Lesson 2. Search for publications
The two main ways of searching the Statistics Canada website for health publications are:
1. Keyword: You can search for very specific topics by using several keywords in your search. However, you must use the 'right' terms in order to find the publications. Authors and Statistics Canada may use different words to represent the same topic. For instance, an author may talk about the decline of "car sales" over the last several years, whereas Statistics Canada collects statistics on "motor vehicles sales". You may need to try several different keywords for each subject in order to locate all relevant publications.
2. Browse by topic or publication type: Publications are also grouped into categories. Browsing a list may be helpful if you are not sure of the correct keywords or search terms for a topic. It may also be an efficient way to search for the contents of a specific type of publication.
There are many different search features in the Statistics Canada website. Each search feature has its own advantages and disadvantages and using more than one type of search will ensure that you are doing a comprehensive search of the Statistics Canada website.
Read the material below and watch the video to learn the skills you need to complete Library Assignment #2.
Video: Searching the Statistics Canada website by keyword and browsing by subject
created by Jackie Stapleton on October 29, 2009
Searching the Statistics Canada website
Keyword search options:
- Website search box: The website search box searches the entire Statistics Canada website including all Daily announcements, entry pages for publications and tables and general pages on the website. It is the most comprehensive search option but it may retrieve many non relevant types of information for this assignment. See Help: Search the site for suggested search tips.
- The Daily: The Daily is Statistics Canada's official news feed for announcements of new data releases, publications, and products. It provides a comprehensive one-stop overview of new information available from Statistics Canada. A Daily news announcement provides a description of a new publication or product published by Statistics Canada. A link to the actual document or product will appear in the Daily article or at the bottom of the Daily announcement.
- Publications search box: Publications, Analytical Series and Technical Reports can be individually searched by keyword. This is helpful if you already know which type of publication you wish to find.
Browseable search options:
- Statistics by subject: A browsable list of subjects and subtopics which include all types of publication types and data tables.
- Publications by subject: Publications, Analytical Series and Technical Reports can be browsed using the same subject classification used by Statistics Canada.
Searching the Health in Canada website
Health in Canada is Statistics Canada's website specifically geared for finding health related information. It leads to a health subset of the website and it can be a more efficient means of searching for information on health related topics. However, if your topic might be found in other subject areas, such as population or society, you may find searching the entire Statistics Canada website more appropriate.
Keyword search options:
- Health in Canada search box Search the entire Health in Canada website.
Browseable search options:
- Health Indicators: A core set of measures which are used to report on health and the health system.
(The annual Health Indicator Reports are a combined publication between Statistics Canada and CIHI (Canadian Institute for Health Information). For the purposes of this assignment, do not use these reports as a recommended readings as they are located on the CIHI website. The factsheets are a suitable publication for this assignment, the data tables are not). - Health Subtopic: A browseable list of subject areas related to health.
- Health Reports: A quarterly journal which publishes research articles and reports on the health status of the Canadian population and health care system. The sources of data are typically national or provincial/territorial databases or surveys.
Note: The Health Profiles outline a variety of health statistics for a particular geographic area, similar to the Community Profiles and Census Profiles for demographic information. You are not expected to search the Health Profiles for this assignment.