Canada

1. Determine whether Statistics Canada has produced a data file on your topic.

Use the following available tools:

a) Thematic Search Tool for Research in the Social Sciences
A guide to variables used in a wide range of Statistics Canada's microdata files dating from 1985.

b) Information on Products and Services (IPS)
A searchable database of Statistics Canada's print or electronic publications, products and services. Some items marked "custom data service" may also be available via DLI.

c) Statistics Canada's "The Daily"
The Daily is Statistics Canada's official release bulletin, the Agency's first line of communication with the media and the public. The Daily issues news releases on the current social and economic conditions and announces new products. It provides a comprehensive one-stop overview of new information available from Statistics Canada. The Daily is released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time each working day with the exception of data from the Labour Force Survey and the Consumer Price Index available at 7 a.m. The Daily has been published since 1932 and posted on the Web since June 1995.

2. Determine if the data file you need is available through DLI:

Check the Preliminary List of DLI Files to find out if the data file is available through DLI. Note whether the data is available via CD-ROM or FTP file.

Arranging for Access to DLI Data: If you find a data file that is of interest to you and is available through DLI, you may access the data file in following 2 ways:

a) CD-ROMs

• The user signs a license agreement at the Library Data Service.
• If the disk is already available at the library, arrange with the Library Data Specialist in Room L114 on the 1st floor of Mills Library to load it on an appropriate station for temporary use.
• If the disk has not already been ordered (under terms of the agreement, data is not ordered until it is needed), the library's Digital Resources Specialist will place the order. The user will be notified once it has arrived (generally two to three weeks).

b) FTP Files

• The user signs a license agreement at the Library Data Service.
• Browse the DLI FTP Collection to see if the file is available for transfer.
• Arrange with the Library's Data Specialist in Room L114 on the 1st floor of Mills Library to FTP the file.

An overview of the Statistics Canada List of Surveys are available for browsing.

3. Determine if any of the following Self-served web interfaces contain the data you are interested in:

Canadian Census Analyser
The Canadian Census Analyser provides access to Canadian Census Data. The Census Analyser includes access to 1996, 1991, 1986 and 1981 Enumeration Area level Profile Tables, 1996, 1991, 1986, and 1981 Census Tract level Profile Tables, 1996 and 1991 Provincial and Federal District Profile Tables, and the 1971, 1981, 1986, 1991, and 1996 Individual Microdata Files. Access restricted by IP address.

CANSIM II (Canadian Socio-Economic Information Management System)
CANSIM is the Statistics Canada computerized database, which contains over 730,000 time series covering a wide range of social and economic aspects of Canadian life. Access restricted by IP address.

E-STAT
E-STAT is a dynamic interactive teaching and learning tool containing current and historical data on over 700,000 business and socio-economic subjects. The data can be transformed into colorful maps and graphs. Access restricted by IP address.

QWIFS (Queens Web Interface for SPSS)
QWIFS provides access to the DLI survey files through their self-serve web interface system. The access is restricted to McMaster University's faculty, staff and students. Please contact Library Data Service to obtain a username and password to access this site. You will be asked to sign a user agreement form with us before getting access to this interface system.

USA

ICPSRDirect (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research)

• "ICPSR DIRECT" provides direct access to the ICPSR data holdings for all students, faculty, and staff at McMaster University. With ICPSR Direct, any user with an authorized McMaster University's IP address may download data from ICPSR, without going through a local campus representative. Access to the survey files from ICPSRDirect is restricted to McMaster University faculty, staff and students for the purposes of teaching, research and private study only.