General Social Survey - Social Identity (SI)

Detailed information for 2012 (Cycle 27 Pilot Survey)

Status:

Active

Frequency:

Every 5 years

Record number:

5024

The two primary objectives of the General Social Survey (GSS) are: to gather data on social trends in order to monitor changes in the living conditions and well-being of Canadians over time; and to provide information on specific social policy issues of current or emerging interest. A specific topic is usually repeated every five years.

The main objective of the GSS on Social Identity (SI) is to provide an overall picture of Canadians' identification, attachment, belonging and pride in their social and cultural environment.

Data release - Pilot data are not released.

Description

The key components of the survey include the following topics:
- Social networks, civic participation and engagement, knowledge of Canadian history, appreciation of national symbols, shared values, confidence in institutions and trust in people.

Results from this survey will be used by analysts and researchers to study the relationship between identity and social integration, and by government departments to develop policies and programs.

In addition, the GSS on Social Identity is a multi-mode survey. Respondents selected for the SI questionnaire will be given two options for responding: completing the electronic questionnaire (EQ) or continuing the computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI).

Statistical activity

This record is part of the General Social Survey (GSS) program. The GSS originated in 1985. Each survey contains a core topic, focus or exploratory questions and a standard set of socio-demographic questions used for classification. More recent cycles have also included some qualitative questions, which explore intentions and perceptions.

Subjects

  • Social networks and civic participation
  • Society and community

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population for the GSS on Family is the Canadian population aged 15 and over, living in the 10 provinces, and not residing in institutions.

In the GSS, all respondents are contacted by telephone. Thus persons in households without telephones cannot be interviewed. However, persons living in such households represent less than 2% of the target population.

Instrument design

The questionnaire was designed based on research and extensive consultations with data users. Qualitative testing, conducted by Statistics Canada's Questionnaire Design Resource Center (QDRC), was carried out, with respondents in four cities, representing three provinces, who were screened in based on representative criteria. Questions which worked well and others that needed clarification or redesign were highlighted. QDRC staff compiled a detailed report of the results along with their recommendations. All comments and feedback from qualitative testing were carefully considered and incorporated into the survey when possible.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.

A sample of 3800 households equally distributed in all of the provinces is used for this test. This sample is representative of all households in Canada.

In order to carry out sampling, the ten provinces of the target population are divided into strata, i.e. geographic areas.

Many of the Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) are each considered separate strata. This is the case for St. John's, Halifax, Saint John, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. CMAs not on this list are located in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. Three more strata are formed by grouping together the remaining CMAs in each of these three provinces. Finally, the non-CMA areas of each of the ten provinces form ten more strata. This results in 27 strata in all.

This survey uses Statistics Canada's new telephone sampling frame. The frame contains landline and cellular telephone numbers from the Census and various administrative sources provided to Statistics Canada. A sub-sample of unlisted telephone numbers as well as addresses and names from Statistics Canada's new dwelling frame are also included. This sampling frame is used to obtain a better coverage of households with a telephone number.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2012-10-29 to 2012-12-31

Responding to this survey is voluntary.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

The data are collected using both a CATI application and an Electronic Questionnaire. An introduction letter is sent in advance to respondents for which an address is available.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

In order to prevent any data disclosure, confidentiality analysis is done using the Statistics Canada Generalized Disclosure Control System (G-Confid). G-Confid is used for primary suppression (direct disclosure) as well as for secondary suppression (residual disclosure). Direct disclosure occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of or dominated by few enterprises while residual disclosure occurs when confidential information can be derived indirectly by piecing together information from different sources or data series.

Documentation

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