THE ETHNIC DIVERSITY SURVEY Content and Data Availability September 2004 Statistics Canada Statistique Canada Canadian Heritage Patrimoine canadien
Ethnic Diversity Survey objectives To provide information on the ethnic and cultural backgrounds of people in Canada and how these backgrounds relate to their lives today To provide information to better understand how Canadians of different ethnic backgrounds interpret and report their ethnicity Survey funded jointly by Statistics Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage
Target population & sample design Non-Aboriginal individuals aged 15 and older living in private dwellings in Canada s ten provinces 57,200 persons selected to be interviewed between April and August 2002 Two-phase stratified sampling design based on responses to the 2001 Census ethnic origin, birthplace & birthplace of parents questions; 15 strata were created
Reference period & data collection Computer Assisted Telephone interviews April to August 2002 Average length of interview: 35 to 45 minutes No proxy reporting 42,500 respondents: response rate = 75.6%
Languages of interview English French Mandarin Cantonese Punjabi Portuguese Vietnamese Spanish Italian
Response Rates Total cases 57,242 100% Out-of-scope 1,026 2% Cases in-scope 56,216 98% Final Response Rate 42,480 76% Complete 41,097 73% Partial 1,383 3% Non response* 13,736 24% *Includes no contact, refusals, interviews prevented due to the respondent s medical/ physical condition, language barriers, respondents absent for the duration of the survey, etc.
Content development Theoretical framework developed Balance of content, response burden and manageable costs Operationalization of concepts into workable questions to be asked of a diverse population Consultation with Advisory Committees Focus groups, one-on-one testing, pilot test
Survey themes & questionnaire content Entry Age, sex, marital status Family / household composition Ethnic self-definition Ethnic ancestry Ethnic identity Importance of ancestries and identities
Survey themes and content (continued) Respondent background Birthplace Citizenship Year of immigration Other countries lived in Visible minority status Religion: importance of, participation
Survey themes and content (continued) Knowledge & use of languages First language: understood & spoken Knowledge of languages Home languages Languages used with friends Languages used with family to age 15 Languages used at work
Survey themes and content (continued) Family background Ethnicity, first language, highest level of schooling and religion of mother and father Birthplace of parents and grandparents Ethno-cultural, immigration, language, education and religion data for spouse Language data for child aged 3 or older
Survey themes and content (continued) Family Interaction Frequency of contact with family living in Canada Frequency of contact with family living in parents & grandparents birthplaces and in other countries Visits to country of birth & parents & grandparents countries of birth
Survey themes and content (continued) Social Networks Friends in ethnic group, up until respondent was age 15 and now For 2 highest rated ancestry groups other than Canadian Importance of carrying on customs and traditions For 2 highest rate ancestry groups other than Canadian ranked a 4 or 5 in importance in ID module
Survey themes and content (continued) Civic Participation Participation in groups or organizations in the past 12 months (ethnic and other types) Frequency of participation (for 3 groups) Ethnicity of co-members (for 3 groups) For 2 highest rated ancestry groups other than Canadian ranked a 4 or 5 in importance in ID module Volunteering (for 3 groups) Voting in federal, provincial & municipal elections
Survey themes and content (continued) Interaction with Society Feeling uncomfortable because of ethnicity, culture, race, language, religion: up until the age of 15 and now Discrimination or unfair treatment in the past 5 years as a result of ethno-cultural characteristics: frequency, reason & place Hate crime: experience, reason & worry
Survey themes and content (continued) Attitudes Rating of sense of belonging to family, ethnic group, town/ city/ municipality, province, Canada, North America Trust & Satisfaction General life satisfaction Trust: general, family, neighbours, people at work or school
Survey themes and content (continued) Socio-economic activities Highest level of schooling, country of schooling & current school attendance Labour force questions, occupation, industry & income (personal & household) Ethnicity of co-workers For 2 highest rated ancestry groups other than Canadian ranked a 4 or 5 in importance in ID module
Ethnic Diversity Survey products Official release in Statistics Canada s The Daily September 29, 2003 Analytic article: Ethnic Diversity Survey: portrait of a multicultural society Analytical file at Research Data Centres Custom tabulations Possible Public Use Microdata File (2005)
Research Data Centres (RDCs) University of British Columbia University of Calgary University of Alberta University of Manitoba University of Western Ontario University of Waterloo University of Toronto McMaster University University of Montréal University of New Brunswick Dalhousie University
Analytical data file at RDC s Access granted through Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council: http://www.sshrc.ca/web/apply/program_des criptions/ciss_reseach_data_e.asp Output subject to Statistics Canada s confidentiality rules, disclosure analysis, data quality, etc.
Final content of the Analytical File All content from the survey (raw data) Derived variables Some 2001 Census information (e.g. major field of study, number of rooms in dwelling) Postal code and other detailed geographic identifiers are present
Documentation available Survey overview and questionnaire: http://www.statcan.ca/english/sdds/4508.htm Codebooks with and without frequencies Users Guide WesVar Users Guide (bootstrap weights)
Survey weights Final weights & bootstrap weights (used to determine coefficients of variation) are included on the Analytical File present in the RDCS A weight is associated with each respondent and must be used for all estimates and analysis
The use of survey weights is crucial The sampling ratio differs widely from one strata to another; The final weight assigned to each respondent underwent numerous adjustments for nonresponse and post-stratification; The weighting of data ensure that the EDS sample is representative of the target population; Without the weights: false / misleading results for most types of analysis.
WesVar software Used to verify coefficients of variation (cvs) Can also be used for regression analysis WesVar reads.ssd,.xpt,.sav,.dat and.txt files Does not alter the original file, but creates a new one; can be used to view or print output Tip: include all the variables in the first WesVar file you create - otherwise you will need to repeat later and importing files can be slow
Analysis: Level of geography Good quality data are generally available at national, regional and provincial levels and for Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver CMAs; Atlantic provinces are always aggregated; Counts at the census subdivision and municipality level are generally small and the results of survey estimations will probably be unreliable and/or the results may be unsuitable for publication because of the risk of statistical disclosure.
Analysis: Complexity of data Some concepts are similar yet distinctly different from one another: ancestry, identity, visible minority status, language, religion, etc. Multiple response variables: e.g. ethnic ancestry, identity, languages, organizations, etc. Follow-up questions for some topics: (a) universe is restricted; (b) requires link to inserted ethnic ancestry/language/group or organization.
Questions? Jennifer Kaddatz Senior Analyst, Ethnicity & Immigration Statistics Vancouver, B.C. 604-666-8880 jennifer.kaddatz@statcan.ca