Data Services

The Research Data Centre (RDC) at the University of Regina is part of a nation-wide network of RDCs, with sites at 31 universities. The RDC is a secure environment that allows researchers to access confidential Statistics Canada microdata files. At the University of Regina, the RDC facility if located at Innovation Place, in Room 190, #2 Research Drive.

The RDC provides access to Statistics Canada data sets, with no monetary cost to the researcher or student. Conducting secondary analysis on these data sets can be a time effective way to access high-quality data for thesis/dissertation and other research projects. The process for acquiring approval from the Research Ethics Board is simplified by using data that has been gathered in compliance with the Statistics Act and is anonymized.

In addition, the RDC offers funding to PhD students who use RDC data for their dissertation, in the form of an Emerging Scholar Grant.

The Regina RDC facility is located Innovation Place (#2 Research Drive) in Room 190. The RDC Research Analyst (Jennifer McConnell-Nzunga) is available for consultation. All analyses of Statistics Canada data must be conducted in the RDC facility; no confidential material is allowed to leave the facility. All workstations are supplied with statistical software (SAS, STATA, SPSS, and R). Users are expected to be familiar with the statistical software they are using prior to accessing the data sets.

The RDC Research Analyst can be contacted by phone (306-585-1122) or email (regina.rdc@uregina.ca).

Researchers and students who wish to access the RDC data sets must submit an application for approval of their project. The application process can take up to two months to be approved and requires an evaluation of the proposal by Statistics Canada and a security screening.

Step 1: Draft a project proposal

Step 2: Complete the online application form on the Social Sciences and Humanties Research Council (SSHRC) website.

Step 3: Evaluation of the proposal by Statistics Canada Subject Matter Experts scientific merit and viability

Step 4: Complete the security screening process including fingerprinting

Step 5: Sign a Microdata Research Contract with Statistics Canada and take the Oath or Affirmation of Office and Secrecy

Step 6: Once your project is completed, submit a product/output as specified in the Contract.

From Statistics Canada

The RDC offers access to a wide range of national data sets that may be of interest to researchers and students.

This includes:

• Health-related surveys, such as:
  • Canadian Community Health Survey
  • General Social Survey
  • Canadian Health Measures Survey
• Disability-related surveys, such as:
  • Participation and Activity Limitation
  • Survey on Living with Chronic Conditions
  • Survey on Living with Neurologic Conditions
  • Canadian Survey on Disability
• Social-related surveys, such as:
  • Aboriginal People's Survey
  • General Social Survey
  • Workplace Employee Survey
  • Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada
• Population-related surveys, such as:
  • Census?NHS
  • Canadian Cancer Registry
  • Administrative Data (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Cancer Registry, Birth/Death Database)