing information on data repositories
Pro-active information to researchers

3. DLI Opportunities & Responsibilities
Pro-active promotion of data options
Providing information on data options to faculty
Continuum of data options from Statistics Canada
Other data options through data repositories
Providing access to Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs)
Providing support for access to PUMFs

4. Secondary versus primary data
Advantages of researchers collecting primary data:
Researcher control
Access to all data; researcher controls any suppresion
Disadvantages of primary data collection:
Cost
Time – data collection, coding, data cleaning
Often limited in scope; response rate issues
Complexities and constraints of obtaining ethics approval

5. Advantages of secondary data: Low or no cost to individual researcher
Data processed, cleaned and checked
Disadvantages of secondary data:
No researcher control – measures and sample might not match your goals
Data suppression – variables and codes
Need access – takes some time and knowledge to access and run
“Over” interpretation of particular data sets
Example of “over” interpretation – High School and Beyond data set, U.S.

6. My experiences Using CANSIM
Analysis of data on graduate students in Canada for Canadian Association for Graduate Studies – 41st and 42nd Reports
Summary data for background for research papers
HOWEVER, I only recently learned of CANSIM

7. Accessing data using CANSIM
Advantages:
Large, often nationally representative data sets
Excellent for time trends
Data quality has been checked
No data collection or processing costs
Documentation of measures
Disadvantages:
Limited number of variables
Limits on possible multi-variate analyses
Codes and recodes set by others
Documentation is often restricted to footnotes in HTML tables – not evident if you download

8. My experience using the RDCs:
Co-director of the Atlantic RDC (ARDC) & representative to national Coordinating Committee,
Institutional representative to the ARDC,
Researcher using various data sets, including: Youth in Transition and National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth
Reviewer for access to RDCs

9. Accessing data through the RDCs
Advantages:
No data collection or processing costs
Few suppressed variables
Can undertake multi-variate analyses
Disadvantages:
Physical access to RDC required
Need focused project – no “exploration”
Challenges downloading data into SPSS
Delays in accessing output
Challenge of avoiding residual disclosure problems

10. My experience with DLI:
Analysed data from various General Social Surveys
Analysed data from Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning
Accessed Aborginal Peoples Survey
Accessed National Graduate Survey

11. Finding Public Use Data Files
Statistics Canada lists the Public Use Data file surveys (PUMFs) and measures
MFFILE%22&showSum=hide#
Odesi allows you to search by variable in a range of data sets
See also this “small area” data guide:
a%20Data%20Guide_FINAL2.pdf

12. Available data: Statistics Canada
Other Government agencies, including:
Employment & Social Development Canada
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Canada Revenue Agency
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Natural Resources Canada

13. Other data:
Archived data in data repositories (see repositories for Canadian and international repositories)
The three granting councils require that:
“Research data resulting from agency funding should normally be preserved in a publicly accessible, secure and curated repository or other platform for discovery and reuse by others.”

14. Accessing data through DLI
Advantages:
No data collection or processing costs
Data has been cleaned and checked
Can access national surveys
Disadvantages:
Some variables are suppressed
No list of suppressed variables; documentation is usually for the full data set
Some codes are collapsed
You have to take the time to access the data to find the codes are collapsed
Different files are in different formats

15. Using DLI – there is a need for:
Clear lists of suppressed variables for each data set
Clear lists of codes used in PUMF (not just in the full master file)
Having these lists would also facilitate applications to the RDC.
Information on related files that compliment particular PUMF files in terms of topic areas
Information on how to access alternate data files that are stored in a data repository

16. In general:
Researchers need to know about the range of options and how to access them
Many researchers do not know about CANSIM, the RDCs or PUMFs
More standardization in file format for PUMFs would be helpful
More and better documentation of PUMFs information before accessing the files
Many researchers will need assistance setting up and accessing the files

17. In sum:
There are a lot of options for accessing data for research All have advantages and disadvantages PUMFs offer flexibility combined with access to micro-data Better documentation would increase the usefulness of PUMFs Data librarians and DLI representatives have the opportunity (and responsibility?) to pro-actively promote the range of data available

18. Pro-active promotion
Presentations in university classes that teach and use quantitative methods would increase exposure of PUMFs (and other data sources) to potential researchers
Social sciences and related disciplines (Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Geography, Education, Business administration, Law, Religious studies, etc.)
Life sciences and related disciplines (Health and medicine, Kinesiology, Tourism and recreation, etc.)
Other?

19. Comments, questions, insights
E. Dianne Looker