Methodology

View the most recent version.

Data sources and methodology

Type of Survey: The data are derived.

Conceptual Universe and Target Population: Culture Trade and Investment Universe.

Importers and exporters of culture products (goods, services and intellectual property).

Sampling: The survey unit is the product. Culture products are included based on the Canadian Framework for Culture Statistics. Essentially, products that represent "creative expression" are measured.

Disclosure Control: Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Data accuracy

For services, the overall quality of estimates is deemed to be reliable. Some 40% of receipts and 35% of payments are based directly or indirectly on administrative records, and administrative data are also used to assess statistics derived from surveys and to improve coverage. Improvements to the statistics continue to be incorporated into the database and other changes (such as in definition, classification, measurement, etc.) are reflected from time to time as these are further researched and agreed to at domestic and international levels. It should be noted that unique measurement problems arise because of the intangible nature of services. See the data quality statement for the survey Canada’s International Transactions in Services (reference number 1536).

Revisions

Differences may exist between the previously released data and the current data due to a number of factors. The source data that are used to create tabular data for culture services are revised by Balance of Payments Division (BOP) of Statistics Canada on an annual basis. Differences can also result from the treatment of the trade data during processing. When trade data are transformed from a BOP conceptual framework to the culture framework, a portion of the balance of payments data that cannot be allocated to individual culture categories (primarily due to insufficient detail) are assigned to an ’unallocated’ category in the culture trade tabulations. Decisions to reallocate data from the unallocated portion to more meaningful categories are made on an individual basis taking into account factors such as the characteristics of the data, as well as historical trends in the data. Additional adjustments are also applied to the data that may involve re-coding of industry data at a more detailed level than is required by Balance of Payments division. These adjustments are made in consultation with Balance of Payments Division to ensure consistency in the trade data, as it pertains to culture, between Balance of Payments Division and Culture Statistics Program of the Demography Dividion of Statistics Canada.