Statistics Canada releases Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs) for the Census and many of its surveys. These de-identified files contain responses at the individual level and are a rich source of data for researchers.

This workshop demonstrates how to access, explore, and analyze Statistics Canada microdata using R. We will work with the Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey but the content applies to any Statistics Canada PUMF, hundreds of which are freely available in Abacus, UBC Library’s data repository.

There are no prerequisites. Participants familiar with R and RStudio can follow along on their own workstations. Those new to R can benefit from a demonstration that showcases how R can be used for analysis and reproducibility.

If you are new to R and want to participate fully, please install R and RStudio before the workshop:

• Install R from https://cran.rstudio.com/
• Install RStudio from https://rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/#download

About this workshop series

R Showcase: Statistics Canada Microdata is one of several R workshops offered by the UBC Library Research Commons. The goal of the series is to introduce participants to the data analysis and visualization potential of R and to encourage further self-paced exploration. Other workshops in the series offered this term are:

• Introduction to R and RStudio (beginner), July 17, 2025, 2-3:30 pm
• Introduction to the tidyverse R package, July 31, 2025, 2-3:30 pm
• Data manipulation with dplyr, August 28, 2025, 2-3:30 pm

If you have any questions, concerns or accessibility needs please email research.commons@ubc.ca. To keep up-to-date with all of the workshops, consults and events subscribe to the UBC Library Research Commons monthly newsletter.