- Microdata Access Portal (for academics only)
Research Data Centres
- Why do researchers need to sign a contract with Statistics Canada?
Why do researchers need to sign a contract with Statistics Canada?
I am required to have an ethics review for the use of Statistics Canada microdata. What do I need to do?
How does Statistics Canada assure confidentiality and security of data?
Why are fingerprinting and credit checks mandatory? Does it apply to everyone? Is my information protected?
What is the Oath of Secrecy?
Is any personally identifiable information available in the RDCs?
Is there support for older data?
Can I use non-Statistics Canada data sets?
- nature and type of data
- unit of analysis
- source (e.g. website, agency)
- permission received to access the data (e.g. publicly available, written permission, signed contract, ethics approval)
- How does the use of these data contribute to the research question?
- Will the new data be amended, pooled or merged with Statistics Canada datasets?
- If yes, will these data be linked at the individual micro-record level?
Record linkage requires additional approval from Statistics Canada.
Please contact the analyst at your RDC for more information.
What statistical software is available to researchers?
- SAS
- STATA
- SPSS
- ArcGIS
When my proposal is approved, is the software I requested also approved and available in the Research Data Centre?
Can I submit a request for additional software?
Deemed employees
- What is a "deemed employee"?
What is a "deemed employee"?
How does someone become a deemed employee?
- be granted "Reliability Status" following a security check
- be identified in an agreement under which they are granted access to specific confidential information
- take the Oath of Office, as required by section 6 of the Statistics Act
- acknowledge in writing that they have read, understood and will comply with the security requirements listed in the appendix of the agreement, relevant Statistics Canada policies as well as this document
- declare in writing that they do not have any conflict of interest as described in the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service.
What are the responsibilities of a deemed employee?
What happens if a deemed employee does something that is prohibited under the Statistics Act?
What information can a deemed employee access?
Who are the authorized persons deemed employees can discuss the information with?
Microdata Access Portal
- What types of applications can be completed in the Microdata Access Portal (MAP)?
What types of applications can be completed in the Microdata Access Portal (MAP)?
Where can I get more information on the application process?
Who can apply through the MAP?
- Members of a post-secondary institution such as a faculty member, student (if the project forms an integral part of their thesis or dissertation, or is a post-doctoral project), or staff of a Canadian post-secondary institution.
- Employees of the federal government or contractors working on behalf of the federal government.
- Employees of a Provincial/Territorial/Municipal government or contractors working on behalf of these governments.
Who can’t apply through the MAP?
- Faculty requesting access to microdata for the purpose of teaching a graduate level course on methodology related to complex survey data analysis.
- Researchers performing data validation activities on behalf of Statistics Canada. Contact the Statistics Canada employee who requested your assistance with data validation activities.
- Researchers working on behalf of a non-governmental organization.
- Researchers working on behalf of a for-profit company.
Contact the Research Data Centres for more information on how to access microdata.
What is a MAP ID?
What are the benefits of the MAP?
What has changed in the application process?
How is my personal data protected in the MAP?
Why do you collect my date of birth?
Do I need to use the MAP during the entire life cycle of my project or just at the application stage?
What do I need to create an account?
How long will it take me to complete an application?
Can I save my partially completed application and finish it later?
Can I make changes to my application?
My project's funding type changed. How do I adjust my application?
How often is the list of available data updated in the MAP?
Will I be notified when my application has been processed?
How do I check my project status?
- Draft
- Submitted
- Under Review
- Approved (awaiting contract)
- Denied
- Active
- Inactive / Expired
What do the statuses mean?
- Draft: when the principal investigator is filling out a project application.
- Submitted: when all the mandatory fields are completed and the principal investigator has submitted the application.
- Under Review: Statistics Canada is in the process of reviewing the application
- Approved (awaiting contract): the project has been approved by Statistics Canada and is awaiting the Statistics Canada signature on the contract.
- Denied: the project is not approved. Statistics Canada will send an email to the principal investigator requesting additional information or explain why the request is denied.
- Active: when the project is approved and the agreement is signed.
- Inactive / Expired: when a project has been in draft mode for a year time or when a project has expired the project timeline.
Can I select more than one RDC for my project in the portal?
More than one level of government is sponsoring my project. How do I enter this in the portal?
Can I request any Statistics Canada microdata product through the MAP?
Microdata Access Portal (for academics only)
- Why are applications no longer submitted through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)?
Why are applications no longer submitted through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)?
I was familiar with the SSHRC portal, how different is the MAP?
Why do you need to ask questions about the funding of my project?
Why are some projects "fee for service"?
- university-based researchers from an institution that is not a CRDCN partner
- researchers working for government or the non-profit sector
- researchers working for the private sector.
What is required for the peer review?
- Identify an appropriate assessor
- Send the peer review form and your proposal to the assessor
- Have the assessor fill out the form
- Submit the peer review form.
