UWO RDC COVID Procedures

The UWO RDC continues to prioritize the health and safety of our researchers and staff. As such, we continue to follow COVID procedures within the RDC to ensure that we can remain open safely. This includes limiting the number of workstations available for use and reducing our occupancy, physically distancing our active workstations, maintaining our established booking system for workstations, continued use of sanitizing procedures, a masking requirement when entering/exiting the room as well as when meetings occur at workstations or in the Analyst offices, and minimizing physical contact between individuals in the RDC, amongst others. A detailed guide to our COVID procedures are available on the right.

Together with Statistics Canada, we are following Western University and provincial mandates closely. We hope we can relax our procedures in the near future, however, given how quickly things can change during a pandemic, we ask that our researchers cooperate with our current procedures and that they be prepared for all outcomes. Updates will be emailed to our current researchers, posted in the newsletter which we share with our research community, and posted on our website.

If you have any questions about our reopening plan, or would like to receive our monthly newsletters for updates, then please email us at rdc@uwo.ca. Thank you!

RDC Data Alternatives: Conducting Research During COVID-19

Abstract

Recent physical distancing protocols pertaining to the COVID-19 Pandemic have meant that RDC researchers need to find alternatives ways of carrying out their research. The Real Time Remote Access (RTRA) program offers one alternative way to access confidential Statistics Canada data. Other options include using the Statistics Canada public use files and analyzing data from other sources.

The presenters, data librarians from Western Libraries discussed the differences between the data that can be accessed through the RTRA the RDC. RTRA data is a very useful option for some types of questions but also has some important limitations. Also discussed was public use files and custom tabulations and descriptions of how to access them.

In addition, the presenters highlighted alternative sources of data from Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere that are similar to the Statistics Canada master datasets. These may be particularly useful for graduate students who may not be able to wait for the RDC to re-open but who need to conduct analyses that are more sophisticated than the RTRA or public use files will permit.

Notes

Delivered online to users of the Western Research Data Centre, 30 April 2020.

Details can be found on Scholarship@Western

About the Research Data Centre @ Western

The Statistics Canada Research Data Centre at Western University, with branch at the University of Windsor, provides access to detailed data for research, promotes the use of data through associated training, and assists in the dissemination of research results.

The RDC@Western opened in 2004 and is part of a network of 30 Statistics Canada Research Data Centres and associated Branches in Canadian universities.