| You are currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and that there are some features you can't use or read. We are an active community of worldwide senior members participating in chat, politics, travel, health, blogging, graphics, computer issues & help, book club, literature & poetry, finance discussions, recipe exchange and much more. Also, as a member you will be able to access member only sections, many features, send personal messages, make new friends, etc. Registration is simple, fast and completely free. Why not register today and become a part of the group. Registration button at the very top left of the page. Thank you for stopping by. Join our community! In case of difficulty, email worldwideseniors.org@gmail.com. If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Long-form census cancellation taking toll on StatsCan data; Questions raised over how data can be used reliably | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Oct 28 2012, 09:47 AM (118 Views) | |
| Darcie | Oct 28 2012, 09:47 AM Post #1 |
|
Skeptic
|
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cancellation of the long-form census has started to take a toll on Statistics Canada's data. The agency released its final tranche of the 2011 census last week, focusing on languages, but it included a big warning that cautions data users about comparing key facts against censuses of the past. "Data users are advised to exercise caution when evaluating trends related to mother tongue and home language that compare 2011 census data to those of previous censuses," Statistics Canada states bluntly in a box included in its census material. Those are strong words for a statistical agency, since they raise profound questions about how the data can be used reliably to come to conclusions about language trends. Officials have undertaken a thorough investigation, with a report to be published shortly. "There are a lot of questions and responses that don't seem to add up," said Doug Norris, the chief demographer for Environics Analytics and formerly a census manager at the agency. Statistics Canada analysts already know enough about the anomalies to suspect the cancellation of the long-form census in 2010, said Jean-Pierre Corbeil, the lead analyst for the languages part of the 2011 census. "The only answer we have at the moment ... (is) it's very likely that it is related to the changes in the questionnaire," he said in an interview. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/10/27/pol-long-form-census-cancellation-problems-stats-can-data.html It will be interesting to follow up and find out what this all means in view of the changes. |
|
|
|
| Dana | Oct 28 2012, 11:36 AM Post #2 |
|
WWS Hummingbird Guru & Wildlife photographer extrordinaire
|
I wondered how reliable the language data we have been hearing about in the news this week really is, considering the cuts to stats can. Now I know. |
|
|
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Rants, Bouquets, Consumer Issues · Next Topic » |