New Dissemination Model – Navigation and Tables

Consultation objectives

In April 2012, Statistics Canada launched its three-year New Dissemination Model project to modernize the methods and framework for disseminating data on its website. The key objective is to increase coherence, consistency and simplicity in dissemination activities.

Consultations were held in October 2013 to determine whether Statistics Canada website users find the New Dissemination Model's proposed navigation framework, taxonomy and tables structure intuitive and easy to use. Some tasks will be tested on mobile devices or emulators.

Consultation methodology

Statistics Canada conducted usability tests for five redesigned areas of its website. The tests measured participants' task completion success rates and tracked the methods they adopted to complete them. Following the testing, participants were interviewed to document their thought processes while completing each task.

How to get involved

The consultation is now closed.

Individuals who wish to obtain more information or to take part in a consultation may contact Statistics Canada by sending an email to consultations@statcan.gc.ca.

Please note that Statistics Canada selects participants for each consultation to ensure feedback is sought from a representative sample of the target population for the study. Not all applicants will be asked to participate in a given consultation.

Statistics Canada is committed to respecting the privacy of consultation participants. All personal information created, held or collected by the Agency is protected by the Privacy Act. For more information on Statistics Canada's privacy policies, please consult the Privacy notice.

Results

What worked

On the subject landing page, participants liked the organization of information into three categories: Data, Analysis and Methods. The Key statistics tool also worked well. All participants looked for Census information through the Census door on the main menu and for National Household Survey information through the National Household Survey link in the 'Features' section.

For the subject results (All data) page, participants liked that the data was organized into four categories: Tables, Profiles for a community or region, Maps and Datasets. The filter labels Geographic area and Variables tested well, as did the related icons.

Navigating to a simple table worked well for all participants and most of them understood the difference between a simple data table and a dataset. For the dataset or complex table, the 'side by side' prototype proved to be very intuitive with all participants successfully customizing the dataset. Most participants found the geography drop-down menu, the pivot function and the download feature to be intuitive.

Areas for improvement

The subcategories on the left-hand side bar were difficult to read and navigate and the 'All data' link did not test well. In general, the 'Features' box was overlooked or dismissed by most participants as a promotional item.

The filters were overlooked by almost all participants. It was not apparent to them that they could select more than one variable at a time.

While the geography drop-down feature worked well for its intended purpose, it caused some participants confusion during the customization of a simple table task.

In general, participants had difficulty navigating to a specified dataset. In addition, the list of variables in the left-hand side bar of the 'side by side' version was long and difficult to scroll through.

Recommendations

Recommendations to further improve the website included:

• Revise the subcategory labels of the subject listings on the left-hand side bar to be more concise and list products in pertinent subcategories
• Relocate the 'Features' box on the subject landing page
• Move the filters to the left-hand side bar on the subject results page and incorporate the Browse by subject listing as a filter, rather than a navigation tool
• Conduct further testing on the tables, both side by side and pick list methods, to confirm participant behaviour patterns and success rates.

Statistics Canada thanks participants for their participation in this consultation. Their insights guide the Agency's web development and ensure that the final products meet users' expectations.