StatsCan testing texting as one way to stop major data quality concerns
OTTAWA — Forget checking your mailbox for future Statistics Canada questionnaires and instead be ready to check the text-message inbox on your cell phone.
Texting questions to Canadians is one of several options the agency is considering to confront an alarming drop in response rates to surveys — declines that are “threatening the quality of official statistics” and could “soon lead some to question the usability of the data itself.”
The deteriorating quality of data was a key theme for chief statistician Wayne Smith when he delivered an address to staff in February, according to a copy of his speaking notes and presentation obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
The agency has already started using online questionnaires like the 2016 census to collect the information researchers and policy makers use to identify social, financial and economic trends, and plan for new schools or hospitals.