The future of transportation work: Technology, work organization, and the quality of jobs

This Concepts and Methods Guide is intended to provide an understanding of the 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) with respect to its subject-matter content and its methodological approaches. It is designed to assist CSD data users by serving as a guide to the concepts and questions used in the survey as well as the technical details of survey design, field work and data processing. The guide provides helpful information on how to use and interpret survey results. Its discussion of data quality also allows users to review the strengths and limitations of the data for their particular needs. Chapter 1 of this guide provides an overview of the 2012 CSD by introducing the survey’s background and objectives. Chapter 2 discusses the development and testing of the survey’s content, explaining the key concepts and definitions used for the survey. This chapter introduces the CSD questionnaire modules as well as data linkages with the National Household Survey (NHS). Chapters 3 to 6 cover important aspects of the survey methodology, from sampling design, through data collection and processing and ending in the creation of final data files. Chapters 7 and 8 cover issues of data quality and caution users against making comparisons with data from previous Participation and Activity Limitations Surveys (PALS). Chapter 9 outlines the survey products that are more widely available to the public, including data tables, a fact sheet and reference material. Appendices provide more detail on questionnaire indicators, the disability severity score, questions used for assessing employment equity, special coding categories for the survey and standard classifications used. A glossary of survey terms is also provided.