Project Canada 1975-95 Panel Study

DOI

10.17605/OSF.IO/KCZBJ

Citation

Bibby, R. W. (2021, March 29). Project Canada 1975-95 Panel Study.

Summary

The Project Canada Research Program has been carried out from the University of Lethbridge. National surveys of adults 18 and over have been conducted in 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, and 1995. Adult surveys in 2000 will complete the program. The goal has been to generate extensive information on life in Canada, with specific attention given to social issues, intergroup relations, and religion.

Data File

Cases: 400
Variables: 865
Weight Variable: None

Data Collection

1975, 1995

Funded By

The 1975 survey was carried out for a cost of about $14,000 and had four major sources: the United Church of Canada ($2,000), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ($3,000), the Solicitor General of Canada ($5,000), and the University of Lethbridge ($4,000). In 1980, the panel portion of the survey was made possible by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada ($10,000) and the United Church of Canada ($2,000). The second phase of Project Canada 1980, which involved filling the core out into a full national sample, cost approximately $8,000 and was funded primarily by the University of Lethbridge. Project Canada 1985 was funded completely by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada ($45,000); Project Canada 1990 and Project Canada 1995 were both funded by The Lilly Endowment, Inc. (about $65,000 each).

Collection Procedures

All five of the adult surveys have made use of self-administered questionnaires and have been conducted by mail over approximately a four-month period. Questionnaires have ranged from eleven to twenty pages in length, and have included 300 to 400 variables. With minor variations, the procedures have involved (1) mailing the questionnaire with a front-page cover letter, (2) sending a follow-up postcard, and (3) mailing a second questionnaire.

Sampling Procedures

A representative sample of about 1,100 cases is sufficient to claim a confidence level of 95% and a confidence interval of four percentage points when generalizing to the Canadian adult population. Size and representativeness are the two key criteria in being able to generalize with accuracy from a sample to a population. Considerable care therefore has been taken to ensure that both standards have been met.

Concerning size, an interest in provincial comparisons resulted in 1,917 cases being gathered in 1975; 1,482 in 1980; 1,630 in 1985; 1,472 in 1990; and 1,765 in 1995. With respect to representativeness, the nation has been stratified by province (10) and community size (greater than 100,000, 99,999-10,000, less than 10,000), with the sample drawn proportionate to the populations involved. As resources have improved, the number of communities being drawn on has increased from 30 in 1975 to 43 in 1980, 104 in 1985, 145 in 1990, and 228 in 1995. Participants have been randomly selected using telephone directories. Discrepancies between the sample and population characteristics have been corrected by weighting for provincial and community size, along with gender and age. Each of the five samples has been weighted down to about 1,200 cases in order to minimize the use of large weight factors (i.e., three or more).

All of the samples are highly representative of the Canadian population. Samples of this size and composition, should be accurate within about four percentage points on most questionnaire items, 19 times in 20 similar surveys. Comparisons with similar Gallup poll items, for example, have consistently found this to be the case.

A major interest of the ongoing national surveys has been to monitor social change and stability. Each survey sample since 1980 has consisted of (a) a core of people who participated in the previous survey and (b) new participants, who are used to create a full national sample of about 1,500 cases. For example, while the first 1975 survey was a typical cross-sectional survey with 1,917 participants, the Project Canada 1980 sample of 1,482 people included 1,056 who also had been involved in 1975.

The 1995 sample of 1,765 cases comprised 816 people who participated in previous surveys and 949 new cases. Of the 816, 400 had participated in the 1975 survey. They made up the ongoing core who have participated in all the surveys (236) and a special panel supplement (164), which was obtained through our adding as many of the original 1975 participants as we could whom we had "lost" between 1975 and 1995.

Various panels can be constructed from the surveys according to the five-year interval desired (e.g., 1975-85, 1980-90, 1990-95). While no claim is being made that these panels are representative of all Canadians, they do provide intriguing and novel data on the attitudes, outlooks and behaviour of a core of Canadians over the last quarter of the 20th century. The panels can be weighted as deemed desirable by data users.

For national surveys, the Project Canada return rates have been relatively high - 52% in 1975, 65% in 1980, and about 60% in 1985, 1990 and 1995. We tend to hear from about 65% of the people who have participated previously and just over 50% of those being contacted for the first time - favourable to the seldom - reported cooperation rates of (at best) around 65% obtained with face-to-face and telephone interviews.

Principal Investigators

Reginald W. Bibby

SES and Occupation Codes for the variables FASES, SELFSES, and SPSES:

"Occupations have been coded according to the Blishen & McRoberts (1976) socio-economic index scores. This index is determined using both objective and subjective criteria and reflects both the economic return and the prestige which are associated with one's occupation. The higher the score, the higher the occupational rating (Bernard R. Blishen and Hugh A. McRoberts, "A Revised Socioeconomic Index for Occupations in Canada." The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 13:71-79, 1976.)"

Occupation codes for TYPE5 and SPTYPE5:

Occupations have been coded using the 1990 Statistics Canada Standard Occupational Classification. The detailed Statistics Canada tables for TYPE5 and SPTYPE5 are not reproduced here.

Value labels for AREANAM5

101 Vancouver
102 Victoria
103 Cranbrook
104 Kamloops
105 Kelowna
106 Nanaimo
107 Penticton
108 PrGeorge
109 PrRupert
111 Chase
112 Creston
113 Elkford
114 Field
115 Ft. Nelson
116 Golden
117 Hope
118 Masset
119 PtAlice
120 Salmo
121 Smithers
199 British Columbia unknown
201 Calgary
202 Edmonton
203 Ft. McMurray
204 GrPrarie
205 Lethbridge
206 MedHat
207 Red Deer
209 Banff
210 Bassano
211 Blairmore
212 Bonnyvlle
213 Delia
214 Dray Valley
215 HiPrairie
216 LacLBiche
217 Morinville
218 Peace River
219 Slave Lake
299 Alberta unknown
301 Regina
302 Saskatoon
303 MooseJaw
304 PrAlbert
306 SwCurrent
307 Yorkton
308 Asquith
309 Assnboia
310 Bengough
311 Gravelbg
313 Mead Lake
314 Melfort
316 Rosetown
317 Star City
318 Watrous
399 Saskatchowan unknown
401 Winnipeg
402 Brandon
404 Selkirk
405 Thompson
407 Carman
408 FlinFlon
410 MacGregor
411 Russell
412 The Pas
499 Manitoba unknown
501 Toronto
502 Hamilton
503 Kitchener
504 Kingston
505 London
506 Oshawa
507 Ottawa
508 StCaths
509 Sudbury
510 Thunder Bay
511 Windsor
512 Barrie
513 Brantford
514 Collinwd
515 Cornwall
516 Fr. Erie
517 Guelph
518 Halt Hills
519 Kanata
520 Kirk Lake
521 Lisndsay
522 Newmarket
523 North Bay
524 Owen Sound
525 Peterbor
526 SSMarie
527 St. Thos
528 Stratford
529 Timmins
530 Aylmer
531 Bancroft
532 Burks Falls
533 Caledonia
535 Deep River
536 Dryden
537 Dunnville
538 Espanola
539 Meaford
541 Newboro
542 Paris
543 ParrySnd
544 PtElgin
545 Red Rock
546 Ridgetown
547 Simcoe
548 Thamville
550 Wawa
551 Wingham
552 Woodstock
599 Ontario Unknown
601 Montreal
602 Chicout
603 Hull
604 Quebec City
605 Sherbrooke
606 Trois-Riv
608 Cownville
609 DeuxMont
610 Drummond
611 Granby
612 Joliette
614 Rimouski
615 Shawingn
616 Sorel
617 St-Geogs
618 ThetMines
619 Victville
620 Asbestos
621 Cap-Sante
622 Champlain
623 Desbiens
624 Donnacon
625 Farnham
626 Gaspe
629 LacSaguay
630 Mt-Joli
631 Ormstown
632 PtRouge
633 St-Agap
634 St-Donat
635 St-Malach
637 St-Urbain
638 Sayabec
640 Val-Dav
641 Laval
699 Quebec Unknown
701 Saint John
702 Bathurst
703 Edmundst
704 Fredictn
705 Moncton
706 Sackville
708 Havelock
709 McAdam
710 Minto
711 Nequac
712 Newcastle
713 Rogersvl
799 New Brunswick unknown
801 Halifax
802 Glace Bay
803 Sydney
804 Truro
805 Antigon
807 Canso
808 Dundee
810 Middleton
811 Mulgrave
812 Shelburne
813 Wolfville
814 Yarmouth
899 Nova Scotia unknown
901 Charlotte
902 Summers
903 Cardigan
904 Cavendish
906 Montague
907 Souris
908 Woodstock
909 Wood Island
999 Prince Edward Island Unknown
1001 St. John's
1002 CornBrook
1003 Gander
1004 Gd Falls
1005 Bonavista
1006 Botwood
1007 Cupids
1008 Freshwater
1009 Lewporte
1010 Roddicktn
1011 St. Albans
1012 St. Lawrence
1059 Newfoundland unknown
1091 Whitehorse
1092 Coppmine
1093 NormWells
1094 Yellowknife
1095 Dawson

Available value labels for FAVNEWS5, FAVSING5, FAVATH5, FAVAUTH5, FAVTV5, FAVACT5, FAVJOUR5, FAVPOL5:

FAVNEWS5
101 Mansbrid
102 Robertson
110 S. Durivage
114 B. Derome
116 P. Bruneau
118 Other local male
128 Other local female
199 Other
FAVSING5
99 Varied
131 C. Dion
136 A. Murray
199 Other Canadian
271 Streisand
299 Other U.S.
FAVATH5
1 M. Bedard
9 W. Gretzkey
81 Browning
90 Stojko
99 Varied
FAVAUTH5
30 S. King
57 D. Steel
99 Varied
FAVTV5
99 Varied
112 Mongrain
211 Letterman
218 Seinfeld
248 Winfrey
199 Other U.S.
FAVACT5
99 Varied
199 Other Canadian
204 K. Costner
213 H. Ford
216 T. Hanks
299 Other U.S.
499 Other
FAVJOUR5
None available
FAVPOL5
99 Varied
101 Chretien
102 Bouchard
104 P. Manning
116 Trudeau
119 Other male (federal)
127 R. Klein
139 Other males