RDC News: May 2014

New data sets at the RDC: 
In the upcoming weeks we will be receiving new data sets and surveys at the McMaster Research Data Centre. Please see the information below. Researchers interested in accessing these data sets are encouraged to submit proposals!

Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR)
The Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR) is a dynamic database maintained by Statistics Canada that contains information about all Canadian residents, living or dead, who have been diagnosed with cancer since 1992. All provincial and territorial cancer registries across Canada provide information to this database, with approximately 145,000 new cancer tumor records loaded into the CCR each year. The primary objective of the CCR is to allow for the study of cancer patterns and trends, and to monitor any differences in cancer risk among different populations. This is a patient-based database that records the type and incidence of primary cancers diagnosed for each individual until death; subsequent cancers occurring in patients already in the database are linked to existing records, providing longitudinal data for each cancer patient. Because records remain active on the CCR until confirmation of death, survival rates for various forms of cancer can also be calculated. The CCR is an excellent source of information for standardized and comparable statistics for cancer incidence and survival data. This database could be used to inform various topics, from identifying risk factors to evaluating cancer screening programs. The CCR is available now in the RDC for use in research proposals.

For further details, please go to the information page on the Canadian Cancer Registry at the Statistics Canada website: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvev&SDDS=3207

Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (LISA)

The Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (LISA) collected information from Canadians about their jobs, education, health and family. Data was gathered longitudinally from the adult population in order to understand causality and linkages between major life experiences and their impact on educational, financial, and employment outcomes. The sample of the LISA was drawn from the population living in the ten provinces as of the first wave of the survey (November 2011 - June 2012), plus their future descendants. Topics in the LISA include: basic demographics; workplace training and skills; labour market activities; retirement and financial planning; income and pension; family composition; physical and mental health; life satisfaction; and major life events. This yearly study will allow researchers to examine the changing needs of Canadians, and would be of particular interest to those studying social issues and trends. Data from the first wave of LISA is available now. 

For further details, please go to the information page on the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults at the Statistics Canada website: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5144

National Household Survey (NHS), 2011
The 2011 National Household Survey master file was released on January 24th , 2014. The NHS is the largest voluntary survey ever conducted by Statistics Canada, sent out to 33% of all households, with a response rate of 68% providing a wealth of information on various aspects of Canadian society. Included in the release is data on immigration, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion, labour, commuting to work, mobility and migration, income, earnings, visible minorities, and Aboriginal Peoples. The master file contains disaggregated data (including many variables with discrete values) on 2.6 million dwellings and households and 6.7 million persons. Information is presented at various levels of geography, including provinces/territories, census divisions and subdivisions, census tracts, and federal election districts. This information presents an excellent opportunity for research in a number of fields. The RDC is now accepting proposals for research involving the NHS. For further details, please go to the information page on the National Household Survey at the Statistics Canada website: http://wwwl2.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/index-eng.cfm