Expert Groups were convened to advise on the measures to obtain the results envisioned by the Steering Committee and Advisory Board, and to recommend proven collection vehicles and indices. Actions have been taken to reduce non-sampling errors to a minimum. High response rates are essential for quality data. To reduce the number of non-response cases, the interviewers are all extensively trained by Statistics Canada, provided with detailed Interviewer Manuals, and are under the direction of interviewer supervisors. A maximum recommended assignment size by interviewer was calculated based on test results.
Interviewers make every effort to contact respondents.
Refusals were followed up by senior interviewers, project supervisors or by other interviewers to encourage respondents to participate in the survey. In addition, to maximize the response rate, non-response cases were also followed up in subsequent collection periods. The questionnaires were developed in consultation with Statistics Canada's Questionnaire Design Resource Centre and were reviewed and tested in the field in pre-tests and focus groups in both official languages. Questionnaires were also translated into 5 other languages to help ensure that language was not a barrier to obtaining quality data. Trained interviewers were available to interview respondents in Italian, Punjabi, Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish.