Anecdotally, I have heard my RTRA research guide has been used by other researchers outside uOttawa and across the country to help support other RTRA-related projects.
While working as Data Analyst at the uOttawa Library, I took on the role of “Senior Statistical Focal Point” for a data service offered at the Library called “Real Time Remote Access”. Simply put, this service, which is administered through Statistics Canada, essentially allows academic students and researchers to access confidential survey data in a remote and secure way. Many StatCan surveys have readily available data to the uOttawa community through other portals, such as Odesi, which don’t require special permission to access. However, certain surveys aren’t accessible through Odesi, and RTRA can also provide access to a greater number of variables. Those who use this service would never actually receive or see any parts of this confidential data, but rather would submit modified SAS code (SAS is a statistical software) on an online portal that would then be run on the confidential data stored on StatsCan servers behind their firewall. The outputs that are returned to the user would usually take the form of a summary table providing descriptive statistics only (i.e. statistics that only apply to the dataset in question and not to a greater population).
As the Senior Statistical Focal Point for this service, I was responsible to train new users to:
- Understand what RTRA can do
- How to apply for it
- How to use it effectively
This would often include two or more 90-minute meetings and would require an in-depth explanation of SAS code, modifications that would be needed (and why), and an explanation of the available outputs. This required the development of many supporting documents, including: intake forms, SAS code templates, statistical outputs, summary tables, etc. I also made the decision to create a library research guide to provide a one-stop shop for current and prospective RTRA users to visit at their own time and obtain important information about the service. Anecdotally, I have heard my RTRA research guide has been used by other researchers outside uOttawa and across the country to help support other RTRA-related projects.
Click on this link to view the RTRA research guide I created to support this service: https://uottawa.libguides.com/rtra.