Ottawa

Happy World Statistics Day

Statistics Canada sets out what it expects from the voluntary census.

Statistics Canada also said the estimated response rate means the NHS is likely to have a sampling error that is “slightly higher (worse) than would have been achieved from a mandatory long-form census,” and certain subpopulation groups “are particularly at risk” of seeing fluctuations in the error rate.

More worrisome, however, is the non-response bias, which can skew survey results. According to the federal agency, the risk of non-response bias in a survey goes up as the response rate goes down. “This is because, in general, non-respondents tend to have characteristics that are different than those of the respondents and thus the results are not representative of the true population,” Statistics Canada says on its website. “Given that the National Household Survey is anticipated to achieve a response rate of only 50 per cent, there is a substantial risk of non-response bias.”

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.