Statistics & Data
Data Librarian
Terminology
Data are information or characteristics collected through observation, meaning there are many different types of data including:
Microdata are the individual responses or observations, before statistical analysis has been applied. Sometimes referred to as "raw" data. Microdata usually needs to be interpreted using analysis software. Microdata collected about people needs to be anonymized before they can be published for public use so specific individuals cannot be identified. These are called Public Use Microdata Files or PUMFs.
- Best bet for finding microdata: StatCan's Rich Data Services or Odesi
Statistics (Aggregate Data): Unlike microdata, aggregate data, or statistics, are not in their 'raw form'. They are the result of statistical analysis, often compiled and presented in a summary report or a table. Percentages, averages, and ratios are examples of aggregate data.
- Best bet for finding statistics: Statistics Canada
Geospatial Data: Data that includes geographic positioning information relative to a coordinate system. Geospatial data usually needs to be interpreted using GIS software.
Time Series Data: Observations of the same variable made over time, such as climate data.
- Best bet for finding time series data: CANSIM [CHASS]
Textual Data: Systematically collected material consisting of written, printed, or electronically published words, typically either purposefully written or transcribed from speech.
Looking for Statistics?
Canadian Data
- Statistics CanadaLook here first! In addition to conducting a Census every five years, there are about 350 active surveys on virtually all aspects of Canadian life.
- Open Data Portal (Government of Canada)Data and statistics from many branches of government, from agriculture to zoology. Includes climate data, geospatial data and economic data.
- Stats Canada 'The Daily'The Daily is Statistics Canada's official release bulletin, the Agency's first line of communication with the media and the public. The Daily issues news releases on current social and economic conditions and announces new products. It provides a comprehensive overview of new information available from Statistics Canada.
- Odesi This link opens in a new window
This resource can only be used by current students, faculty/staff.
Note: Odesi recently moved from the Nesstar platform to the Borealis platform. Check out the New Odesi User Guide now available.
Odesi is a web-based tool for data exploration, extraction and analysis. It searches for survey questions (variables) across thousands of datasets held in a growing number of collections, and supports basic tabulation and analysis online. As well, it contains a digital repository for social science data the core of which is Statistics Canada's public-use survey data.
- CANSIM [CHASS] This link opens in a new window
This resource can only be used by current students, faculty/staff.
CANSIM (Canadian Socio-Economic Information Management System) is the Statistics Canada computerized database which contains time series covering a wide variety of social and economic aspects of Canadian life. CANSIM I database is no longer being updated. - Canadian Census Analyser [CHASS] This link opens in a new window
This resource can only be used by current students, faculty/staff.
Provides access to commonly requested Canadian census data. - SDA (Survey Documentation Analysis) [CHASS] This link opens in a new window
This resource can only be used by current students, faculty/staff.
SDA (Survey Documentation Analysis) is a microdata analysis and subsetting resource. It is a series of software programs that presents documentation associated with survey data sets, facilitates web-based analysis of survey data, and includes procedures for creating customized subsets of data that can be downloaded for use in Excel and other statistical software packages.
Manitoba Data
- Data MBAccess government data sets on agriculture, economy, transportation, education, government, health, environment, emergency management, etc.
- Manitoba Bureau of StatisticsThe Manitoba Bureau of Statistics (MBS) is a branch within the Finance Policy and Legislation Division with the Department of Finance. The MBS is the government’s central statistics agency, responsible for the compilation, management, analysis, coordination and dissemination of economic, demographic and social statistics for the province of Manitoba.
- City of Winnipeg Open Data PortalExplore city data about finance, planning, services and more.
International
- UNdata This link opens in a new windowUNdata is a single point of entry for multiple UN statistical databases and allows browsing by either the data series or through a keyword search. It contains features like Country Profiles, Advanced Search and Glossaries which aid research, and covers a wide range of themes including Agriculture, Crime, Education, Employment, Energy, Environment, Health, HIV/AIDS, Human Development, Industry, Information and Communication Technology, National Accounts, Population, Refugees, Tourism, Trade, as well as the Millennium Development Goals indicators.
- World Bank Open DataFree and open access to global development data and provides longitudinal information at the country level.
- Enterprise Surveys (World Bank)World Bank Enterprise Surveys offer an expansive array of economic data on 180,000 firms in 154 countries. Note that data users should exercise caution when comparing raw data and point estimates between surveys that did and did not adhere to the Enterprise Surveys Global Methodology.
News and Training
- *NEW DATA BY TOPIC*: Systemic Racism & Police BrutalityClick to view new topic(s) added to the 'Data by Topic' tab on this guide.
- Webinar (Recording): Writing an article with excellent supporting dataRecorded on June 22, 2020. Science requires evidence behind an assertion. As William Deming said, “without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” So the argument in a research article must have some sort of evidence, i.e. data, behind it. But does the data support the article or does the article support the data? Both actually. It is the responsibility of the researcher to provide a package of evidence and argument in order to advance our understanding.
This presentation will introduce ways to interconnect your article and data in ways that make them most readily understood and useful by others. Topics include how to prepare data for presentation, how to ensure the data are well stewarded, and how to provide fair credit and access to data through citation. It will also touch briefly on other research outputs like software and protocols. - Webinar (Recording): Statistics Canada Research Data Centre (RDC) AlternativesThe Real Time Remote Access (RTRA) program offers one alternative way to access confidential Statistics Canada data. Other options include using the Statistics Canada public use files and analyzing data from other sources.
The presenters will discuss the differences between the data that can be accessed through the RTRA vs. the RDC. RTRA data is a very useful option for some types of questions but also has some important limitations. In addition, they will highlight alternative sources of data from the U.S. and elsewhere that are similar to the Statistics Canada master datasets.
New & Noteworthy
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