Is this a legitimate survey?

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency surveys are conducted in person, by telephone or online. For most surveys, the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency will first send an invitation letter or email to let you know about the purpose of the survey and provide a method to complete it.

If you have not received such a letter or email, you can verify that the survey is indeed conducted by the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency by:

• verifying that the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency employee carries an employee identification card issued by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
• contacting the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency:
  • Telephone: 1-888-461-5244
  • Telephone: 1-709-729-1604
  • NLSASurveys@gov.nl.ca

Agency employees do not ask for Social Insurance Numbers, banking, or credit card information.

How was I selected?

The majority of the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency surveys are sample surveys. Participants for a sample survey are selected randomly to avoid bias. Once you have been selected for a survey sample, the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency cannot replace you with anyone else because the sample would no longer be random.

I have participated in a Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency survey already. Why did you select me for another one?

This can happen because survey participants are randomly selected. Sometimes, the characteristics we seek from one survey to another can overlap.

In some instances, some participants in one survey may be contacted again for a related survey. This practice helps to reduce the time and costs it would take to conduct a new survey each time.

Do I have to participate?

Your participation is important!

To ensure the most complete results, it is very important that the people, households, and businesses selected answer the survey questions. Without your co-operation, the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency could not produce reliable, essential data.

The information gathered in our surveys has a direct impact on the lives of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Moreover, all of your responses are equally important. For example, to produce objective, accurate information about Internet use in Newfoundland and Labrador, responses from people who don't use the Internet are just as important as responses from people who do.

How will the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency contact me?

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency may contact you in a variety of ways using both official languages. Our employees work days, evenings, weekends and even some holidays to accommodate respondents' busy schedules. We communicate with respondents by:

• Mailing letters
• Calling landline or cell phone numbers
• Sending emails
• Sending text messages
• Visiting their place of residence in-person
  • If an employee visits your place of residence and you are not available, they may also leave a note or letter to inform you of their visit.

How can I confirm an interviewer's identity, or confirm the legitimacy of a phone call, SMS message or email I received?

All interviewers carry identification issued by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. To confirm the legitimacy of a phone call, SMS message or email, you can contact the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency by calling one of the telephone numbers below.

• Telephone: 1-888-461-5244
• Telephone: 1-709-729-1604
• NLSASurveys@gov.nl.ca

How is my privacy and personal information protected?

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency takes your confidentiality very seriously. Under the Statistics Agency Act, all information provided to the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency will be kept confidential, and used only for statistical purposes.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency also cares about the privacy of its respondents. If a respondent knows the data collection clerk and is uneasy about giving personal information to that person, the respondent can choose to be interviewed by another Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency employee.

Your answers are confidential.

The Statistics Agency Act protects respondents' information. The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency does not release any information that could identify individuals, households, businesses, or other organizations without their consent, or as authorized by the Statistics Agency Act. We carefully screen final results before releasing them to prevent published statistics from being used to derive information.

The Statistics Agency Act contains very strict confidentiality provisions that protect collected information from unauthorized access. For example, agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the courts do not have access to individual survey responses.

All Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency employees take an oath of secrecy and face severe penalties for any breach of confidentiality.

Access is strictly controlled

All The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency employees are responsible for ensuring the security of confidential information. Only employees who need to view confidential files as part of their duties are authorized to access them. A network of physical security systems and procedures protects confidential information against unauthorized access.

Confidential data are stored and processed on an internal network that is segregated to prevent access by outside "hackers."

Is the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency exempt from the Do Not Call List?

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency wishes to notify clients and survey respondents that it is among those organizations that are exempt from the National Do Not Call List (DNCL).

The National DNCL was launched by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to limit telemarketing calls.

As a result, individuals who register their telephone numbers with the National DNCL will continue to receive calls from the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency if they are part of a survey.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency is mandated by the Statistics Agency Act to collect data to provide Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with accurate information on our society, economy and people.

Accurate and timely statistical information could not be produced without the continued cooperation and goodwill of the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.

For more information, contact the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency.

Why do the question numbers in survey questionnaires not always appear in numerical order?

Survey questionnaires can use two different question numbering formats. They either can be numbered in numerical order from the first question to the last question, or each section within the questionnaire can restart at question 1. The second format can result in multiple instances of the same question number within the survey questionnaire.

Based on responses provided throughout the questionnaire, some questions and their corresponding numbers may be skipped.

How does the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency obtain phone numbers and email addresses?

To ensure that survey samples are representative of the Canadian population, the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency accesses information from a variety of administrative files, which include:

• telephone and cellphone number lists
• address lists and email information from census records
• information from other government departments, municipal offices, corporations, businesses or organizations where we have agreements and legal authority to access administrative files

The lists that are used contain landline numbers, cellphone numbers, addresses or email information only.

From these lists, the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency randomly selects samples that are representative of the Canadian population.

Why is the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency asking questions about phone numbers and email addresses used at home?

We are asking these questions to correctly match all phone numbers and email addresses to their respective households and, in doing so, to avoid selecting a household more than once for the same survey. Since each household selected represents a number of households with similar characteristics, when we make sure that we match the right phone number and/or email address to the right household, we can assign a more precise weight to each household; that is, the number of households it represents. This step is essential to producing good quality data for the entire population.

Why is the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency using cellphone numbers and email addresses?

Cellphones have become increasingly prevalent and the use of landlines has declined. Email addresses are considered another modern way of contacting respondents in a digital age.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency acquires and uses cellphone numbers and email addresses, under the authority of the Statistics Agency Act, to lower collection costs and ensure representativeness of all households, including those using only cellphones or other communication services.

Aren't phone numbers and email addresses considered private information?

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency fully understands that some may be concerned if they are contacted on their phone or emailed by parties unknown to them personally.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency treats all the phone and email contact information it acquires under the authority of the Statistics Agency Act as confidential.

Information collected under the act is used only to support mandated programs of the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency. The information is not used for any other purpose, nor distributed to other parties.

What if I have registered my phone number on the National Do Not Call List?

This list was launched to limit telemarketing calls. It doesn't apply to the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency is not a telemarketing agency. We are mandated by the Statistics Agency Act to conduct surveys to provide accurate information on our society, economy and people.

As a result, individuals who register their phone numbers with the National Do Not Call List will continue to receive calls and/or texts from the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency if they are part of a survey.

How is my phone number or email address used?

The lists we use contain landline phone numbers, cellphone numbers, addresses or email information only.

This information is used to support survey collection.

Phone, address or email information acquired by the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency is never provided to any other agency or person.

How long is my phone number or email address kept?

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency continually acquires phone numbers and email addresses and updates the database in order to increase the efficiency of its survey programs.

There is no need to retain information for phone numbers or email addresses that no longer exist, or that are no longer linked to a specific residential address.

How likely is it that the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency will call, text or email me?

Each year, only a small percentage of dwellings are selected for participation in the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency's household surveys.

Most of the time, the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency contacts people (or households) by mail, email, phone, or in person.

What are the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency's calling hours?

Calling days and hours vary by regional office and by type of survey. In general, calling hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday to Friday; hours are reduced on Saturday and Sunday.