So i get a letter in my mailbox from Statistics Canada yesterday saying that my “address has been RANDOMLY selected for participation” in the Labour Force Survey.
Oh really,.random you say? Well how random is it when my address was selected 2 years in a row? What is the statistical probability of that? Not saying that I’m a math whiz but it seems rather strange to me.
So now I’m required by law to submit to a very intrusive survey once a month for 6 months. It’s not so much that I dislike giving so much personal information to a government that I distrust. It’s more that i wonder about an organization that i pay for who supposedly specializes in “Statistics” but yet is using a random address generator that produces the same address 2 years in a row. Makes me question the validity of the all the other statistics they produce.
So while I’m required to participate under threat of jail or fine, there doesn’t seem to be a requirement to provide them with truthful information. I wonder if they have statistics on the percentage of participants who give them false information. Mahahahahah! 🙂
— SurveyHater
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2009.
Perhaps your address falls in an area that is highly sampled, for whatever reason. I can’t speak for the designers of the survey, but sometimes one demographic is considered to be of particular interest.
There is also a possibility that you were selected two years in a row on purpose, so that they may follow up regarding your employment status. I.e. they may wish to examine statistics regarding who was employed last year to see if they are employed this year… that sort of thing.
Uh Oh, sounds like they are on to you.
Actually if it is random, there is a good possibility that you will get selected twice. It would have to be purposeful for them to not have people selected 2 years running.
Kinda like when you have thousands of songs on shuffle on iTunes, but it will play the same artist twice in a row. It would be obviously not random if that never happened.
“Makes me question the validity of the all the other statistics they produce.”
I think the main reason to question the statistics is probably that a lot of people will enter false info to “stick it to the man”.
I’ve heard of people doing this with the long census form. The stats from the census help determine where government money is spent. So many people are taking the “moral high ground” and screwing the system every bit as much as a corrupt politician.
Also, if it’s random, you’re just as likely to be picked in the 2nd year as anyone else is. The two data points you have are hardly enough to determine if it’s random!
Did you sign anything saying you received the survey? If not, them simply toss it out. In order to jail or fine you the courts would have to hear Stats Can prove you actually received the letter.
Perhaps you thought it was junk mail and tossed it before looking at the contents… good excuse since there is no law requiring you to actually open a letter before throwing it out.
But does it really bother you that much?
I’ve had to participate in that survey before it was exactly as you described it, an intrusive pain in the ass. You could try complaining to a supervisor at Statistics Canada. Argue that you just participated last year and see if they will let you off the hook or ask them flat out if they actually pursue legal avenues if you refuse to participate. My household seems to get “randomly” chosen a lot for their surveys too, luckily I have been able to decline to participate in all of them but the Labour Force Survey. You have my sympathies OB, it’s a shitty situation but hopefully you’ll be able to get out of it.
Thanks for the all the info folks, especially Jai who actually has prior experience with what I’m talking about. Again,..i just find it strange that we were randomly chosen twice as that doesn’t sound very random to me. Incidentally I don’t plan on giving them false information as the government does a fine job of skewing statistics all by themselves. Instead i plan to ignore it totally. If anyone has a problem with that then please send me your address and I’ll send Stats Canada over to your place instead. 🙂
These surveys are “required by law” to be completed like anything else Stats Can puts out under the Statistics Act. I got one in the mail also.
You got one in the mail? Wow,.mine was hand delivered by the stats canada agent herself.
Apparently they’re trying to save postage costs by having their employees deliver their mail. 🙂
Still going to ignore it. 🙂
One in the mail and another under my door. I’m ignoring it also.
I worked at Stats Can – the best way to get out of surveys is to threaten to contact your MP. Trust me – it works. It’s the only thing that works.
Voice of Reason… is correct. I supposedly didn’t fill out that massive Info sheet they send to every 1000th or so person when they did the last census.
They calle d& asked why…I told them i don’t know what they were talking about, I didn’t then & I still don’t know what happened now 😉
If they cannot prove you received it, your not liable for anything. THat is the reason’s I will not except a registered letter. You can put those notices in my mailbox ’til the cows come home & milk themselves ,but I sure as hell am not wasting my time to drive over to Lantz to put my signature on NOTHING unless I know what it is, before I sign.
Since they won’t or can’t tell you…they can keep it 🙂
Just call stats canada and tell them you can’t read.
Not like you can fill out a survey if you’re illiterate. *shrug*
Why is the survey a problem? Isn’t it anonymous? I know they send it to your door, but do you identify yourself on the form anywhere?
It’s probably just a pain in the ass to fill out, Miles.
The LFS actually is quite a useful tool in the world of canada’s economy. If I was chosen I’d have no problem doing it. All it’s used for is for unemployment rates, demographics, labour force participation rates, etc…. I really don’t see what the big deal is here. Hardly worth bitching about, let alone going to jail or getting fined over.
I worked at stats and I hated you people. Like Pretty Kitty said, statistics are actually very important. I cannot beleive people’s ignorance sometimes.
A survey from the government intrusive? LOL!! As if they wouldn’t have means to find out anything about you anyway. May as well volunteer the info they want rather than them find out the hard way. You may not like the alternative.
Did you know it’s possible to win on a slot machine jacpot two spins in a row? It’s true, and so is the possibility of randomly getting selected twice.
So I guess you were dreaming of math in stats class when they were trying to teach you that random means… random. Each year has the same probability of selecting your address because the same address’s are going in the hat each year. I’d say getting picked twice is unlucky but just as probable as never getting picked at all – or only once.
pdg and hia – not quite.
While the probability of any single event remains the same, the odds of two (or more) in a row go down. For instance, if the odds of hitting jackpot are 1/1000…the odds of hitting TWO IN A ROW are 1/1,000,000.
If you don’t believe me, try betting that you can flip heads ten times in a row…
As for why participating in this survey is an issue I will describe my experience for you. The survey isn’t completed on paper, they call you once a month and keep you on the phone for an extended period of time asking for detailed information about the number of hours everyone who lives in the house worked that month, if they used any sick days, where they worked…etc. Invariably they would always call at the most inconvenient time possible. It was a nuisance and took up hours of my time. I tried avoiding it and throwing the letters out with the other junk mail but they were VERY persistant, to the point that they sent someone to the house to knock on my door a number of times.
Jai, oh yeah, that survey! I was randomly picked for that once. It was a pain in the ass. Fortunately I was a student at the time so it didn’t take that long to go through. That should be an online or form survey. The phone thing bites.
I appreciate the usefulness of this type of survey, but if they want compliance, they should make it super easy and convenient to do.