Statistics Canada's Website Evaluation 2016
Consultation objectives
In February 2016, Statistics Canada conducted an evaluation of its website to seek feedback from visitors on a number of topics, including:
- task completion success rates
- overall satisfaction with the website
Consultation methodology
Statistics Canada used an intercept technology deployed across the website to invite visitors to participate by completing a short questionnaire.
In total, 10,127 visitors participated in the consultation from February 8 to 17, 2016.
How to get involved
This consultation is now closed.
Individuals who wish to obtain more information or to take part in a consultation should 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
Overall satisfaction
In 2016, 75% of consultation participants expressed overall satisfaction, up from 70% in 2015.
Information sought
Consultation results show that 52% of visitors were looking mostly for data and data tables on a specific topic, while 12% searched for information on jobs or careers at Statistics Canada.
Task completion success
In 2016, 81% of participants completed their task successfully, up from 75% in 2015.
Among successful participants, 72% took 5 minutes or less to find the information they were seeking and 74% reported that finding information was easy.
Success in task completion was high, with 86% of frequent visitors (those who visited the website six or more times in the last six months) and 78% of infrequent visitors (those who visited the website fewer than six times in the last six months) indicating they found what they were looking for. The success rate was highest for participants looking for information in The Daily (91%).
Participants in the federal government (86%) and provincial government (83%) sectors had the most success in finding information. Of all the respondents, 52% were employed and 23% were students; the remainder was a mix of self-employed (8%), retired (8%), unemployed (7%) and those not in the workforce (2%).
Areas of improvement
When asked for areas of improvement, respondents suggested ease of access to data (navigation and search).
Consultation participant profile
Employed participants came principally from three categories: business/private sector (45%), government (31%), and non-governmental organizations (11%). Among all participants, 67% were infrequent visitors.
Participants were also asked how they would rate their statistical proficiency: 24% said they had a high proficiency (can manipulate datasets and do univariate or multivariate analysis); 59% said medium (can analyze and interpret data tables and turn them into useable information); 13% said low (can calculate a percentage and can display in a graph); and 3% indicated that they have no statistical proficiency at all.
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.
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