New Dissemination Model — Getting ready for Beta Test, Part 2

Consultation objectives

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

As part of this project, Statistics Canada consulted with Canadians in June 2014. The objectives of the consultation were to determine the ease of navigation, usefulness and participant satisfaction with the new design. The evaluation sessions tested the intuitiveness of various items on the main menu including: Census, data tables and profiles; Surveys; Geography door and the map to data tool; reference categories; and analysis categories.

Consultation methodology

Statistics Canada held in-person usability consultations. This round of sessions was held in French using the French website. Participants were asked to complete a series of tasks and to provide feedback on the proposed website.

How to get involved

The consultations are 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

Most participants successfully navigated through the new options within the mega menu. Participants liked the filter options on the left-hand side bar of the “Census” page and thought the filters were intuitive. They also found that the keyword search function worked well within the filters.

Overall, participants considered the geography tool to be easy to navigate. They understood the regional breakdown on the left-hand side of the map and went to “Advanced search” when they wanted to add a geographic region to the search function.

Under “Analysis”, the new keyword search function worked well. Participants liked the  auto-populate feature that offered suggestions as they typed in the search field.

Areas for improvement

• From the “Census” page, it was not intuitive to participants that the “National Household Survey” icon was a button to obtain more information.
• The difference between the filters “Sujet”, “Thème de diffusion”, and “Variable” was not apparent.
• “Documentation sur l'enquête à propos du : Recensement de la population", which offers information on the Census collection methodology, was not intuitive.
• Finding information on a specific survey was not intuitive.
• Within the geography tool, some the on/off switch, under the “Advanced search”, was not intuitive for participants.
• The “Montrer tout” button, within the geography tool, was also not intuitive.
• The majority of participants did not know the difference between the three Analysis sub-categories “Stats express”, “Articles et Rapports” and “Revues et publications vedettes”.
• The “Montrer tout” pull down menu under the sub-categories was not intuitive.

Recommendations

• Make the “National Household Survey” button icon appear more like a button.
• From the left-hand side filters, either merge or clarify the sub-categories underneath “Sujet”, “Thème de diffusion” and “Variable”.
• Merge “Documentation sur les enquêtes” with “Résultats des enquêtes”.
• Offer a search function at the top of the A to Z survey list, as well as the list by subject.
• Make the buttons underneath the advanced search more intuitive by either changing the color, or creating a check box.
• Keep the search function under “Analysis” as a metadata search (only the titles and description).
• The preferred sub-category options under “Analysis” were “Survol statistique”, “Articles et Rapports” and “Revues et périodiques”.

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.