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Government Publications: Canadian Statistics

This guide helps users find Canadian statistics for areas in the humanities and social sciences.

Subject Guide

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Susan Paterson
Contact:
susan.paterson@ubc.ca
Humanities and Social Sciences Division- Koerner Library
604-827-5832

Dataverse

Dataverse (Abacus) is the Research Data Collection of the British Columbia Research Libraries' Data Services, a collaboration involving the Data Libraries at Simon Fraser University (SFU), the University of British Columbia (UBC), the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and the University of Victoria (UVic).

Data collections are browseable by communities and collections, subject, date, title, publisher and access. 

Statistics vs. Data

Data and statistics are often used interchangeably, but there is an important distinction between the two terms.  Data is the raw information from which statistics are created. Or, put another way,  statistics provide an interpretation and summary of data and are ususally viewed in charts, graphs or tables. 

Statistics are: 

  • Numeric facts and figures
  • Derived from data (i.e. already processed)
  • Need definitions & classifications (i.e. North American Industrial Classification System, National Occupational Classification etc.)
  • Presentation-ready
  • Published

Source: US Statistical Abstract

Data or datasets are collections of numeric data that can be analyzed using specialized software such as Stata, SPSS, or R. Ofen referred to as "raw data".

Data are: 

  • Numeric files created and organized for analysis or porcessing
  • Require processing 
  • Need detailed documentation 
  • Not display ready
  • Disseminated, not published

 

Source: Country and City Data Book, ICPSR

If you need data, you will need to go to ABACUS Dataverse network - the Research Data Collection of the British Columbia Research Libraries' Data Services. 

You will need to login using your CWL.