Pick a FAQ to read below:
Consortium FAQ
Questions:
1. How do Member Organisations join a Data Consortium?
2. How do I register a user account?
3. Can I get a copy of the Consortium agreement / MOU?
4. What data do I get when I sign on?
7. When is ___________ table available?
8. I need help with Beyond 20/20!
9. Are there limitations to sharing datasets?
10. How to get access to data by a consultant?
Answers:
1. How do Member Organisations join a Data Consortium?
Consortia leads can add Member Organisations by notifying the Community Data Program team. Member organisations must pay a $150 yearly membership fee. To ensure all parties understand the file sharing terms of use and agree to the membership, a written agreement is preferable. Information for new Member Organisations can be found here.
2. How do I register a user account?
See our video, How to register a user account.
3. Can I get a copy of the Consortium agreement / MOU?
See the Memorandum of Agreement template in the Resources section.
4. What data do I get when I sign on?
See Schedule B for the products under consideration for the current Membership Agreement cycle.
Schedule C in the MOA is the CDP Data Product Sharing License. This explains how you can share the data.
Schedule D in the MOA is the Consortium End Use License Agreement. It explains how you can use the data.
7. When is ___________ table available?
It depends on the table and whether it is in our Data Purchase Schedule. Requests can be made at information@communitydata.ca, but are not guaranteed.
8. I need help with Beyond 20/20!
Go to our resources page for help: Getting to know Beyond 2020. You can also view a CDP orientation video: Past Webinars. Unfortunately, Beyond 2020 is not compatible with Apple computers.
9. Are there limitations to sharing datasets?
Members are free to share small amounts of raw data for ad hoc requests or publications. You should consult with us if you would like to publish or share a larger data set. Any data that you have transformed can be shared without restriction. Go to Program Resources for more information or read the Data terms of use (Schedule C).
10. How to get access to data by a consultant?
Consortia members are allowed to share the Community Data Program data with a consultant provided that both parties (Member organization and the consultant) sign a file sharing agreement. This agreement will have to be provided by the CDP. To begin this procedure email us the following information:
- Name and email address of the Consortium Lead
- Name and email address of the consultant
- Name of the project that the consultant will be working on
- Date at which the consultant will no longer require access to the data catalogue
Once that information is provided, we can work with you to enable temporary access to the files.
Data FAQ
Questions:
1. What data are included and for what geographies and years?
4. What are the limits in using and distributing consortium data?
5. What are the differences between the types of Census Geographies?
6. Why do all the data points in some tables end in “5” or “0”?
7. Why are the “Total Population” figures different in each data set?
8. How do I cite the data I am using from STC?
9. Where do I find information about other data products and non-census data?
Answers:
1. What data are included and for what geographies and years?
A complete list of Community Data Consortium data is included in the Consortium Data Reference Guide. This is Schedule B of the MOU signed between the consortia lead and Statistics Canada. It includes the data products that are acquired by the Consortium. These products are available to Consortium members in the Catalogue.
See our videos How to Find Data and How to Download a Data Product.
Every 5 years households received a Census of Population questionnaire. An adult in each household was asked to complete and return the questionnaire online or by mail to the Statistics Canada Data Processing Centre. There are short and long forms of the questionnaire. See the Census Dictionary for more information.
Training is available on various aspects of the Community Data Consortium site, the most common training being Statistics Canada's provides "How to use Census Data." This training is a full-day workshop that deals with the content, geography, products, and services of the Census. For more information about this course (and other StatCan courses), please see the StatCan training website. For information about CDP training/orientation, please contact: information@communitydata-donneescommunautaires.ca for more details.
4. What are the limits in using and distributing consortium data?
Schedule C is the Statistics Canada Data Product Sharing Licence. This explains how you can share the data. Schedule D is the Consortium End Use Licence Agreement and explains how you can use the data. Consult your consortium lead for more information about the contractual agreement between you, the consortium lead, and the Community Data Consortium.
5. What are the differences between the types of Census Geographies?
Census Geographies range from very large regions (Census Metropolitan Areas and Economic Regions) to very small neighbourhoods (Block Face Groups and Dissemination Areas). For complete information on Census Geography, please refer to the Program Resources page.
6. Why do all the data points in some tables end in “5” or “0”?
This numbering is due to random rounding, a confidentiality procedure applied to all Census data. For more information on random rounding, click here.
7. What are the “Total Population” figures different in each data set?
This is a factor of the dimensions included in the table you are looking at. Statistics Canada provides some information here about the effect of the 20% sample, but there is also the case of the "base population" for any given dimension. For example, data tables on the topic of housing are usually based on the total population of people in private households, the total population for these data would exclude all institutionalized individuals and therefore not be the same as the general population count used in the basic profile.
8. How do I cite the data I am using from STC?
Statistics Canada provides an entire guide on how to properly cite their data, you can access it here.
9. Where do I find materials explaining the non-Census data products?
This depends on the source of the data. A good place to start is on the Community Data & Catalogue Resources page. If you can't trace the source and find information to satisfy your query through there try contact us: information@communitydata.ca for more details.