Data Services

Real Time Remote Access (RTRA) is an online tabulation tool provided by Statistics Canada that allows researchers to access select Masterfile subsets. Researchers can upload SAS files to query a given survey and download the results. Researchers do not gain access to the microdata, cannot view the microdata, and only get descriptive statistics.

RTRA is an intermediary between the Data Liberation Initiative's Public Use Microdata Files (PUMF) program and the secured access to the masterfile data via the Regina Research Data Centre (RDC).

RTRA works best when:

• Projects don't require complex modeling or inferential statistics
• The required data cannot be accessed through a PUMF subset
• The required data does not have a PUMF but is available through RTRA.

RTRA limitations:

• Data tables are retrieved using SAS programs coded to Statistics Canada's standard format
• Geographic variables are still limited. RTRA includes provinces, census metropolitan areas, and some provincial health regions
• Only frequency, mean, percentiles, percent distributions, proportions, ratio, share, level change, percent change, and significance test can be calculated.

Archer Library and Archives has a subscription to the Statistics Canada RTRA online tabulation tool. University of Regina and Federated College students, professors, or researchers can provide RTRA SAS code that we will submit on your behalf. There is a limited number of free submissions per day.

Writing SAS code for use in the RTRA tool and troubleshooting any error messages in the resulting output file is the responsibility of the student, professor, or researcher submitting an RTRA request. Submit your code to Library.RTRA@uregina.ca.

Archer's Data Services will provide assistance on determining if RTRA is good option for your research, finding surveys eligible for RTRA, sharing training documents for SAS Assistant, and sharing survey documentation. Contact the Library.RTRA@uregina.ca for more details.