Category: Subscription Database

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Subscription Database

Canadian Statistics: How to find them

Ever needed trustworthy statistics to back up your research?  Not surprisingly, Statistics Canada is your “go-to” source for Canadian stats, but you may not be sure where to find what you need.  The major issue for most people is deciding which of the two main databases that UBC Library subscribes to will have the information that is needed.

First, let’s look at the Census of Canada.   It aims to count the nation’s population and collects  some basic information about the inhabitants of each dwelling, such as their relationships to one another, mother tongue, marital status, gender and age. One in five households get a longer form which covers additional topics including income & earnings; immigration status; ethnic origins; and educational attainment.

Key things to know about Census data:

  • The sample is large – either 100% or 20% – so the accuracy of your data is high.
  • The data in the Census is based solely on the questions asked – if the data you need cannot be sourced from the questions on the Census, then this is not the right place to look.
  • The questions on the Census can change over time or be eliminated.  Consult the Census Dictionary for the relevant Census year to see how long the questions have been asked and whether they have changed over time.
  • Click here to see the questions asked on the 2006 Census.
  • Click here to access topic-based data from the 2006 Census

The other major database from Statistics Canada that we subscribe to is called CANSIM – the Canadian Socioeconomic Information Management Database.  It disseminates the statistics gathered by StatsCan which come from all the other surveys conducted by the agency.  You can find some links to some Census data within Cansim, but as a general rule this is where you want to go for topics not covered on the Census.

Key things to know about Cansim:

  • typically, the sample is smaller than what you’ll get from the Census
  • Cansim is available from two different providers: StatsCan itself, via its user-friendly E-Stat database or through the University of Toronto via CHASS.  E-Stat is updated once a year in July, while CHASS is updated weekly.
  • CANSIM topics include Economic Accounts, Crime & Justice, Labour, Manufacturing, Construction, Trade, Agriculture, Finance, Demographics, Health, Transportation, and Education & Training. Selected data on population estimates and vital statistics are also available.
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Online Resource (Free) Subscription Database

Pricing water for efficiency and responsibility: OECD Reports

The OECD announced today that three separate studies support that conclusion that “putting the right price on water will encourage people to waste less, pollute less, and invest more in water infrastructure.”  In the view of the OECD, the “right price” is one that reflects the true cost of the water they consume  – both drinking water, water for agricultural uses,  and any other water uses that ultimately require treatment and/or disposal.

You can find the free OECD summary of its studies here:  http://www.oecd.org/document/47/0,3343,en_2649_37465_36146415_1_1_1_1,00.html

The studies themselves are “for fee” publications to the general public.  These are, however, freely  available to current UBC students, faculty and staff members and patrons working at UBC Library workstations via the subscription database SourceOECD.  You will find our link to SourceOECD here. Note, the OECD does provide free access to a wide range of its smaller reports, including water pricing details “for Australia, the European Union, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Turkey and the United States.”

The studies are:

1) Pricing Water Resources and Water and Sanitation Services

2) Sustainable Management of Water Resources in Agriculture

3) Innovative Financing Mechanisms for the Water Sector

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Online Resource (Free) Subscription Database

OECD: Going for Growth 2010

The OECD released one of its flagship economic policy publications today: Going for Growth 2010

“First published in 2005, this annual report provides an overview of structural policy developments in OECD countries from a comparative perspective.”

Not surprisingly, given the title, this year’s report focuses on the “modest, uneasy, yet much-welcome recovery” that most OECD member countries are projected to enjoy in the upcoming year.   Chapters that are freely available for downloading cover 1) “ Responding to the Crisis while Protecting Long-term Growth“; 2) Responding to the Going for Growth Policy Priorities: an Overview of Progress since 2005; 3) Country Notes ; 4) Structural Policy Indicators; 5) A Family Affair: Intergenerational Social Mobility across OECD Countries.

Note, two chapters are not freely available from the OECD website:  6) Getting it Right: Prudential Regulation & Competition in Banking; 7) Going for Growth in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia & South Africa.  ***UBC students, faculty & staff, and patrons using UBC Library workstations do have access to the complete publication, including chapters 6 & 7 through the subscription database SourceOECD.*** 

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Print Resource Subscription Database

Acts of the Parliament of Canada

Students, faculty and staff at UBC Library now have online access to the session laws of the Acts of the Parliament of Canada – 1926 – 2007 via the subscription database HeinOnline.  Print copies are also available – covering the years 1867 – 2007 at call number KG16 .A25

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Subscription Database

World Bank e-Library Trial

UBC has a trial to the World Bank e-Library and a few other of their databases until the end of August.

You can access the trial page here

World Bank e-Library: An electronic portal to the World Bank’s full-text collection of books, journals, working papers and other documents on social and economic development. It is the most comprehensive collection in the area and brings together a fully indexed and cross-searchable database of thousands of World Bank publications.

Africa Development Indicators Online: Provides the most comprehensive collection of data on the African economy. It contains data for over 1,400 indicators and time series from 1965 for 53 coutnries. Data include social, economic, financial, natural resources, infrastructure, governance, partnership, and enviornmental indicators.

Global Development Finance: The World’s Bank annual assessment of global financial conditions facing emerging markets. Offers external debt and financial flow data for 129 countries that report public and publicly guaranteed debt to the World Bank’s Debtor Reporting System. Time series includes over 200 indicators from 1970-2017.

Global Economic Monitor (GEM): Features up-to-date analysis of global economic conditions, including a daily brief and event-driven focus reports.

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Print Resource Subscription Database

New Database Trial

We’ve been lucky enough to get a 30 day trial to the IMF e-library which “contains publications from recent years as well as statistical resources: Balance of Payments, Direction of Trade, Government Finance Statistics, and International Financial Statistics.”  The trial expires July 22nd.  Please check it out and fill out the feedback form to let us know what you think.

Meanwhile, the IMF’s International Statistics are available via cd-rom at call no.: HG1 .I55 CD-ROM.  Note, this cd is mounted on the Data Services website and is limited to current UBC students, faculty & staff members.

You can also check out the print copies of the International Financial Statistics Yearbook at call no.: HG1 .I552

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