1. Data Liberation Initiative – Statistics Canada
Beyond 20/20 Web Data Server (WDS)
Data Liberation Initiative – Statistics Canada
June 1st, 2016

2. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
What is the WDS?
Web-based, multidimensional table viewer
Aggregate data only
Used to manipulate aggregate data; create tables, charts, graphs; reshape data files to fit the specific need of the researcher.
User Friendly  No knowledge of SPSS, SAS or other complicated Statistical programs required
So what is the WDS? The WDS (the Web Data Server), or Beyond 20/20, is a web-based, multidimensional table viewer that allows users to research aggregate data. Aggregate data are statistical summaries organized in a specific data file structure which permits further computer analysis (or data processing). Aggregate data are produced to provide access to data that cannot be released as microdata.
The WDS is used to manipulate this aggregate data by allowing the user to create table, charts, graphs, and reshape data files to fit the specific needs of the researcher.
The beauty of the WDS is that it is completely user friendly, meaning you do not require any knowledge of SPSS, SAS, or any other complicated statistical program.
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3. How to access the WDS IP restricted product.
All students/researchers/faculty will be able to access the website.
Click on the following link to go to the site:
If you are unable to access the WDS at any time, please contact the DLI team directly at
Accessing the WDS is quite an easy process. When an institution signs a license with the DLI, their IP’s will be registered and all students, researchers, and faculty will have access to the site. Simply connect to the link shown on the screen. And if at any time you are having issues with the WDS (or any other DLI product for that matter), please do not hesitate to contact the DLI team directly.
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What is included?
Dissemination of multiple data products in a variety of formats:
- Most pdfs and word documents are documentation related
PDF Word
-Excel and IVT files more commonly display numerical relations; IVT files are the most interactive format available on the WDS
Excel IVT
-Other formats:
Text Files Zip Files
Currently over 28,000 files and growing!
So what is included? There are many different files that can be found within the WDS. It allows for the dissemination of multiple data products in a variety of different formats, including PDF’s and Word documents. These typically contain documentation related materials. There are Excel tables and IVT tables, which more commonly display numerical relations. The IVT tables are the most interactive format available on the WDS, and this is what user’s access when they are interested in creating their own graphs, tables, charts, etc. You will also find Text Files and Zip Files in the WDS, however these are normally used as back-up documents for the tables that are already available.
At the moment we have over 29,000 files in the WDS and that number is growing weekly!
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5. Examples of file formats within a WDS folder
Here we will see an example of the different file formats that can be found in the WDS. On the left-hand side of the screen you can see the break-down of the folders, and in the middle section (which is the larger section of the screen), is a shot of the different files that can be found within a folder. Now for this particular example I’ve cut and pasted from a few different folders, as you can see there is both Education related material, as well as Aboriginal and Census related material. So at the top of the list we see the icon for Excel tables, followed by a word document, a PDF file, a Zip file, and finally the icon for the IVT tables. Getting used to what each icon means will help you to locate the types of files you require much faster!
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How is it Used?
Searching the browser
The Highlighted areas mark the search and advanced search functions. Users can search for specific table names, dates and other identifiers by typing in their specifications in this box. Personally I suggest using the “advanced search” function as it contains many more options, and often times you may not get any hits by just typing into the box directly. Within the advanced search option, there is a box marked “find whole word only”. If you remove the check mark from this box you will get many more hits. You can also use the centre section of the main page which allows users to browse through surveys organized by theme.
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7. Example using the search term “crime”
Here is an example of what your search results will look like when you search for the term “crime”, so it shows the specific IVT tables that relate to crime, and also the folder they can be found in. This can be a useful little tip if you aren’t looking for something extremely specific but you want to know which folders might contain the general theme you are searching for.
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8. What can you use the WDS for?
IVT tables
In addition to PDF, Excel and Word documents, the WDS uses IVT tables to allow researchers to manipulate data, creating graphs, charts, tables, etc, for their research projects. This is what you will first see when you click on an IVT table. The highlighted section allows the user to switch between table and chart format. If there is more than one time period or geographical region covered by the table, users can switch through these dimensions using the arrows.
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How do IVT tables work?
Choosing desired dimensions
How do IVT tables work? The highlighted icon allows users to narrow down and select the dimensions they want to look at, in order to organize their table.
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When you click on an item in the desired dimensions tab, which is the far left icon, you will get a listing of different variables available for the specific table you are working with. You can select the variables you wish to examine, and de-select the ones you don’t. This can be done with each dimension. Users can also search for specific variables using the search function. Once all of the desired variables have been selected, you can click on the Show Table icon to display the newly updated table.
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11. Downloading in other formats
You can also download your table in other formats, such as an Excel table.
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12. Performing Calculations
You can perform calculations in an IVT table. The little calculator icon shows the different calculation functions that can be performed within any given table. It is important to note however that the calculations will not discriminate between the variables that have already been totaled in the table, for example, in the Total violent Criminal Code Violations column.
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13. Switching the Table Layout
Users can customize how the chart is organized by dimension
So this screen shows how you can customize how the chart is organized by dimension. In the next slide we will show how this icon is used. The icon beside the highlighted one allows the user to return to the original table settings.
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14. Setting your dimensions
This screen shows how you can set your dimensions in order to customize your table. Simply move the categories to the columns, rows, or other sections and the table will be populated based on these specifications.
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15. Create, Save, and Print Reports
The highlighted icon allows the user to save the report they are working on, which will keep all changes made to the table. You can find the saved table in the My Reports folder, found on the left hand side of the main page.
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16. Viewing Data in Chart Form
If you would like to view the data in chart form, click on the chart tab at the top. When you do so, this will be the first screen you see. From this platform users can still change which variables they wish to examine, as well as change the dimension order.
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Chart styles
User can select from 13 various chart types in order to achieve the visual graphic that best displays their data. You may find you need to manipulate the dimension orders and selected variables in order to have the data displayed in a coherent manner. You can then save and print your reports from here as well. If you’d like to view an enlarged version of the chart, simply click on the smaller form. In the next slide we will see what this looks lie.
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So here we will see an enlarged Line Chart showing the selected variables and dimension orders. To view individual data labels for each year, users must click on the highlighted icon.
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19. To Print and Save Your Chart
And again, you are able to print and save your chart by clicking on the highlighted icon.
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Saving documents
You can also save your chart in picture format by right-clicking on the screen and saving the picture to the desired location on your computer.
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How is it Used?
To switch between French and English…
And finally, you can switch between French and English within the WDS by clicking on the highlighted icon and choosing your desired language. It is important to note that when viewing reports in French, those folders in which only English reports appear will be marked as Anglais Seulement, and when you view your reports in English, those folders in which only French reports appear will be marked as French only.
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22. Let’s do an example to show how IVT tables work!
Example research question:
“What is the average wage for Aboriginal employees?”
- The researcher would like to compare the following:
Age groups of 15-24, 25-54, and 55+
Provinces Ontario, Quebec, Prairies, and Atlantic
Hourly vs weekly
Men vs. women
Years ranging from 2010 to 2014
So now we’re just going to go through a quick example that shows how the IVT tables work. In this example, the researcher is trying to determine what the average wage for Aboriginal employees is, comparing different ages groups, locations, hourly versus weekly, men versus women, and finally during the years of 2010 to 2014.
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First, let’s find an IVT table in the WDS that would answer the question:
I’ve gone ahead and used the advanced search function to find an IVT table entitled “Average Weekly and Hourly Wage by Aboriginal Identity”, so we’ll go ahead and select this table.
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24. The IVT table we have chosen is the following:
This screen shows what the IVT table looks like, with all of the possible dimensions.
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25. We will now chose the desired dimensions:
By clicking on the icon in the top left corner, we can now select the dimensions we want, based on the specifics the researcher gave us. You’ll see that there are multiple possibilities that we can filter through, including province, sex, age, education, etc.
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Once we have specified all of our required dimensions, the results will look like:
Once we have gone through and specified all of the required dimensions, this is the resulting table that will be displayed. You can filter through different options by clicking on the arrows for each of the different dimensions not displayed.
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27. Next we will set the dimensions so we can see all of our variables
If you want to be able to display all of the dimensions at one time, simply set the dimensions using the 5th icon from the left of the screen, and move the categories into the sections you’d like to see.
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28. Our results will appear as the following:
The result will appear as the following table. Obviously much more in-depth than the initial resulting table! Don’t forget to save or print as well!
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29. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
Finally, let’s create a chart that can be used for quick and easy visual purposes:
When we click on the chart tab, we automatically get the following results:
This slide shows what we see when you click on the chart tab. These results show every possible chart for each of the specifications we’ve created. In the next slide we will break it down for each individual requirement.
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Adjusting dimensions
If we want to create a graph to compare the researcher’s specific requirements, we simply have to adjust the desired dimensions.
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31. The researcher would like to use the same bar-graph layout
Results comparing men vs women in 2013, across all desired provinces
Here is an example of a resulting graph comparing men and women in 2013, for all of the desired provinces.
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32. To view the specific data labels:
And finally, if you would like to view the specific data labels on the graph, simply click on the highlighted icon.
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In Conclusion:
Online training repository (CUDO – Carleton University Digital Objects)
Online Survival Guide
So this was just a quick little demonstration of what the WDS can do. Be sure to check out the online training repository, which we call CUDO (or Carleton University Digital Objects), as well as the Survival Guide on our website. The WDS itself also has a help function which goes through different videos and tutorials that can help you navigate through the product.
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34. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
Questions?
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10/05/2018