RDC News: November 2018

Upcoming Hours

Please note the upcoming changes to the usual centre operating hours this month:

• Due to the analysts being away at the annual RDC meeting, there will be NO EXTENDED HOURS on Tuesday Nov. 6th and Thursday Nov. 8th. The Centre will be open only for normal operating hours, 9:30am - 5:30pm. 
• Please note that during this week (Nov. 5th - 9th), with the Analysts away there will be NO VETTING/RELEASES. 

Saturday Hours in November - On Demand

In October we will be offering some on-demand Saturday hours.  Please let the Analysts know if you wish to work in the RDC on any of the following Saturdays. We will be open on an 'appointment' basis, only if requested. Please email Anna at rdc3@mcmaster.ca, or write your name on the sign-up sheet by the front door in the RDC. (Please sign up by the preceding Thursday.)

Offered dates for Saturday hours are:

• Saturday, Nov. 17th - 12pm to 4pm
• Saturday, Nov. 24th - 12pm to 4pm

Free online SAS courses

RDC researchers are eligible to take online SAS programming and statistics courses free of charge. There are currently 13 online courses available:

• SAS® Programming 1: Essentials
• SAS® Macro Language 1: Essentials
• SAS® Programming 3: Advanced Techniques and Efficiencies
• SAS® Programming 2: Data Manipulation Techniques
• SAS® SQL 1: Essentials
• Introduction to Statistical Concepts
• SAS® Enterprise Guide® 1: Querying and Reporting
• SAS® Enterprise Guide® 2: Advanced Tasks and Querying
• Predictive Modeling Using Logistic Regression
• SAS® Macro Language 2: Advanced Techniques
• Creating Reports and Graphs with SAS® Enterprise Guide®
• SAS® Enterprise Guide®: ANOVA, Regression, and Logistic Regression
• Statistics 1: Introduction to ANOVA, Regression, and Logistic Regression

Please note that you must have SAS available to you to use these courses. If you are interested in these courses, please contact one of the Analysts for the special RDC access code.

New data sets at the RDC

In the upcoming weeks we will be receiving new data sets and surveys at the McMaster Research Data Centre. Please see the information below. Researchers interested in accessing these data sets are encouraged to submit proposals!

Labor Force Survey (LFS)

The Labour Force Survey provides estimates of employment and unemployment. LFS data are used to produce the well-known unemployment rate as well as other standard labour market indicators such as the employment rate and the participation rate. 2018 data is now available from January - September.

LFS data are used to produce the well-known unemployment rate as well as other standard labour market indicators such as the employment rate and the participation rate. The LFS also provides employment estimates by industry, occupation, public and private sector, hours worked and much more, all cross-classifiable by a variety of demographic characteristics. Estimates are produced for Canada, the provinces, the territories and a large number of sub-provincial regions. For employees, data on wage rates, union status, job permanency and establishment size are also produced.

This data set may be of interested to researchers studying employment and unemployment, hours of work and work arrangements, industries, occupations, unionization and industrial relations, and wages, salaries and other earnings.

For more information on this data set, please see http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=3701&dis=1. 

The McMaster RDC is now accepting proposals for work with this data. For information on the application process, please visit: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/rdc/process