Indigenous Peoples Survey-Nunavut Inuit Supplement (IPS-NIS)

Indigenous Peoples Survey-Nunavut Inuit Supplement (IPS-NIS)
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Detailed information for 2022

Status:

Active

Frequency:

Every 5 years

Record number:

5270

The purpose of the Indigenous Peoples Survey-Nunavut Inuit Supplement (IPS-NIS) is to learn more about the availability, interest and level of preparedness of Inuit enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement for government employment.

Survey results will be used to help find ways to increase Inuit employment in government, as required by Article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement.

Data release - August 14, 2024

Description

The 2022 Indigenous Peoples Survey-Nunavut Inuit Supplement (IPS-NIS) was conducted between May 2022 and March 2023 as a component of the 2022 Indigenous Peoples Survey (IPS). The IPS is a national survey of First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit living in Canada. The survey provides valuable data on the social and economic conditions of Indigenous people living in Canada. The theme of the 2022 IPS is families and children, and was designed to provide core indicators in the areas of education, employment, health, and access to services. For more information about the 2022 IPS please see https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/survey/household/3250

The IPS-NIS was targeted specifically towards Inuit enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement, aged 15 years and older, and comprised a large sample of Inuit in Nunavut and asked questions focused on learning more about the availability, interest and level of preparedness of Inuit enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement for government employment.

The IPS-NIS was conducted by Statistics Canada, with funding provided by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

Survey results will be used to help find ways to increase Inuit employment in government, as required by Article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement.

The IPS-NIS asked questions about the following topics:

- Trust in public institutions
- Availability and interest in government employment
- Previous experience with government employment
- Interest in training and mobility for government employment
- Plans to apply for government work
- Plans for further education, and pre-employment training
- Skills, training and relevant experiences
- Language fluency for work
- Plans for retirement

Subjects

  • Education, literacy and skills
  • Government
  • Indigenous peoples
  • Labour
  • Use of languages
  • Work and retirement

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population of the 2022 IPS-NIS was Inuit enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement aged 15 years and over on April 27, 2022, living in private dwellings.

The supplementary sample for the IPS-NIS was selected from respondents who reported an Inuit identity on the 2021 Census long-form questionnaire, were aged 15 and over, living in a private dwelling in Nunavut at the time of census and were enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement. More specifically, the sample was selected on the basis of responses to questions 24 and 29 of forms 2A-L and 2A-R.

Instrument design

Respondents aged 15 years and over from both the main IPS and the IPS-NIS samples who reported that they were Inuit enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement received questions from both the main IPS as well as the additional IPS-NIS set of questions. These questions were developed by a technical working group which included representatives from Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI), the Government of Nunavut (GN), Pilimmaksaivik (Federal Centre of Excellence for Inuit Employment in Nunavut), ESDC and Statistics Canada. They were designed to learn more from government and non-government Inuit employees, as well as those who are unemployed and not in the labour force, about interest in and availability for government employment, future employment plans, interest in training and skill relevant experiences.

Once the questions were developed, they underwent qualitative testing to ensure that they were clearly understood by respondents and would yield valid results.

For the IPS-NIS specifically, testing was conducted in Ottawa, Ontario and Iqaluit, Nunavut. Observations and feedback received from this testing allowed the final questionnaire to be determined.

The questions in the 2022 IPS and IPS-NIS were designed with an Electronic Questionnaire (EQ) environment to replace previous cycles of this survey which had only been collected by Computer Assisted Interviewing (CAI) or on paper.

Sampling

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

Survey frame:
The IPS-NIS frame was comprised of the 2021 Census of Population long-form respondents who reported an Inuit identity, were enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement and were living in Nunavut at the time of the census.

The main sample for the 2022 IPS was selected first. All Inuit aged 15 and over living in Nunavut and enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement who had been selected in the main sample were identified and included in the 2022 IPS-NIS sample.

Sampling design and stratification:
An important part of stratification uses the survey's domains of estimation, which are groups of units for which estimates are targeted. For the IPS-NIS, these domains of estimation corresponded to combinations of communities in Nunavut and education groups for which estimates with an "acceptable" level of precision were targeted.

More precisely, there were two education groups that were targeted:

- Having a high school diploma or some post-secondary education (including trades certificate or apprenticeship, college, university)
- Not having a high school diploma and not having any post-secondary education

When possible, estimates were targeted for each education group within a community; otherwise, community-level estimates were targeted. For the IPS-NIS, the domains of estimation were as follows:

- 12 communities with education-level estimates within the community
- 11 communities with community-level estimates only

Stratification will produce more precise estimates if units are homogeneous within strata and heterogeneous between strata. To increase the efficiency of sampling, each community in Nunavut was stratified by education group. For 12 of these communities, the stratification corresponds to the domain of interest. For the remaining communities, although the stratification does not correspond exactly to the domain of interest, this stratification will nonetheless ensure that both education groups are represented in the sample.

The IPS-NIS design can be considered a two-phase design in which the first phase corresponds to the selection of the 2021 Census long-form sample and the second phase corresponds to the selection of the IPS-NIS sample.

Allocation method:
A method for allocation between the substrata of a particular domain was used which takes into account different types of sample size loss, such as expected non-response and the probability of each unit belonging to the target population.

Sample size:
The final IPS-NIS sample contained 7,258 individuals selected in Nunavut.

For more details on the sampling design, domains of estimation, stratification and allocation of the 2022 IPS-NIS, please consult the Concepts and Methods Guide for the Indigenous Peoples Survey and Indigenous Peoples Survey - Nunavut Inuit Supplement, 2022, which is available at the Related Products on the Integrated Metadatabase (IMDB) webpage: https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5270

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2022-05-11 to 2022-11-30 and 2023-01-16 to 2023-03-31

Responding to this survey is voluntary.

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

Before the start of collection, introductory letters (containing a Secure Access Code (SAC)) and a handout (outlining the purpose of the survey as well as emphasizing the importance of participating) were mailed to respondents.

Responses to survey questions were captured in the electronic questionnaire (EQ) either directly by the respondent (rEQ) or by an interviewer using an interviewer electronic questionnaire (iEQ). Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) were the primary mode of collection for the second collection period from January 16 to March 31, 2023 in Inuit Nunangat, except for Nunatsiavut so as to avoid overlap with the Qanuippitaa? : National Inuit Health Survey.

Respondents could choose to complete the questionnaire in English or French. The 2022 IPS and IPS-NIS questionnaire was available on Statistics Canada's website in Inuktitut (South Baffin syllabics), Inuinnaqtun, and Labrador Inuktitut, for respondents to reference as required.

Before collection started, as well as during collection, efforts were made by Statistics Canada's Western Regional Office to hire interviewers fluid in Inuktitut. When in person follow-up was implemented, local guides were hired whenever possible. Local guides played a crucial role in the success of the in-person follow-up collection in Inuit Nunangat, as they were able to explain the importance of the survey to respondents in the local dialect.

The time required to complete the survey varied from person to person. The 2022 IPS and IPS-NIS survey took an average of 47 minutes to complete.

The sample for the IPS-NIS was selected from respondents to the 2021 Census who reported that they were Inuit aged 15 and over living in Nunavut, and enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement. At the time of data collection, all Census respondents were informed that the information they provided might be used to support other Statistics Canada surveys. At the beginning of the interview, respondents were also informed about Statistics Canada's intention to combine information collected during the 2021 Census of Population with the information provided in the IPS and IPS-NIS survey. Respondents were able to choose not to have their data linked to other surveys or administrative data sources.

The benefits of an IPS and IPS-NIS-Census record linkage are reduced response burden for the target population of the IPS and IPS-NIS, the derivation of survey weights which are crucial to providing valid estimates, and the creation of a comprehensive microdata file which can be used by data analysts to extend their learning and to inform policy and program development for Inuit enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement.

The final edited IPS and IPS-NIS master microdata file was linked with the 2021 Census of Population Dissemination Database. More than 250 census variables were added to the final file.

All products containing linked data are disseminated in accordance with Statistics Canada's policies, guidelines and standards. Only aggregate statistical estimates that conform to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act are released.

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

Error detection

In many cases when a particular response appeared to be inconsistent with previous answers or outside of expected values, the interviewer or respondent was prompted, through message screens on the computer, to confirm answers and, if needed, to modify the information directly at the time of interview. This editing, however, was conducted only with errors that were fairly simple and straightforward to detect and fix. These edits were applied at the record level.

The collected data were then subjected to further editing processes to correct errors that required more complex edit rules. Customized edits consisted of validity checks within and across variables to identify gaps, inconsistencies, and other problems in the data, and corrections were performed based on logical edit rules. Editing at this stage was also applied at the record level, using SAS (Statistical Analysis System).

Imputation

For more details on the imputation of the 2022 IPS-NIS, please consult the Concepts and Methods Guide for the Indigenous Peoples Survey and Indigenous Peoples Survey - Nunavut Inuit Supplement, 2022, which is available at the Related Products on the Integrated Metadatabase (IMDB) webpage: https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5270

Estimation

The initial weight of a unit in the sample corresponds to the product of two components: the inverse of the selection probability for the combined sample (i.e. inverse of the probability of being selected for either the main IPS or the IPS-NIS) and the census long-form weight corrected for non-response and overlap with other surveys. Given the various complexities in combining the two samples, a simulation study was conducted to properly calculate the selection probability of a unit being selected in the combined sample. The inverse of this selection probability could then be multiplied with the census long-form weight to obtain the initial weight of units in the combined sample.

The weights were then adjusted for non-response. Two adjustments were made for two types of non-response: non-contact and non-response with contact (mainly refusals). First, a logistic regression model was constructed based on Census variables for each adjustment to predict the probabilities of being contacted or of responding when contacted. Second, respondents and non-respondents with similar predicted response probabilities were assigned to adjustment classes using cluster analysis. Third, the inverse of the weighted response rate in a class was used as the adjustment factor for that class, and the weights of the responding units within the class were adjusted accordingly.

Next, two calibrations adjustments were made. The first calibration ensured that the sample did not underrepresent or overrepresent certain combinations of community and education group from the Census. The second calibration ensured that the Inuit identity population estimated from the IPS-NIS questions corresponded to the population defined from the Census questions within each calibration groups defined by the cross-tabulation of community and education group.

The Sigma-gap method was then used to detect and reduce excessively large weights within each calibration group. After the weights were sorted in descending order, the excessively large weights were reduced to the value of the first non-outlier weight. The mass of the reduced weights was then redistributed proportionally within the calibration groups.

For the IPS-NIS, the bootstrap method was used to calculate the variance. For the sole purpose of calculating the variance, the 2021 Census was seen to have two phases: the initial sample of approximately 1 in 4 dwellings as the first phase and census respondents as the second phase. Although the final response rate was quite high for the 2021 Census (97.4% for the long form), this second phase ensures that the variance calculation takes into account the non-response that occurred. The two phases of the Census were later combined into a single phase. The combined sample was treated as a second phase, and then the general bootstrap method for two-phase sampling developed for the 2006 IPS was used (see Langlet, É., Beaumont, J.-F., and Lavallée, P. 2008. "Bootstrap Methods for Two-Phase Sampling Applicable to ostcensal Surveys". Paper submitted to Statistics Canada's Advisory Committee on Statistical Methods, May 2008, Ottawa). When using the general bootstrap method for two-phase sampling, it should be noted that for the sole purpose of calculating the variance, individuals in Nunavut in the combined sample that were selected for the main IPS sample were assumed to have been selected using the same stratification as the supplementary sample of the IPS-NIS (community and education group).

For the IPS-NIS, 1,000 sets of bootstrap weights were generated using this method. The method can lead to negative bootstrap weights. To overcome this problem, a transformation was done on the bootstrap weights that reduced their variability. Therefore, the variance calculated on these transformed bootstrap weights has to be multiplied by a factor that is a function of a certain parameter, called phi. The value of the parameter corresponds to the smallest integer that makes all bootstrap weights positive. For the IPS-NIS, this parameter has a value of 4. The variances calculated on the transformed bootstrap weights have to be multiplied by four squared, that is 16.

Quality evaluation

Differences between the IPS-NIS and other data sources:
Due to a number of differences in methodology between the 2022 IPS-NIS and other Statistics Canada surveys, comparisons of data between these surveys should be done with caution.

2022 IPS-NIS and the 2021 Census:
The census and the IPS-NIS are both rich sources of information on Inuit that complement each other. The IPS-NIS takes concepts that are touched on in the Census and asks in-depth questions to provide more detailed information. For instance, the Census provides information about education and labour market activities (e.g. labour force status, class of worker, industry, occupation and work activity during the reference year).

The IPS-NIS provides an opportunity to obtain more detailed information from Nunavut Inuit about their experiences with government employment, interest in government employment, plans to apply, interest in training and language of work.

The population counts from the 2022 IPS or IPS-NIS for certain subpopulations may differ from those obtained from the census, even though the census population universe is restricted to that of the IPS or IPS-NIS. The second calibration ensured that the number of individuals with Indigenous identity was the same in the census and the IPS, but only for certain combinations of Indigenous group, region, age group and Inuit Agreement. Similarly, the number of persons aged 15 and older who reported having an Inuit identity and being registered under the Nunavut Agreement will be the same whether it is calculated from the census or the IPS-NIS, but only for certain combinations of Nunavut Regions. However, population counts may differ for other subpopulations, which were not controlled for during calibration.

It is also important to note that, in some cases, for a given individual, the Indigenous identity reported may differ between the Census and the IPS-NIS. There are a number of reasons why Indigenous identity may not be the same on both surveys. The differences could be the results of the following factors:

- Method of collection and effect of proxy reporting
- Different questionnaires
- Different contexts
- Effect of time

The differences between the Census and the IPS-NIS should be assumed to affect the ability to compare estimates between the two surveys analytical files. For these reasons, comparisons should be made with caution between estimates from the 2021 Census and the 2022 IPS-NIS.

2022 IPS-NIS vs 2022 IPS: differences in sampling design
There are many methodological differences between the 2022 IPS and the 2022 IPS-NIS. Most importantly, the populations covered by each survey are not the same. The 2022 IPS-NIS only includes data for Inuit enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement while the main IPS includes data for all Inuit (and all other Indigenous identity groups).

Moreover, the domains of interest and sampling strata were not the same for the two surveys. The 2022 IPS sample was selected based on domains of interest defined using geography (Inuit regions, provinces or territories, Atlantic provinces grouped), Indigenous group and age group. In comparison, the IPS-NIS sample was selected based on domains of interest defined by communities in Nunavut and education groups. In fact, the IPS-NIS was designed to produce community-level estimates in Nunavut whereas the 2022 IPS was designed to produce estimates only at the Nunavut level.

The domains of interest for each survey also impacted the weighting strategy. For the 2022 IPS, the calibration produced weights so that population counts by geography (Inuit regions and provinces/territories), Indigenous identity and age group matched 2021 Census totals. For the IPS-NIS, the variables used for calibration were community and education group. The difference in the weighting strategies can create differences between the estimates produced for the two surveys.

For more details 2022 IPS and IPS-NIS, please consult the Concepts and Methods Guide for the Indigenous Peoples Survey and Indigenous Peoples Survey - Nunavut Inuit Supplement, 2022, which is available at the Related Products on the Integrated Metadatabase (IMDB) webpage: https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5270

All information that is publicly disseminated by Statistics Canada will reference the target population covered in the analysis (e.g., Inuit versus Inuit enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement, also referred to as Nunavut Inuit). It is strongly recommended that researchers do the same in any documents that are shared with the public.

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

This methodology type does not apply to this survey.

Data accuracy

Two types of errors occur in surveys: sampling errors and non-sampling errors.

Sampling Errors:

Sampling errors are defined as errors resulting from the estimation of a population characteristic based on the measurement of a part of the population rather than the whole population. For probability sampling surveys, there are methods for estimating sampling errors. These methods derive directly from the sampling design and estimation method used in the survey.

The measure most often used to quantify sampling error is the sampling variance. The sampling variance indicates the extent to which the estimate of a characteristic differs from one sample to the next, given several possible samples of the same size and design. The standard error of an estimate is the square root of the sampling variance. This measure is easier to interpret, because it gives an indication of sampling error using the same scale as the estimate, whereas variance is based on squared differences.

The measure of sampling error used for the 2022 IPS-NIS is the 95% confidence interval (CI) instead of the coefficient of variation (CV) that was used for the 2017 Aboriginal Peoples Survey-Nunavut Inuit Supplement (APS-NIS). These two measures of sampling error are described below.

The CV of an estimate is a relative measure of sampling error. It is defined as the estimate of the standard error divided by the estimate itself, usually expressed as a percentage (e.g., 10% instead of 0.1). It is very useful for measuring and comparing the sampling error of quantitative variables with large positive values. However, its use is not recommended for estimates such as proportions and estimates of variations or differences, or for variables that can take on negative values.

A CI is a range determined by its upper and lower bounds indicating which values, including the survey estimate, are plausible based on the data for the true population value. A 95% CI implies that if the survey were repeated several times, the CI would cover the true population value 95% of the time (or 19 times out of 20). Statistics Canada's best practice is to report the sampling error of an estimate using its 95% CI.

Non-sampling Errors:

Non-sampling errors arise primarily from the following sources: non-response errors, coverage errors, measurement errors and processing errors. The response rate for the supplementary sample of the IPS-NIS was 55.1%. Total non-response will produce a bias if non-respondents have different characteristics from respondents and if non-response is not corrected properly. Non-response adjustments, combined with a relatively high response rate, helped reduce this risk of bias substantially. Non-response to specific questions is often due to difficulty understanding the questions. Thorough quality reviews and questionnaire testing were carried out before the survey, which reduced the extent of partial non-response. Cases in which there was a large proportion of missing responses to key questions were treated as a special form of total non-response.

Coverage errors occur when there are differences between the target population and the sampled population (or survey population). In particular, under-coverage can be problematic. Because the IPS-NIS sample was selected from those who had participated in the 2021 Census, individuals who did not participate in the census could not be sampled for the IPS-NIS. If this group of individuals is significantly different than the ones who participated in the census with respect to the characteristics measured in the IPS-NIS, a bias could be introduced. This bias is assumed to be relatively small given the very high response rate obtained in the census (97.4% response rate for the long form questionnaire).

Measurement errors occur when an answer provided differs from the actual value. These errors may be due to respondents, the interviewer, the questionnaire, the collection method, or the data processing system. Extensive efforts were made to develop questions for the 2022 IPS-NIS that would be understandable, relevant, and culturally appropriate.

Processing errors may occur at various stages, including during the programming of the electronic questionnaire, when the interviewer or respondents enters responses, when coding, and when editing data. Quality control procedures were applied at each stage of the 2022 IPS-NIS data processing to reduce this type of error. Data collection was conducted using an electronic questionnaire, either administered by an interviewer or self-reported by the respondent. A number of edits were built into the system to alert the respondent or interviewer to inconsistencies or unusual values, allowing for the correction of inconsistencies or errors immediately.

For more information about the Non-sampling Errors, please refer to the Concepts and Methods Guide for the Indigenous Peoples Survey and Indigenous Peoples Survey - Nunavut Inuit Supplement, 2022: https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5270

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