November 26, 2010

1. Significant Sources of
Social Science Data
by Zachary Osborne
Presented to the Librarians at the
Ryerson University Libraries & Archives
Friday, November 26, 2010

2. Presentation Outline
 Canada
 United States
International sources

3. Sources of Canadian
Data
Statistics Canada
 Census
 CANSIM
This is a geopolitical map of Canada, drawn by User:E Pluribus Anthony.
Source: en:Image:Map Canada political-geo.png

4. Census of Canada

5. Census of Canada
Find statistical tables by:
 Topic
 Census Tract (CT) profile
 Community profile
 Federal Electoral District (FED) profile
 and more…
 Output options: HTML table, CSV (Comma-Separated
Values) files, or TAB (Tab-Separated Values) files

7. CANSIM
CANadian Socio-economic Information Management
“Statistics Canada’s key socio-economic database” (cansim2.statcan.gc.ca)
Publishes data tables on the following subjects:
Aboriginal peoples
Agriculture
Business performance and ownership
Business, consumer and property services
Children and youth
Construction
Crime and justice
Culture and leisure
Economics accounts
Education, training and learning
Energy
Environment
Ethnic diversity and immigration
Families, households and housing
Government
Health
Incomes, pensions, spending and wealth
Information and communication
technology
International trade
Labour
Languages
Manufacturing
Population and demography
Prices and price indexes
Retail and wholesale
Science and technology
Seniors
Society and community
Transportation
Travel and tourism

8. CANSIM
CANadian Socio-economic Information Management
“Statistics Canada’s key socio-economic database” (cansim2.statcan.gc.ca)
Publishes data tables on the following subjects:
Aboriginal peoples
Agriculture
Business performance and ownership
Business, consumer and property services
Children and youth
Construction
Crime and justice
Culture and leisure
Economics accounts
Education, training and learning
Energy
Environment
Ethnic diversity and immigration
Families, households and housing
Government
Health
Incomes, pensions, spending and wealth
Information and communication
technology
International trade
Labour
Languages
Manufacturing
Population and demography
Prices and price indexes
Retail and wholesale
Science and technology
Seniors
Society and community
Transportation
Travel and tourism

9. CANSIM Access Points
1. CHASS (Computing in the
Humanities And Social Sciences)
2. E-Stat (a resource for
educational institutions &
Depository Service Program (DSP)
libraries)
3. Statistics Canada website

10. UPDATE
FREQUENCY
Daily (as of Jan.
2010)
Annually (June?) Daily (2-4pm)
COST
Free through the
Data Liberation
Initiative (DLI)
Free to educational
institutions and
DSP libraries
$3/time series or
$5000/CD ROM
OUTPUT
FORMATS
CSV, HTML table,
bar graph, Beyond
20/20, SPSS, SAS,
CSV, HTML table,
bar graph, Census
map
CSV, TAB, SAS,
SPSS, XML,
Beyond 20/20
INTERFACE CHASS Statistics Canada Statistics Canada
IDEAL USER University/College
Any educational
institution
Corporations, Non-
profits, Private
sector
General differences….

11. Sources of U.S. Data
U.S. Census Bureau
 Census (Population & Housing)
 Economic Census
 American Community Survey
FedStats
 Federal Agencies

12. U.S. Census Bureau
(census.gov)
 U.S. Census Bureau conducts a number of
surveys of its population and economy
 Three significant surveys are:
 Decennial Census on population & Housing (every
10 years, i.e. 1990, 2000, 2010)
 Economic Census (every 5 years, 1997, 2002, 2007)
 American Community Survey (every year)

13. U.S. Census Bureau
(census.gov)
Decennial Census
vs
American Community Survey
“The 2000 Census shows the number of people who live
in the U.S. and the American Community Survey shows
how people live.”
(source: census.gov/acs/)
The Census is comprehensive
American Community Survey is based on estimates

14. U.S. Census Bureau
(census.gov)

15. U.S. Census Bureau
(census.gov)

16. FedSats (fedstats.gov)
“…provides access to […] statistical information produced by the Federal
Government without having to know in advance which agency produces
which particular statistic.”
(Source: wwwfedstats.gov/aboutfedstats.html)
Multiple search and browse options available:

17. FedSats (fedstats.gov)
Reference question:
“I need to find statistics on
Marijuana use in the States between
2000-2010… like, on the
demographics of users”

18. FedSats (fedstats.gov)

19. FedSats (fedstats.gov)

20. FedSats (fedstats.gov)

21. International Social Science Data
 OECD iLibrary
 World Bank Data

22. OECD iLibrary
 Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development
 Online library of statistical databases, periodicals and e-
books
 Topics on many social and economic issues (e.g.
education, ICTs, macroeconomics, trade, aging society,
development, etc.)
 Search by database theme or country tables
 View or download search results in HTML, XLS, CSV or
PDF formats

23. OECD iLibrary

24. OECD iLibrary

25. OECD iLibrary

26. World Bank Data

27. World Bank Data
 Data catalogue includes over 2,000 indicators for most of
the World’s nations
 Data back to 1980
 Download results as Excel, CSV, XML, or PDF files
 View data as tables, graphs, or maps, or download the
entire database table to browse that way
This source provides a basic method of drawing quick
comparisons of international data

28. World Bank Data

29. World Bank Data

30. Summary
 Canada
 Statistics Canada: Census & CANSIM
 United States
 U.S. Census Bureau
 FedStats
 International Sources
 OECD iLibrary
 World Bank Data

31. Thank you!
Questions?