Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics Guide
WHAT IS SLID?
SLID (Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics) is a longitudinal household survey conducted by Statistics Canada. It is designed to capture changes in the economic well- being of individuals and families over time and the determinants of their well-being.
The target population for SLID is all persons living in Canada, excluding people in the Yukon or Northwest Territories, residents of institutions, persons living on Reserves, and full-time members of the Canadian Armed Forces living in barracks.
SLID supports both longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis, at both the person and job levels. This is enabled by the creation of four different types of public use files:
a. A cross-sectional person file - for each year of data, having one record for each person in that year's cross-sectional sample (all persons in the longitudinal sample plus their cohabitants at the end of the reference year).
b. A longitudinal person file - having one record for each person belonging to the longitudinal sample, and containing data relating to all years so far released for that panel.
c. A cross-sectional job file - for each year of data, having one record for each job held by each person in that year's cross-sectional sample.
d. A longitudinal job file - having one record for each job held by each person in the longitudinal sample, and containing data related to all years so far released for that panel.
The sample reflects fundamental population dynamics: births, deaths, geographic mobility, family splits and so on. The individual is the basic sample unit of the survey but family characteristics are a major focus of the survey content.
Data users may also define many other units of analysis, including a lengthy list of spells. Some examples of spells are marital states, unemployment spells, or absences from work- for a particular reason or of a certain duration- and so on.
SLID contains an electronic data dictionary which provides complete information about survey variable. This is a good starting point for those users who are unfamiliar with the survey content.
BEYOND 20/20 BROWSER - The Beyond 20/20 Browser enables the user to quickly tabulate data to create custom tables.
SCOPE OF THIS GUIDE
This guide is intended to provide a basic overview of and introduction to SLID (Survey of
Labour and Income Dynamics). A sample search is included to help familiarize the user with how it works. There is more detailed information in the accompanying user's guide. This guide is in hard copy (MEDIA HD 8101 S8 WAVE 2) or can be accessed in
the CD by clicking on the SLID DOCUMENTATION square in the main menu.
MOVING AROUND SLID
A SAMPLE SEARCH
1. To create a table
Click on SLID Icon.
Click on ENGLISH.
Click on Accept to accept the license agreement.
* For more detailed instructions on creating and working with a table, click on TUTORIALS. Then click on BEYOND 20/20 INSTRUCTIONS.
2. Click on DATA BROWSER
3. Use mouse or UP or DOWN arrow keys to select 1994 CROSS-SECTIONAL PERSON FILE.
Click OK
4. Source field tiles are at the right of the screen.
To see a description of each, click on DATA in the menu bar.
Click on FIND SOURCE FIELD
5. Select the source field ELBW26c by clicking on it and dragging it to either the left side or top of the table. Do the same for AGOFG27c.
When the area is highlighted, release the mouse button. At least two source fields must
be selected. Up to 8 fields can be used.
At this point, any modifications to the field can be applied if desired using the functions below.
DEFINE RECODE - lets you create a new source field which combines categories of an original character source field.
DEFINE BANDS - lets you create a new source field by changing the bands of an original numeric source field.
DEFINE DERIVED FIELD - lets you create a new source field by applying mathematical operations to one or more existing source field tiles.
CHANGE LABELS - character fields have both codes and labels. To switch between codes and labels select the desired row or column and click on CHANGE LABELS button (a tag).
SET RECORD CONSTRAINTS - lets you create a table subject to a constraint on a field.
6. Once the selection s have been made, click on GO BUTTON (traffic light) to view data.
7. To chart data, click on DISPLAY CHART button (a picture of a chart).
To change chart type, click on VIEW menu.
Click on CHART OPTIONS
Select type of chart and click OK.
8. To print a table or chart
Select PRINT from the FILE menu or click on the PRINT button.
9. To save a table
Select SAVE AS from FILE menu.
Specify directory and file name. Click OK.
Enter table title and category which will be displayed in FIND dialogue box. Click OK.
10. To exit, click on EXIT in FILE menu.
ELECTRONIC DATA DICTIONARY - once in the SLID program, click on SLID documentation.
FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE
For help in searching SLID, ask the staff at the Media and Data Centre counter.
March 24, 2010
Gillian Byrne
