BUSINESS INFORMATION CENTER

STATISTICS

The Statistics Research Guide covers sources of statistics for areas interest to business studies, including economics, finance and marketing. While some demographics sources are included, a separate Demographics Research Guide is devoted to that area. For additional information, Ask a BIC Librarian.

GENERAL RESOURCES

PONI Catalog The University Libraries online catalog may be searched using the following subject headings: Statistics; Statistics data processing; Statistics graphic methods; Commercial statistics; Econometrics; Industrial statistics; Mathematical statistics; Vital statistics. Sort the results list by "Publication Date (most recent first)"

American Statistical Association ASA offers continuing education, a variety of publications and student membership at a nominal price.

Inside Information: Making sense of marketing data (NetLibrary) A guide for interpreting marketing data without detailed discussion of exact statistical methods. (SMU Community Only)

LexisNexis Statistical This service includes ASI: American Statistics Index, the latest edition of Statistical Abstracts of the United States, SRI: Statistical Reference Index, and IIS: Index to International Statistics. The service also has links to other Web sites that provide access to statistical information. Where copyright and source formatting permit, tables may be downloaded as spreadsheet files. (SMU Community Only)

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms (Fondren Library Reference Q123 .M15) This dictionary helps in deciphering jargon used in various disciplines.
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Schaum’s outline of theory and problems of business statistics (NetLibrary) A basic introduction and review of statistics as applied to business. (SMU Community Only)

Stat-USA This service from the U.S. Department of Commerce provides authoritative business, economic and trade community information. National Trade Data Bank is located here in "Globus & NTDB". (SMU Community Only)

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STATE & LOCAL RESOURCES

County and City Databook This resource includes population, housing, business and other categories of data uptdated after each decennial census.

North Central Texas Council of Governments Information about a 16 county region of North Texas including the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. At the home page click on the 'Departments' button and select 'Research & Information Services.'

State and Metropolitan Area Data Book 2006 This is a compilation of social and economic statistics.

Stateline.org Operates as an independent element within the Pew Research Center, providing perspective articles about officially released statistics. Type "data sources" into the site search box to find important links .

Zipstats CSU Northridge has compiled this list of sources where data is accessible by zip code.

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FEDERAL & NATIONAL RESOURCES

Economy at a Glance Bureau of Labor Statistics provides this quick look at principal economic indicators including: Unemployment Rate; Change in Payroll Employment; Average Hourly Earnings; Consumer Price Index; Producer Price Index; U.S. Import Price Index; Employment Cost Index; Productivity. Ten years of monthly data is available for most measures.

FactFinder - U.S. Census This is the principal access to census data with links that track users into downloadable datasets, maps, and community profiles.

FedStats Links from this page go to all the major web statistical sources for the federal government.

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) 3000 economic time series are available for download in spreadsheet format.

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research Many social and political datasets are available for download. Data is suitable for analysis using a statistical software package such as SAS or SPSS.

Interest Rates Various interest rate indexes show current rates including the prime rate and treasury rates.

National Bureau of Economic Research The NBER site charts business cycle expansions and contractions.

Statistical Abstract of the United States This site brings together national statistics from many federal agencies. The print version is available in BIC Reference.

Survey of Current Business Quarterly updates of current economic data are provided in detailed PDF files that chart data for all sectors of the economy.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Detailed information about many types of housing can be downloaded for further analysis.

U.S. Census Bureau The Census Bureau offers a number of items in easily accessible table format arranged by timeframe and in categories including "People & Households" and "Business & Industry".

U.S. Government Statistics Located on the White House Web site and maintained by the Office of Management and Budget, this site provides access to a wide array of official data as well as corrections and standards for collecting statistics.

United States Historical Census Data Browser This site from the University of Virginia allows users to retrieve historical data tables through an easy to use interface.

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INTERNATIONAL RESOURCES

EuroStat - Statistical Office of the European Communities This portal provides access to economic and business data from the European Commission.

Financial Forecast Center Economic and index forecasts are available, including stock indexes, money rates, general economic indexes, and currency exchange rates.

G8 Information Center Documents from G8 summit meetings found here can provide useful insight into policy directions in the future. Attendees include France, the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, the European Community, and Russia and occasionally other countries. Topics discussed include macroeconomic management, international trade, transnational issues, and relations with developing countries.

International & World Organization Statistical Sites The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a comprehensive list of links to the national statistical sites of the world.

Macroeconomic Time Series Data Source Locator This is a geographically arranged list of international statistical sources provided by the University of Chicago.

World Bank A wide variety of international statistics and policy information is available on the "Data & Research" page. A statistics manual is provided that explains the data definitions. Much of the data may be downloaded as spreadsheet tables.

World Fact Book Maps, flags, and country profiles are supplied by the CIA. The country profiles are very useful for overviews because each profile includes economic and other data pertinent to the business environment.

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Updated: October 2006