Are Public Use Microdata Files Underutilized For Research and Teaching Purposes?
Doug Norris In recent years Statistics Canada has produced and released 15-20 public use micrdata files each year. These files are a rich source of data for research and teaching purposes. It is argued that in the past many files have not been widely utilized. This paper discusses a number of issues data producers face in making microdata files available.Possible reasons for the underutilization are discussed. Finally suggestions are made about ways that data producers and data librarians might work together to increase the use made of microdata files for research and teaching purposes. • The Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics: issues in data dissemination Mary Anne Webber SLID is one of several new longitudinal surveys being developed by Statistics Canada. The survey raises many interesting questions for data dissemination. Collected using computer-assisted interviewing, there is no paper questionnaire to serve as a starting point for user documentation. There are challenges with re
