Guidelines for RDC research papers

These guidelines describe the manuscript process for all research papers prepared by researchers of the Research Data Centres (RDCs) and published by the Centres in collaboration with Statistics Canada.

In accordance with Statistics Canada's mandate, research papers may not contain public policy commentary, and all interpretative statements must be substantiated by the data. Each paper will be submitted to a peer and institutional review process. The author may make policy comments in subsequent publications based on the same statistical analysis and publish them in any venue. However, the confidentiality requirements that applied to the first paper remain in effect for all subsequent publications.

Peer and institutional review process
Publication of research papers
Research paper format and related aspects
Release policy for papers produced by researchers in RDCs

 

Peer and institutional review process

Completed manuscripts will be sent to a senior analyst who will determine whether they are ready to be reviewed and will ensure, among other things, that all necessary tables and charts are present and nothing important is missing from the documentation.

The senior analyst will then forward the manuscripts to at least two peer reviewers, while simultaneously arranging for an institutional review within Statistics Canada. The process should take no longer than three months.

 

Peer review

The peer review process will evaluate the paper from a scientific and methodological perspective. RDCs will be asked to submit a list of potential reviewers who are experts in different domains.

The senior analyst will send each manuscript to the reviewers and will provide them with specifications and guidelines for the review. The reviewers will be unknown to the author(s) and will have a maximum of five weeks to return their comments.

At this point, the senior analyst sends the annotated manuscripts to the author, who must then integrate the reviewers' comments. The revised manuscript is then returned to the senior analyst.

Institutional review

As this paper is considered a Statistics Canada's publication, it must undergo institutional review to ensure that it does not contain policy comments or other statements that fall outside of Statistics Canada's mandate.

A network of directors (or equivalent) with knowledge of the manuscript's research issues and their public policy implications will perform the review.

If the institutional reviewers request significant changes to the paper after the peer review is completed, the senior analyst will consult with them to determine whether the modifications will have an impact on the final results and their interpretation.

 

Publication of research papers

The completed and reviewed research papers will be placed on the RDCs' website. A two-page summary of the objectives and findings of the paper will also be placed on the Statistics Canada's Web site, with links to the full paper. As noted, authors are then free to submit another version of the paper with revised commentary to academic journals or to any other outlet.

 

 

Sample outline of a research paper

Two-page summary for the Statistics Canada website
Introduction and research objectives
Literature review
Data sources and methodology
Statistical findings
Conclusion
Tables and charts (may be included in body or as an appendix)
Appendices
Bibliography

Example of what would normally be included in a paper

Two-page summary of the objectives, approaches and major findings

Introduction
Issue(s) addressed
Literature review

Data sources
Description of survey(s) (period, cross-sectional/longitudinal, etc.)
Information on the data (for example, sample size, coverage or exclusions)
Data limitations and issues

Methodology/approach
Concepts and variables
Model(s) and weighting procedures used

Findings
Interpretation of results from statistical analysis and modeling

Conclusion

Appendices
An appendix could contain, for example, insights into the data used, difficulties encountered, how they were solved, or suggestions for future data collection in the area of research. This would be extremely useful for future researchers as well as for Statistics Canada survey takers and data quality experts.

Bibliography

Research paper format and related aspects

The paper should be approximately the same length as a journal article or university research paper. It should contain a limited number of tables because they complicate confidentiality checking and could increase the time and work required for the paper's release. Researchers are encouraged to present model-based results as much as possible, to reduce the number of confidentiality and disclosure issues.

Statistics Canada will publish the summary and a translation in the second official language on the Statistics Canada website.

There will be no editing for style. Papers will be copy edited, however, to ensure that no important elements—such as tables or charts—are missing.

In most cases, papers will be disseminated in electronic form only. There may be cases where both the author(s) and Statistics Canada are interested in publishing the paper in some other form—as an article in a mainline publication, for example. In these cases, the document will be handled like any other Statistics Canada article.

The senior analyst will maintain a record that includes all review comments, suggestions from institutional reviewers and correspondence with authors.

 

Release policy for papers produced by researchers in RDCs

Many of the papers produced will be of a methodological or highly technical nature and will likely, therefore, have a limited readership. In these cases, a two- to three-page bilingual summary that outlines the issues addressed and the findings/conclusions will be

• registered in the Statistics Canada online catalogue; and
• placed on the Statistics Canada website with the Research Paper Series.

The summary will contain information on where the full, original language version of the paper can be accessed or obtained. If demand warrants, these papers will be translated in full and treated as described below.

Papers that have broader appeal and are deemed by the institutional reviewer to be of general public interest will be

• registered in the Statistics Canada online catalogue;
• announced in The Daily; and
• made available on the Statistics Canada website with Research Paper Series in both official languages.

April 2002

 

 

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