Table Of Content

Families 1991CensusTechnicalReports Canada A HowtoReachUs DatainManyForms... StatisticsCanadadisseminatesdatainavarietyofforms.Inadditiontopublications,bothstandardandspecialtabulationsareoffered. DataareavailableonCD,diskette,computerprint-out,microficheandmicrofilm,andmagnetictape. Mapsandothergeographic referencematerialsareavailableforsometypesofdata.DirectonlineaccesstoaggregatedinformationispossiblethroughCANSIM, StatisticsCanada'smachine-readabledatabaseandretrievalsystem. HowtoObtainl\doreInformation InquiriesaboutproductsandservicesshouldbedirectedtoyourlocalStatisticsCanadaReferenceCentre: Halifax (902)426-5331 Regina (306)780-5405 Montreal (514)283-5725 Edmonton (403)495-3027 Ottawa (613)951-8116 Calgary (403)292-6717 Toronto (416)973-6586 Vancouver (604)666-3691 Winnipeg (204)983-4020 Toll-freeaccessisprovidedinallprovincesandterritories,foruserswhoresideoutsidethelocaldialingareaofanyoftheregional referencecentres. Newfoundland,Labrador,NovaScotia, NewBrunswickandPrinceEdwardIsland 1-800-565-7192 Quebec 1-800-361-2831 Ontario 1-800-263-1136 Manitoba 1-800-661-7828 AlbertaandtheNorthwestTerritories 1-800-563-7828 Saskatchewan, 1-800-667-7164 BritishColumbiaandtheYukonTerritory 1-800-663-1551 TelecommunicationsDeviceforthehearingImpaired 1-800-383-7829 TollFreeOrderOnlyLine(CanadaandUnitedStates) 1-800-267-6877 HowtoOrderProducts StatisticsCanadapublicationsmaybepurchasedfromlocalauthorizedagentsandothercommunitybookstores,throughthenearest StatisticsCanadaRegionalReferenceCentre,orbymailordertoMarketingDivision,SalesandService,StatisticsCanada,OttawaK1 0T6.ContactthenearestStatisticsCanadaRegionalReferenceCentreformoreinformationonelectronicproductsandservices.See theorderformattheendofthisproductforfurtherdetails. StatisticsCanada 1991 Census Technical Reports Families Reference Products series PublishedbyauthorityoftheMinisterresponsibleforStatisticsCanada ©MinisterofIndustry,ScienceandTechnology,1994 Atlrlanrsigmhittsterdesienravnedy.foNrompoarrbtyofanthyismdeoancsu,meenltectmraonyicb,emreecphraondiuccaeld,,pshtootroecdopinyiangr,etrrieecvoarldsiynsgtoermor oCtahneardwai,seOtwtitahwoau,tOpnrtiaorriwor,itCtaennapdearmKis1sAio0n16f.romLicenceServices,Mari<etingDivision,Statistics March1994 Price:Canada:$20.00 UnitedStates:US$24.00 OtherCountries:US$28.00 Catalogue92-328E ISBN0-660-14261-9 Ottawa Laversionfrangalsedecettepublicationestdisponiblesurdemande(92-328F) 1994tnternatlonalYearoftheFamily 4^ TheobjectivesoftheInternationalYearoftheFamilyareto"highlightthe aailmnlpdfoaprmrtioalbynlcmeeemmosfb;ef.ar..msia"ln.ieds;foicnucsreaatsteenatiboentuteprounntdheersrtigahntdsianngdofretshpeoirnsfiubnicltitiioenssof UnitedNations NoteofAppreciation ICCnaafnnoaardmdaaat,iootwtnieecspooutplhudelnasotuticobcneeospfsrCooafdnuiatcsdesadt,awtIiitststhibocuuasltistnhyeesistrsecemosntatoniandulgeoodnvgce-orsontpmaeenrndaittnsig.oncAoaconcpdeurrgaaottoideowainlnildn.vtoilmveilnygsSttaattiissttiiccasl CanadianCataloguinginPublicationData Mainentryundertitle: Families (1991censustechnicalreports) (Referenceproductsseries) IssuedalsoinFrenchundertitle:Families. ISBN0-660-14261-9 CS92-328E 1.Family-Canada~Statistics. 2.Households~Canada~Statistics. 3.Canada~Census,1991.1.Statistics Canada,n.Title.HI.Series. HQ599F351994 306.8'5'0971021 C94-988038-8 HowtoCiteThisDocument StatisticsCanada. Families. 1991CensusTechnicalReports; ReferenceProductsSeries. Ottawa:MinisterofIndustry,ScienceandTechnology,1994. Cataloguenumber92-328E. TSchieepnacpeser-uPseerdmianntehinscueseofrPdaopcuemrefnotraPtriionntemdeLeitbsratrhyeMmatienriiamlusm.rAeNqSuIirZe3m9e.n4ts8-o1f9A8m4ericanNationalStandardforInformation Preface Throughtime,theCensusofCanadahasbecometheprimeirysourceofinformationaboutCanadians andhowtheyhve. Decisionsbasedonthisinformationaffectthesocialandeconomicaffairsofall Canadians. Statistics Canada, astheprofessionalagencyinchargeofproducingthis information, has the responsibilityforinformingusersofdataquality. Theagencymustdescribetheconceptsand methodologyusedincollectingandprocessingthedata,aswellasanyotherfeaturesthatmayaffect theiruseorinterpretation. Inordertodescribethequalityofthe1991Censusdata.StatisticsCcinadahaspreparedthefollowing publications:acensusDictionary,whichprovidesconciseandeasytounderstandtextualandgraphical informationpertainingtocensusconcepts;aHandbook,whichprovidesanoverviewofhowthecensus isconducted;andaseriesofTechnicaJReports,whichpresentingreaterdetail,informationonthe qualityofdataforspecificcharacteristics,suchasfamily,ascoveredinthisreport. Ifonrftohremiartpiuornpoonsedsatasawqeulalliatsytihseirmipsokrstiannvtolfvoerdusienrbsa.sIitnaglcloonwcsltuhseiomntsooarsdseecsisstihoenussoenfutlhneessesdoaftac.enTshues1d9a9t1a Censuswasalargeandcomplexundertakingand,whileconsiderableeffortwastakentoensurehigh standardsthroughoutallcollectionandprocessingoperations,theresultingdataareinevitablysubject toacertaindegreeoferror. InformationondataqualityisalsoimportanttoStatisticsCanada. Itisanintegralpartinthe developmentandmaintenemceofpertinentandreliablestatisticalprograms. Thispublicationisamajorcontributiontoachievingthesegoads.IthasbeenpreparedbyPierreParent, withthesupportofstafffromthreeDivisionsinStatisticsCanada:Housing,FamilyandSocialStatistics, CensusOperationsandSocialSurveyMethods. Finally,IwouldliketoexpressmyappreciationtothemillionsofCanadianswhocompletedtheir questionnairesonJune4,1991,aswellastothosewhoassistedStatisticsCanadainplanningand conductingthecensus. IveinP.Fellegi ChiefStatisticianofCanada StatisticsCanada-Cat.No.92-328E Families TableofContents Page ListofTables U I. Introduction < II. ConceptsandDefinitions 2 III. DataCollectionandCoverage 5 rv. DataAssimilation g V. EditandImputation jq VI. DataEvaluation 24 VII. HistoricalComparability 27 VIII. ProductsandServices 20 IX. Conclusion 22 AppendixA 23 AppendixB 25 Bibliography _ 2a RegionalReferenceCentres 27 DepositoryLibraries 2S StatisticsCanada-Cat.No.92-328E Families 1 ListofTables Tables Page 5. Percentageofdatachangedasaresultofthe"DERIVE"operation, Canadaandregions,1991 11 5.2 Percentageofdatamodifiedbecauseofnon-response,invalidresponsesorinconsistencies, Canadaandregions,1991 12 StatisticsCanada-Cat.No.92-328E Families -1 CensusofPopulation-ReferenceProducts 1991CensusTechnicalReports I. Introduction EveryfiveyearsacensusofpopulationiscarriedoutinCanada.ThenationalCensusofPopulationisamajorproject conductedbyStatisticsCanadatocollect,verifyandpublishdata. ThenationalCensusprovidesthemost comprehensivedatabaseonthecharacteristicsofCanadians,theirfamiliesandtheirhouseholds.Theinformation rangesfromageandsexofindividualstotheirethnicorigin,education,occupation,labourforceactivity,industry, sourcesofincome,theirfamilyemdhouseholdcharacteristics. Thecensusisaninvaluablesourceofinformation thatisusefultothevariouslevelsofgovernment,tobusinesses,associations,educationalinstitutions,interest groups,andtothegeneralpublic.Thedatacanbeusedingovernmentplanningofsocialandeconomicprograms, assessmentoftheneedforeducationalandhezilthfacilities,andplanningbyprivateenterprise. Informationisobtainedthroughaseriesofquestionsestablishedafterdetailedconsultationandtesting. Itis collectedbytrainedenumerators,checkedforinconsistenciesanderrorsandthencaptured.Thefinalresultsare placedonacomputerdatabaseatStatisticsCemada. Dataareanalyzed,publishedanddisseminatedinvarious forms. Inamassiveprojectsuchasthecensus,however,theresultsareneverperfect.Althoughconsiderableefforthasbeen madetomaintainhighstandardsofquality,errorsinevitablyoccuratvariousstagesofthecollectionandprocessing operations. Usersmustbeawzireofthenatureandscopeofanyerrorsthatthecensusdatamaycontain,aswell astherisksinvolvedinbasingconclusionsordecisionsonthesedata. The1991CensusTechnicalReportshavebeendesignedtoinformdatausersofthepotentialproblemsor intricaciesofthedata. Thereportsinformusersoftheconceptualframeworkanddefinitionsusedinthedata collection,anyunusualcircumstanceswhichmayinfluencethedata,likelyprincipalsourcesoferrorand,where possible,thesizeoftheerror. Thisproductisaspecializedanalyticaltool.Itcomplementsandco-ordinatesotherreferenceproductsandassists themoresophisticatedusertounderstandvariabledetailszmdmethodologicalinformationoncoverage,sampling andweighting. StatisticsCanada-Cat.No.92-328E Families CensusofPopulation-ReferenceProducts 1991CensusTechnicalReports II. ConceptsandDefinitions Thedefinitionsofcensusterms,variablesandconceptsarepresentedhereastheyappearinthe1991Census Dictionary(CatalogueNo.92-30IE). Usersshouldrefertothe1991CensusDictionaryforfulldefinitionsand additionalremarksrelatedtoanyconceptsanddefinitionsnotfoundinthischapter. CensusVariables Whilethe 1991 Censusquestionnaireconsistedoffifty-three(53) questions, the 1991 Census Dictionary (CatalogueNo.92-301EorD)listswellover200variables. Obviously,thereisnotaone-to-onecorrespondence betweenquestionsandvariables.Severalvariablescanbeproducedfromonequestiononly,whileothervariables arederivedusingresponsesfromseveralquestions. Bythesametoken,somecensusvariablescloselyresembleinformationasitwasgatheredonthequestionnaires whileothersareverydifferent.Forexample,sexhastwoanswercategories,maleandfemale:thecategoriesonthe questionnairecorrespondexactlytothoseonthedatabase. Sexisthereforecalledadirectvariable. Derivedvariableshaveundergonetransformations.Forexample"dateofbirth"wasaskedonthequestionnairebut ageisthedatabasevariable.Sometimesthelinkbetweencollectedinformationandthedatabasevariableisnotso straightforward.Forexample,severalquestionsEireusedtoidentifytheunemployed,yettheword"unemployed" doesnotappearanywhereonthequestionnaire,anditsdefinitionisnotintuitivelyobvious. Censusvariablesaregroupedintothesecategories: countsanddemographicdata; ethnicoriginandimmigrationdata; language; aboriginalstatus; schooling; religion; labourforce; income; families; dwellingsandhouseholds; institutionsandothercollectives; disability. Thepotentialforcreatingnewcensusvariablesisvirtuallylimitless.Somevariablescanbeveryconventionaland direct,whileothervariablescanbederivedandtailoredtouserneeds. IntheFamilycategory,allvariablesare derivedvariables;somearegivenbelow,withashortdescriptionfromthe1991CensusDictionary. CensusFamilyComposition Referstotheclassificationofcensusfamiliesaccordingtothenumberand/oragegroupsofnever-marriedsons jind/ordaughtersathome. CensusFamilyHouseholdComposition Referstotheclassificationofcensusfamiliesaccordingtothepresenceandnumberof"additionalpersons"inthe household.Additionalpersonsreferstoanyhouseholdmemberwhoisnotamemberofthecensusfamilybeing considered.Theseadditionalpersonsmaybeeithermembersofanothercensusfamilyornon-familypersons. CensusFamily Referstoanow-marriedcouple(withorwithoutnever-marriedsonsand/ordaughtersofeitherorbothspouses), acouplelivingcommon-law(againwithorwithoutnever-marriedsonsand/ordaughtersofeitherorbothpartners), oraloneparentofanymaritalstatus,withatleastonenever-marriedsonordaughterlivinginthesamedwelling. StatisticsCanada-Cat.No.92-328E Families