Preparation of the database involves a number of distinct work processes. The first steps were design of sampling strategy, preparation of a work space and the development of data entry software. Valuable assistance from colleagues in the North Atlantic Population Project helped to complete these tasks during the winter of 2004. Soon after we began the indexing of microfilm reels of enumeration records, full-scale data entry, duplicate entry or verification, checking and correcting and first drafts of key project documents.
Data entry for the province of Ontario was completed during 2005. By January of 2007 we had entered and checked data from all provinces with the exception of oversamples being drawn from three Ontario counties (Middlesex, Perth and Wellington). As of December 2008 the largest outstanding task is coding. During 2009 we continue to prepare contextual and interpretative metadata, revise project documentation and, when coding is complete, test a beta version of the data.