Annual Survey of Service Industries: Motion Picture Theatres

Detailed information for 2006

This survey collects the financial and operating data needed to produce statistics on the Motion Picture Theatres industry in Canada.

Data release - June 10, 2008

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

This annual sample survey collects the financial and operating data needed to produce statistics on the Motion Picture Theatre industry in Canada. Commencing with reference year 2005, the survey also collects detailed information on the characteristics of the businesses, such as type of revenue and type of client.

These data are aggregated with information from other sources to produce official estimates of the national and provincial economic production of the Motion Picture Theatre industry in Canada. The results from this survey provide data to businesses, governments, investors and associations. These data allow these groups to monitor the growth of the industry, measure performance, allow comparison across similar businesses and to better understand this industry to react to trends and patterns.

Commencing with reference year 2005, this new survey is administered by the Service Industries Program, in collaboration with the Culture Statistics Program. Historical time series data from the previous Culture Statistics Program are available in The Guide to Culture Statistics (online, free of charge, at catalogue number 87-008-GIE). It should be noted that data from this historical time series should not be compared with data from this new survey due to significant differences in coverage and methodology.

The new survey covers a somewhat different set of businesses than in previous years so that data generally cannot be expected to be comparable. The list of names and addresses of businesses is now drawn from a central Statistics Canada data base. Also, a much more rigorous delineation of those companies that are considered part of the culture sector has been applied through the implementation of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). This industry-based classification is a departure from the activity-based classification that was used previously. In addition to these changes in coverage, commencing with 2005, the data are based on a sample of businesses.

Despite these changes, several data points for two earlier survey years have been produced so that key trends can still be determined. These data represent estimates of historical data that would have been produced using this new coverage and methodology for those years. This information is included in the 2005 data release only.

Statistical activity

The survey is administered as part of the Unified Enterprise Survey program (UES). The UES program has been designed to integrate, gradually over time, the approximately 200 separate business surveys into a single master survey program. The UES aims at collecting more industry and product detail at the provincial level than was previously possible while avoiding overlap between different survey questionnaires. The redesigned business survey questionnaires have a consistent look, structure and content. The unified approach makes reporting easier for firms operating in different industries because they can provide similar information for each branch operation. This way they avoid having to respond to questionnaires that differ for each industry in terms of format, wording and even concepts.

This survey is part of the Service Industries Program. The survey data gathered are used to compile aggregate statistics for over thirty service industry groupings. Financial data, including revenue, expense and profit statistics are available for all of the surveys in the program. In addition, many compile and disseminate industry-specific information.

Reference period: Calendar year

Collection period: February to October

Subjects

• Business, consumer and property services
• Business performance and ownership
• Culture and leisure
• Film and video
• Financial statements and performance
• Information and culture

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population consists of all establishments classified to the motion picture theatre industry (NAICS 512130) according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) during the reference year. This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in exhibiting motion pictures. Establishments primarily engaged in providing occasional motion picture exhibition services, such as those provided during film festivals, are also included.

• Additional documentation

Instrument design

The survey questionnaires comprise generic modules that have been designed to cover several service industries. These modules include revenues, expenses, and employment, as well as an industry-specific module designed to ask for financial and non-financial characteristics that pertain specifically to this industry.

Sampling

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

The survey design was based on probability sampling and only covered the portion of the frame subject to direct data collection.

The basic objective of the survey is to produce estimates for the whole industry for incorporated and unincorporated businesses. The data come from two different sources: a sample of all businesses with revenue above or equal to a certain threshold and administrative data for businesses with revenue below the threshold, which are excluded from sampling. The excluded portion represents a substantial proportion of the industry in terms of number of establishments, but its contribution to the overall industry revenue is only about 5%. It should be noted that for this excluded portion, only certain financial information is obtained from administrative sources; e.g., total revenue, expenses such as depreciation and salaries, wages and benefits. Characteristics such as detailed revenue by type of service and employment are collected only for surveyed establishments. (Note: the threshold varies between industries and between provinces in the same survey.)

The frame is the list of establishments from which the portion eligible for sampling is determined and the sample is taken. The frame provides basic information about each firm including: address, industry classification and other administrative information. The frame is referred to as the Business Register and is updated regularly using administrative data.

Prior to the selection of a random sample, establishments are classified into homogeneous groups (i.e., groups with the same industry, same geography (province/territory)). Quality requirements are targeted, and then each group is divided into sub-groups called strata: take-all, must-take, and take-some.

The take-all stratum represents the largest firms in terms of performance (based on revenue) in an industry. The must-take stratum is comprised of units selected on the basis of complex structure characteristics (multi-establishment, multi-legal, multi-NAICS, or multi-province enterprises), as well as selected establishments whose particular industry characteristics make it essential that they be included. All take-all and must-take firms are selected to the sample. Units in the take-some strata are subject to simple random sampling.

Finally, the sample size is inflated to compensate for firms that are found to no longer belong in the industry, such as those that have gone out of business, changed their primary business activity, are inactive, or are duplicates on the frame. After removing such firms, the sample size for the 2006 Motion Picture Theatre survey was 389 establishments.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2007-02-14 to 2007-10-15

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents and extracted from administrative files.

Data are collected through a mail-out/mail-back process, while providing respondents with the option of other filing methods such as telephone or fax. Follow-up procedures are applied when a questionnaire has not been received after a pre-specified period of time or incomplete responses have been provided.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

Data are examined for inconsistencies and errors using automated edits coupled with analytical review. Where possible, data will be verified using alternate sources.

Imputation

Partial records are imputed to make them complete. Data for non-respondents are imputed using donor imputation, administrative data, or historical data.

Estimation

As part of the estimation process survey data are weighted and combined with administrative data to produce final industry estimates.

Quality evaluation

Prior to dissemination, combined survey results are analyzed for overall quality; in general, this includes a detailed review of individual responses (especially for the largest companies), an assessment of the general economic conditions portrayed by the data, historic trends, and comparisons with other data sources.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which 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.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

There is no seasonal adjustment. Data from previous years may be revised based on updated information.

Data accuracy

While considerable effort is made to ensure high standards throughout all stages of collection and processing, the resulting estimates are inevitably subject to a certain degree of error. These errors can be broken down into two major types: non-sampling and sampling.

Non-sampling error is not related to sampling and may occur for many reasons. For example, non-response is an important source of non-sampling error. Population coverage, differences in the interpretation of questions, incorrect information from respondents, and mistakes in recording, coding and processing data are other examples of non-sampling errors.

Of the sampled units contributing to the estimate, the weighted response rate was 77.5%.

Sampling error occurs because population estimates are derived from a sample of the population rather than the entire population. Sampling error depends on factors such as sample size, sampling design, and the method of estimation. An important property of probability sampling is that sampling error can be computed from the sample itself by using a statistical measure called the coefficient of variation (CV). The assumption is that over repeated surveys, the relative difference between a sample estimate and the estimate that would have been obtained from an enumeration of all units in the universe would be less than twice the CV, 95 times out of 100. The range of acceptable data values yielded by a sample is called a confidence interval. Confidence intervals can be constructed around the estimate using the CV. First, we calculate the standard error by multiplying the sample estimate by the CV. The sample estimate plus or minus twice the standard error is then referred to as a 95% confidence interval.

For the 2006 Survey of Motion Picture Theatres, CVs were calculated for each estimate. Generally, the more commonly reported variables obtained very good CVs (less than 10%), while the less commonly reported variables were associated with higher but still acceptable CVs (under 25%). Some data might not be released because of poor data quality. The CVs are available upon request.


The qualities of CVs are rated as follows:

. Excellent 0.01% to 4.99%
. Very good 5.00% to 9.99%
. Good 10.00% to 14.99%
. Acceptable 15.00% to 24.99%
. Use with caution 25.00% to 34.99%
. Unreliable 35.00% or higher