Course Guide - data for 78-632, Quantitative Studies

Please look over these notes before you begin. Jump to the data sources here.

For further assistance, email libdata@uwindsor.ca or come to the data centre during open hours.

Types of data

There are two main types of data you will be using. Time series data is data that has repeated observations on something such as a country or region over time - for example, Canada's GDP annually. Cross-sectional data is data on multiple units at the same time - for example, a survey where 500 people were asked the same questions, or the population of 100 countries in 2003.

How many observations

You need many observations to conduct an analysis. For a bivariate analysis (an analysis with two variables where you use one variable to predict the other) 30 observations may be enough. 20 is iffy, 10 ridiculous.

With annual time series data it can be difficult to get enough observations - many time series don't go back more than 20 years or so. However, some time series are available monthly, giving you 120 observations in 10 years, which is plenty. With cross-sectional data you need enough units - data on Canada's 10 provinces would not be enough, but data on 100 Canadian cities would.

Frequently data - particularly international data - will have missing observations.

Combining data

Sometimes you can combine data from different sources to get the variables you need. With time series data you need to make sure the time periods match up. With cross-sectional data on countries or regions this can also work.

Canadian data

• CANSIM - Statistics Canada's Time Series database
  Time series data, on Canada and provinces: economic, elections, social and health, and environmental sources. Be careful when using this data - some series have enough observations for an analysis, others do not.
• Canada's Best Places to Live
  Data comparing 154 communities on a variety of factors.
• North American Transport Statistics

Environmental and scientific data

• International Environmental Performance Index 2010.
  All the environmental indicators you could possibly want, by country.
• Canadian Energy Use Data from the Office of Energy Efficiency
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data
  Air and water quality, pollutant emissions, hazardous waste, etc.
• Sunspots - Solar Influence Data Centre

Automotive, transport, related

• Car Fuel Economy Data from the U.S.Dept. of Energy
• Ward's Key Automotive Data
• Statistical Handbook - Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
• Aerospace Industries Association Data
• Canadian Road Safety Statistics and Reports

Finance and economic data

• World Bank Development Data
  Data on countries: economics, living standards, health
• World Bank Doing Business - data on business density and national factors measuring the ease of starting a business
• Economagic - Economic Time Series Data
• U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Data
• FRED - Federal Reserve Economic Data
• Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index data - download the info package to access the data.
• Assorted Product and Management data from Dr. Bloom, Stanford.
• Offshoring and Outsourcing dataset at the UK data archive - register for access
• See also the Business and Financial Data research guide.

Consumer Surveys

• Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey
• Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finance (includes oversample of wealthy households)
• University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers
• Canadian Survey of Consumer Finances / Survey of Household Spending - access here
• Canadian Financial Capability Survey - access here
• Canadian Survey of Financial Security- access here
• Pew Global surveys about consumer use of online media and technology

Miscellaneous

• Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System
  Employment, educational, and demographic characteristics of scientists and engineers in the United States.
• Sports Statistics
  Links from the American Statistical Association.
• UN Office on Drugs and Crime
  International statistics on drugs, organized crime, human trafficking, etc.
• Statistical Abstract of the United States
  Lots of stuff on the U.S.: tax revenue, crime, sports, business and industry.
• CDC Wonder
  Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• U.N. Databases
  Assorted international data. Includes some environmental as well as industrial, economic and population.

Still looking? Email libdata@uwindsor.ca or come to the data centre during open hours.