Guide to CANSIM

What is CANSIM?

CANSIM (Canadian Socio-economic Information Management System) is Statistics Canada's computerized database and retrieval service. At MUN, it is accessible via the Internet from the University of Toronto. It is updated daily and contains over 40 million series covering socio-economic, demographic, health, education and justice statistics. Retrospective coverage begins as far back as 1914, but most data start from around the 1950s - 1970s.

Who can use CANSIM at MUN?

Our license agreements with Statistics Canada and the University of Toronto allow access to current Memorial University of Newfoundland students, faculty and staff. Non-MUN users who wish to access CANSIM should contact Statistics Canada in Ottawa at 1-800-263-1136.

How to access CANSIM

At the library homepage (http://www.library.mun.ca), click on More Collections (in the red bar at top right), Canadian Statistical Sites and CANSIM. (If you are off-campus, click first on the Quick links menu at the top right corner of the library homepage and select Off-campus login; you will then be prompted for your login and library PIN. You may then proceed by following the steps outlined above. If you don't already have your login and password, contact the library's Circulation desk at 864-7423.)

CANSIM structure

Before explaining CANSIM searches, it would help to explain the structure of the database. Data are clustered by subject into tables. These are assigned a number comprising 7 digits, for example, 183-0006, that covers sales of alcoholic beverages. At the CANSIM homepage, click on Continue in English, CANSIM - Table Directory and ALL sections at the bottom of the screen. Scroll down the list of table numbers to 183-0006 and note other adjacent table numbers also relating to alcoholic beverages. The table directory is a handy subject compendium of the entire CANSIM database

Backtrack to the CANSIM search page and click on CANSIM Multidimensional @ CHASS Main Menu and locate tables by table numbers or ranges. Key in 1830006 (with or without the hypen) and submit. Click on by series. As you can see, a table is comprised of constituent vectors (also known as labels or series) that delineate the subject breakdown still further. For instance, V130411 covers total sales of alcoholic bevreages in Canada, V130412 covers sales in Newfoundland, etc. Thus, the vector, identified by its "V" prefix, is the most basic unit in CANSIM, providing a uniquely specific combination of information that distinguishes it from other vectors.

Click on V130412. Stay with the default setting on this screen except for option 4 (output format) where we will select HTML since it produces a better display than plain text. Click on the retrieve button at the bottom to view the table. There is no scaling factor (i.e. data in thousands or millions); thus, total sales in 1950 totaled 4,453,000.00 dollars as indicated in the table.

Searching CANSIM
BY KEYWORD

Backtrack to the page entitled CANSIM Main Menu. As you can see, there are options to search by table or series numbers, such as the ones mentioned above. However, when table and series numbers are unknown, a keyword search of the table and series titles is necessary.

Click on Text Search, More search options and key in beer sales in the search bar. (As indicated below under Search the following fields, note that the system will search for these words in both the table and vector/series titles.) This search retrieves 23 tables. Taking table 1830006 again as our example, clicking on info indicates the various dimensions (geography, type of sales, type of beverage) covered within table 1830006. By series lists the 406 constituent vectors/series within the table. While it is convenient in some instances to browse the vectors, a list of 406 entries doesn't make this a viable option.

Clicking on by dimensions allows one to zero in quickly on the desired vector(s). This page presents dropdown menus for each of the various dimensions or variables within table 183006, such as geography, type of beverage, type of sales, etc. For example, let us select:

Newfoundland and Labrador (under the Geography dimension)
Total per capita sales (under Type pf sales)
Wines and Beer (under Type of beverage)
Value in dollars (under Value and volume)
Total products (under Type of product)

Click on Submit and note that the system retrieves two vectors (V130594 and V130607) for wine and beer sales respectively. Tag both series, click on the series cart button, tag both series again, select the start & end dates if required, choose HTML (under output format, no. 4) and retrieve. The data is then presented for both vectors. Clearly, the dollar value of per capita beer sales totally outstrips wine sales in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Searching CANSIM
BY SUBJECT BROWSING

1) Backtrack to the CANSIM Main Menu and click on Browse tables by subjects. Click on Retail and wholesale and Retail sales by type of product which produces 15 hits; scroll down to table 1830006, click on by dimensions and proceed with your selection as explained above.

2) Another means of subject browsing is to search the numerical/sequential list of tables. In the section covering CANSIM database structure we noticed how data are clustered by subjects that are all assigned table numbers and listed in the Table Directory. In addition to the Table Directory, subject browsing can be attempted from another sequential list. To check tables adjacent to 1830006, return to the CANSIM Main Menu, select Browse tables by titles/numbers and click on by table number tucked away at the end of the horizontal alphabetical list at the top of the page. Click on 1800001..2000000 and note the table numbers adjacent to 1830006.

Quick Search Feature

Return to the CANSIM Main Menu and backtrack one page. The link Vital economic and social statistics about Canada points to frequently used series such as population counts, consumer price indexes, unemployment rate, and gross domestic product.

Other CANSIM interfaces

1. Apart from the University of Toronto, CANSIM is also searchable from the Statistics Canada website and is freely available to the public as of February 1, 2012. At the libary homepage, click More Collections, Canadian Statistical Sites, Statistics Canada, specialized search tools, CANSIM. . Since the search interface varies a little from the University of Toronto's CANSIM version, let's attempt the same search for beer sales on the public site. However, avoid using the Advance search feature below the search button; it does not work.

In the search bar, key in beer sales and stay with the default setting All of these words. This search also retrieves 23 hits. Click again on 183-0006; this produces a data table, displaying national figures for the last 5 years, covering the dollar value of total sales and per capital sales of Canadian, imported and total products. To customize the selection as attempted above, click Add/Remove data which presents the same menu options and follow the same selection. There is a time frame dimension that you can adjust as required; for the screen output format, choose HTML table, time as rows and click Apply.

2. CANSIM is also available via a user-friendly web tool from Statistics Canada called E-Stat. (It is accesible from the library homepage; (Click on More Collections, Canadian Statistical Sites, E-Stat on the Web, English, Continue, Search CANSIM IN E-STAT.) While the search interface is very similar to the University of Toronto's there are two major differences to note. Firstly, E-Stat does not identify the vector numbers in its data display; secondly, it is updated annually, whereas the University of Toronto database is updated weekly.

Bottom line: use the CANSIM version from the University of Toronto.

February 14, 2012
Aspi Balsara