Faculty of Social Sciences Library Susan Mowers Fall 2013 Module 4 Finding and Using Canadian Data

Outline  Data Services for graduate students  Before you choose your data  Finding and evaluating your data (by examples)

Learning outcomes  Identify the role of data in the research process  Use data sources and tools for the Social Sciences in order to be able to find and evaluate data  Identify some data formats

Data Services for Graduate Students

Library Data Services Collects and publishes data; Has agreements with data providers, e.g., Statistics Canada, ICPSR (next slides), IMF and Eurostat; In addition to collecting data, the Library provides expertise and computers for students and researchers using data: supporting all levels of data users, geared to the unique research questions of every data user.

uOttawa Library obtains data as a member of … the Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) Partnership between Canadian universities and colleges with Statistics Canada, – for students, researchers and university staff. – Provides public-use microdata files (Statistics Canada: STC) means non- confidential – “public” means anonymized so you can’t identify individual survey respondents Click View then Header and Footer to change this footer Browse A-Z list of DLI surveys : linklink Browse and download DLI data via Odesi: linklink How-to Odesi tutorials: linklink

Beyond DLI: Statistics Canada Open License …  Public data (PUMFs) from Statistics Canada are not just for researchers in universities any more …  Any researcher or member of the public, can use public data for any use and without cost via : Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement Click View then Header and Footer to change this footer Order process via the Web (license, then data) Find PUMF file pages, e.g., CCHS Statistics Canada surveys A-Z: linklink  Publications (see to left)  Free  OrderOrder Note also: Confidential Statistics Canada data: via Research Data CentreResearch Data Centre

uOttawa Library also obtains data as a member of … ICPSR … the Inter-university Consortium of Political and Social Researc h located at the University of Michigan, icpsr.umich.edu international holdings, U.S. strength Click View then Header and Footer to change this footer Discover ICPSR data holding at: ICPSR also indexes journal articles with analysis results from ICPSR studies via or Related Studies link on an ICPSR study page Browse their YouTube channel at:

ICPSR 2014 Research Paper Competition  Four research paper competition categories Eligibility students (U.S. and non U.S.) currently pursuing OR who recently received (after April 1, 2013) undergraduate or master’s degrees. Awards $1,000 for first place and $750 for second place in each category. Deadline All papers and corresponding entry forms must be submitted by January 31, For more information, please see:

ICPSR 2014 Research Paper Competition  Four research paper competition categories Eligibility Students (U.S. and non U.S.) currently pursuing OR who recently received (after April 1, 2013) undergraduate or master’s degrees. Awards $1,000 for first place and $750 for second place in each category. Deadline All papers and corresponding entry forms must be submitted by January 31, For more information, please see:

Our main data portal: Click View then Header and Footer to change this footer

Database of Data  Odesi.ca Excellent data searching functions Bilingual Content - broad Access – anyone can search, uO community can download Scholars Portal (Ontario) + university libraries Click View then Header and Footer to change this footer

For Data help, the GSG Centre is located on the 3 rd floor of Morisset, Click View then Header and Footer to change this footer for a Data appointment, for a Government Information appointment,

Computer labs with specialised software Morisset – 65 University, room 308 (for MRT opening hours, click here)click here Faculty of Social Sciences – FSS Library – room 2010, (4 computers 7:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. / Mon.-Fri.) Montpetit – 125 University, room 140 (24/7) Social Sciences only… Vanier – 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, rooms 2008, 2015, 2025 (7:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. / 7)

Before you choose your data …

Before searching/choosing your data …  Why data?  Data in the research process and in the Social Sciences  Where from? Basic classifications Evaluating data  Data definitions (including variables and measures)

Why data?  Big data and Statistics today!  What can data bring to your research?

Data and Statistics today “ Statistics is the science of learning from data, and of measuring, controlling, and communicating uncertainty; and it thereby provides the navigation essential for controlling the course of scientific and societal advances … ”

Data and Statistics Today …  Éditorial, « Why Statistics? », (2012), Science, Vol. 336 no. 6077, April 6th, p. 12. DOI: /science … This field will become ever more critical as academia, businesses, and governments rely increasingly on data-driven decisions, expanding the demand for statistics expertise.”

What can data bring to your research?  Data can provide : Factual evidence to add weight to your argument A great tool for description : add meaning and context (use data to paint a picture of your subject) The ability to refute or support your hypothesis through statistical analysis

Data in the Research Process process Steps as per MITSteps as per MIT in detail

Data research in the Social Sciences  Understanding role of secondary data …

Use primary or secondary data? Are secondary data … (a)Data collected by someone else ? (b)Not as good as primary data for publishing your research ? (c)May be a research choice for graduate research, e.g., will I use primary data OR secondary data ? (d)Generally easier and faster to obtain than primary data ? Click View then Header and Footer to change this footer

Secondary data are …  Data that are collected by someone else  As good as primary data for publishing your research  May be a research choice for graduate research, e.g., will I use primary data OR secondary data?  Generally easier and faster to obtain than primary data Click View then Header and Footer to change this footer

But beware …  Evaluate your secondary data …  Where do the data come from? Who collected the data? Their reputation for precision and accuracy Who paid for the data? The mandate of the sponsor, what was their goal for the research?

Considerations before choosing your source of secondary data Click View then Header and Footer to change this footer Thoroughly research the concepts being measured (population, your key variables) Ensure you know how the concepts are being measured and defined, is it appropriate and meaningful? Research possible source biases (from the data collector or sponsor) or reliability issues Check the time scale, e.g., is the data current enough ? Source, The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation, …. so you will need documentation in addition to the SPSS file!

First, data …  What do we mean by “data”? What are data and what are statistics … What are the differences?

Look at census Data and Statistics Compared Data:  Electronic  Raw material  Not analysed or processed  Not report ready: processing required Statistics  May be electronic  Data “summaries”  Presentation ready and often ready to use  May not be in numeric form, statistics often visually communicated: graphs, maps …

Finding and evaluating Data  Which level do you need, data or statistics?  Let’s look at actual examples, first at statistical tables and then at creating statistics from data!actual examples

Research Guide for Data and Statistics Click View then Header and Footer to change this footer Link:

MYUORESEARCH Module 5 – Getting Your Research Out …

bit.ly/eval-eng Q1 – Social Sciences Q2 – Module 4 Q3 – 24 October/