Menu

The LibVine

What's going on at Dalhousie Libraries

Archives for data

Notice from the ARDC: Canadian Cancer Registry 2013 (CCR)

The 2013 Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR) is now available for use by researchers at the Atlantic Research Data Centre (ARDC). The CCR is an administrative database with the primary objective of providing a national database of information that can be used to produce standardized and comparable statistics for cancer incidence and survival data for each primary type of cancer. This information is used to assist and support health planners and decision-makers at all levels of government to: identify risk factors for cancer; plan, monitor and evaluate a broad range of cancer control programs (e.g., screening); and, conduct research in health services and economics.

The CCR is a dynamic database of all Canadian residents, alive or dead, who have been diagnosed with cancer since 1992. The CCR is a patient-based system that records the type and number (incidence) of primary cancers diagnosed for each person until death. Subsequent primary cancers occurring for patients who are already in the database are linked to their existing patient information. The advantage of this system is that longitudinal data is available for each cancer patient. The patient data is regularly linked to mortality data (death clearance) to optimize the accuracy of date, cause, and place of death fields in the CCR and to identify potential primary cancers not currently registered in the CCR. Since patients’ records remain active on the CCR until confirmation of their death, survival rates for the various forms of cancer can be calculated.

For more information on The Canadian Cancer Registry 2013:
http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=3207

For more information on the ARDC and application procedures:
www.atlanticresearchdatacentre.dal.ca
ardc@dal.ca
902-494-1545

Administrative Data Information Session

The Atlantic Research Data Centre (ARDC) and New Brunswick RDC are pleased to invite you to a half-day Administrative Data Information Session.

This session will provide:

  • A general overview of the currently available and forthcoming administrative dataset at RDCs
  • An in-depth information of major administrative data in two areas: Immigration and Health
  • Demonstrations of applied research using these data

The ARDC hopes that this information will stir up ideas on new research, as well as facilitate collaborations among academic researchers, policy making communities, and community organizations.

This event will be held:

Friday, March 18, 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Room 303, Student Union Building
Dalhousie University
6136 University Avenue 

Admission is FREE. However, for planning purposes, please register through the ARDC website: RDC Administrative Data Information Session

This session will be webcasted through Webinar (registration is required). ARDC will provide more information to all registrants.

Accessing Stats Can Data through the Dal Libraries

If you’re a researcher who needs access to Stats Can data, the Dalhousie Libraries can help you access public-use microdata files, databases, and geographic files through Stats Canada’s Data Liberation Initiative (DLI). Statistics Canada’s website defines the DLI initiative as “a partnership between post-secondary institutions and Statistics Canada for improving access to Canadian data resources.”

Enhanced access to the DLI files for Dalhousie faculty, students, and researchers is provided through the Equinox interface from the University of Western Ontario. We also have access to the CANSIM and the Canadian Census interfaces through CHASS Data Centre at the University of Toronto. The federal government’s recently developed data portal data.gc.ca is also a good place to check for data.

Equinox allows the user to extract a smaller data set from a large file, such as getting information about Nova Scotia specifically from a data set for all of Canada, we can help with that. Gwendolyn MacNairn and Choi Chua are the new Dalhousie DLI representatives, a role previously filled by Phyllis Ross. Both Gwendolyn and Choi can assist with requests for data extraction.

If you want to do analysis on the data, most people use one of two statistical packages: SAS or SPSS. Choi Chua is our resident expert on both of these statistical packages. Choi has also been appointed to a national task force investigating replacements for the Equinox interface which will cease to be updated after December 31, 2014 and which will be retired in June 2015.

Our LibGuide on Data for the Social Sciences is a great place to look for more information about DLI and data research in general.

TOP