If you are visiting the Statistics Canada web site for the first time, try the First visit link to gain an overview of what you will find in different sections of this site.

Once you have selected a general topic for your data project, you will probably want to search the Statistics Canada web site to find related information.

Look at search tips for instructions on the different keyword search options available.

Remember to click the red box labelled ‘Free information only’.

Selecting a topic for your data project using www.statcan.ca

1. The Canada at a Glance booklet is a great introduction to the type of data Statistics Canada produces and makes available on its website. This booklet can be viewed online.
2. To see examples of how data can be used to examine major issues affecting Canada, look at Societal Indicators. This electronic publication contains graphs and tables illustrating health, environmental, economic and social issues, such as youth crime, labour force participation by sex, attendance at religious services, and voting participation in federal elections.
3. You can also browse Canadian statistics to find a table relating to a topic of interest. Note that the "Source" line (at the bottom of each table) indicates where to find more detailed information on this topic. In most cases, the source links to the table number on CANSIM, the time series database. For example, select in sequence Justice and Crime, Crimes, and finally Crimes by type of offence.
4. To further explore the data in a Canadian Statistics table, write down the corresponding CANSIM table number. You can later retrieve that detailed table at no cost through E-STAT, the interactive database available free to schools through the Learning Resources page. Just click on Search CANSIM II and enter the specific table number.
5. Once you have retrieved time series or tables of interest in E-STAT, you can add new series from the more than ten million time series within CANSIM, in order to explore possible relationships among the selected variables. For instructions on how to import E-STAT CANSIM data into Fathom, see the Parabola Power: Youth Crimes in Canada example. For an example of combining and manipulating two or more different time series from different CANSIM tables using Fathom, see the "Beer Consumption Demographics" activity (available from J. Yan)
6. Once you have reached a CANSIM table, you may find a link to the latest article from The Daily, highlighting the most recent release of that data. The Daily is Statistics Canada’s online newsletter that provides new information almost every working day. Note: no data or information is made available without being announced in The Daily.
7. To find other Daily articles related to your topic, you can search the Daily. For example, a search on "youth crime" reveals several articles, including a report on 2000 Crime Statistics that highlights the youth crime rate.
8. E-STAT also contains hundreds of free articles organized by topic. On the E-STAT Table of contents page, click the Articles button at the top, and then select the topic of interest.
9. Though many publications are for sale, we offer hundreds of free downloadable publications, listed by subject.
10. A selection of possible student project ideas is available at www.statcan.ca/secure/draft/mathprojects.doc , along with links to related information on the StatCan site. You will need to enter the username ‘draft’ and the password ‘demo’ to access this page.
11. If you are interested in demographic data for communities, look at community profiles. Or you can explore the detailed online maps that provide population counts for different geographic boundaries, including cities, towns, and neighbourhoods (census tracts). The Census page gives access to the latest information and maps from the Canadian Census of Population and Agriculture.
12. Health indicators provide a wide range of health information for Canada, the provinces and health regions.
13. Many tables in Canadian Statistics also have a link to information about how the data in the table were collected. At the bottom of the table, click on "Statistical data documentation" to learn about the survey that collected the data, including the actual questionnaire. You can also obtain information on all Statistics Canada surveys in the Statistical methods section of the Statistics Canada site.
14. If you are considering doing your own survey, Statistics: Power from Data (five chapters are available now and the remaining 8 major chapters are expected to be available late December 2002) provides helpful tips on data collection, graphing and data analysis.
15. The Government of Canada website provides more sources of Canadian data.

All of the above information should prove very helpful in your research. Should you require further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

Worksheet for Finding Statistics Canada Data for my Project from www.statcan.ca

Name: ____________________

My project idea _________________________________________________

Related data or information I am looking for: ___________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

Search terms to use: ______________________________________________________