What is the ESDS International?
The International Data Service (ESDS International) is part of the wider
Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS); a national data service that came
into operation in January 2003. It is a jointly funded initiative sponsored
by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).
The service provides access to, and support for, a range of international
datasets - both macro and micro sources. It promotes and facilitates increased
and more effective use of international datasets in research, learning and
teaching across a range of disciplines.
ESDS International is being run jointly by Mimas
at Manchester and the UK Data Archive (UKDA)
at Essex and concentrates on:
- providing web-based access to regularly updated macro-level time series
produced by organisations such as the OECD, the IMF, the World Bank, the
UN, the International Labour Organisation and Eurostat.
- provision of end-user training, a range of web-based support materials
and a dedicated help desk
- using CommonGIS to build an interactive visualisation interface for international
datasets
- helping users to locate and acquire international micro-level datasets,
such as Eurobarometer
- developing a responsive acquisitions strategy
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What socio-economic datasets are
available?
The full versions of the following datasets are currently available from
ESDS International:
See the Data
portfolio and availability page for a comprehensive list of datasets which
will be included in the ESDS International data portfolio. Information is
provided on the progress of data acquisition negotiations, the status of preparation
work carried out on the data (i.e. converting into a Beyond 20/20 WDS format)
and the estimated delivery date for each dataset.
ESDS International has a responsive acquisitions strategy to negotiate key
international datasets for UK academic access and it is anticipated that the
above list of datasets provided by the service will expand.
With the addition of the Data
Wishes web page, users now have the opportunity to request specific datasets
they would like to see available via the international data service in the
future and to monitor the status of such requests. Users simply need to send
an email to international@esds.ac.uk
providing the name of the requested dataset and their user details, i.e. name
of Institution, user type (teaching staff, support staff, UG/PG etc), required
use of dataset (teaching, research etc). The Data Wishes section of the ESDS
International web site will be updated with all user requests and will influence
ESDS International’s future data acquisition strategy.
The service also helps users to locate and acquire international micro-level
datasets, such as Eurobarometer
and ISSP.
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What are macro and micro international
data?
Macro
data are data aggregated to a country or regional level. The macro databanks
in ESDS International all contain socio-economic time series data for a range
of countries over a substantial time period. Many of the databanks are the
current releases of the major statistical publications produced by intergovernmental
organisations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund or United
Nations. Topics covered include national accounts, industrial production,
employment, trade, demography, human development and other indicators of national
performance and development.
Micro
data are typically survey or questionnaire datasets collected from groups
of individuals within a number of different countries. International micro
datasets such as the Eurobarometers, International Social Survey Programme and
the World and European Values Surveys cover a range of social science topics
including household and demographic information, income, employment, education
and housing. The macro databanks often contain secondary data derived from
primary micro data sources.
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Who can use the ESDS International
data service?
To access the ESDS International macro-economic datasets you must be a user
from a UK college or university - includes postgraduates, undergraduates,
researchers, staff, and students at any Further or Higher Education Institution
in the UK.
Access to the macro-economic datasets is provided free of charge.
Note: We cannot provide data to users outside of
this community due to the data re-distribution license agreements we have
with our data providers.
International micro data that are physically held at other national archives but that have records in the Data
Catalogue can be ordered by any registered user based in the UK for non-commercial purposes. Users outside the UK
or requiring the data for commercial purposes are advised to contact the holding archive. International micro data
physically held at the UK Data Archive can usually be accessed by any registered user. Access for commercial purposes
usually requires depositor permission.
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How can I find out which dataset
I need?
To find the data you require try the focused
search facility for international data which allows you to search by keyword
across micro and macro international datasets or the browse through the datasets. Links to the international macro and
micro datasets are also available under Major studies.
Alternatively the dataset
descriptions page provides a summary overview of each dataset including
information on the subjects, countries, periodicity and time range covered.
Links to more detailed dataset user guides and directly to the data are provided
from this page. Links to more detailed individual dataset user guides can
be found in the online
dataset guides section.
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How do I access the ESDS International
datasets?
The ESDS International Macro-Economic datasets are only available to users
from UK higher or further education institutions. Due to the data re-distribution
license agreements with our data providers (i.e. IMF, OECD, UN, Eurostat
and World Bank), we are not able to provide data to users outside of this
community.
If you are a member of a UK higher or further education institution and require
access to the Macro-Economic Time Series datasets you are entitled to do so
free of charge. ESDS registration (and agreement to dataset specific special conditions) is all that is needed
to access the international macro and micro datasets.
The Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) operates a central 'one-stop'
registration service allowing registered users access to all ESDS data services
and those provided by the History Data Service,
UK Data Archive, Census
Dissemination Unit, Census Geography
Data Unit, Census Interaction Data
Service and the Census Microdata
Unit through a one-stop Single Sign On.
When accessing the international macro databanks, you will first be asked
for your username and password, you can use your UK HE/FE Institutional username and password. If you have not yet registered with
ESDS you will automatically be transferred to the ESDS registration pages to complete an online
registration form. Following agreement of the End User Licence you may also
be required to agree to dataset specific special conditions. It is only necessary
to agree to these conditions once. To access the data in future sessions you
will need only your username and password.
For more information, see Login and registration help.
If you have already registered with ESDS and agreed to the End
User Licence (plus any dataset specific special conditions), use the 'Direct links to data' drop down list to go directly to the
data.
For access to micro data, you will need to place an order. See Finding
and accessing international micro data for more information.
Using "federated access management" to login
The resources at ESDS International can be accessed using “federated access management”.
When you login to our services via federated access management you will be presented with a drop-down list of institutions.
Alternatively, the UK Federation site contains a list of institutions that use federated access management:
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What is federated access management?
Federated access management is also known as:
- Shibboleth
- The UK Federation
- The UK Access Management Federation
It allows users to securely access external services using the same username and password as they do for local services at their institution.
Further details about the UK Federation: http://www.ukfederation.org.uk/
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Logging in via federated access management for the first time
If your university has switched from Athens to federated access management, you will now need to carry out the following steps to access the macro data at ESDS International:
- Click to access the data in the usual way (for example choose the IMF DOTS from the Direct Links to Macro Data drop down list).
- On the UK Access Management Federation Page that is displayed select your institution from the drop down list. (If you cannot find the name of your institution in the list, then your institution has not yet implemented federated access management.)
- Login with your UK HE/FE Institutional username and password.
- You will be prompted to provide your name, e-mail address, organisation and your memorable word (this is the memorable word you would have given when first registering with ESDS) - after which you should be allowed access to the data via Beyond 20/20.
- If you cannot remember your memorable word, please proceed to re-register. We expect most users will need to re-register for the service.
- Complete the registration form and click submit.
- Click on 'I Agree' to abide by the End User License terms and conditions.
- Wait for e-mail confirmation of registration named "ESDS Registration: final stage"
- Click on the confirmation link within the e-mail
- Wait for another email named "ESDS Registration: Complete"
- Go back to the ESDS International website and select the dataset you require in the usual way (for example from the drop down list).
- You will be prompted to agree to that dataset's special conditions and once you have done so, should be allowed access to the data via Beyond 20/20.
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I’m being prompted to enter my “memorable” word
To retain continuity of usage and avoid re-registration, existing users switching from Athens to the UK Federation need to enter some limited personal information, including a memorable word.
If you cannot remember your “memorable” word, or it simply does not work then please re-register.
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What happened to Athens?
As of the 4th August 2009 the Athens authentication system is no longer supported by ESDS and has been replaced by federated access management.
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I seem to be caught in a registration
loop when trying to access the data?
If you are continually sent in circles during the registration process, it
may be that there is a problem with your user account. Please contact the
ESDS help desk for further investigation.
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What software is used to manipulate
the data?
All ESDS International datasets are available through Beyond
20/20’s Web Data Server (WDS). Beyond 20/20 WDS is a browser software
which can be used to display, subset and download data. It runs in a standard
web browser, is accessibility compliant, and does not require any plug-ins.
Step-by-step guides to
accessing international data via Beyond 20/20 available in html and PDF
format provide easy to follow instructions on how to find, visualise and extract
real data from within the ESDS International portfolio.
Visualisation interfaces to sets of freely available macro international
data have also been set up using CommonGIS
software. CommonGIS is an interactive java based geographical information
system accessible via the web which provides standard GIS functionality and
can be used as a tool for visualisation and exploratory analysis based on
geographically referenced statistical data. Go to our visualisation
pages for further details.
The micro international datasets are usually available in SPSS format and
the UK Data Archive can convert to other popular formats.
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How much does it cost to access the
datasets?
The international macro datasets are freely available to
UK academics and researchers. Note: The ESDS International
macro-economic datasets are only available to users from UK higher or further
education institutions. Due to the data re-distribution license agreements
with our data providers (i.e. IMF, OECD, UN, Eurostat and World Bank),
we are not able to provide data to users outside of this community.
If micro data are requested on portable media e.g. CD, handling and postage
and packaging fees will apply. See Charges
for details. If data are requested from a non-UK archive, the charges of the originating archive may apply. If so, users are notified
before the data are supplied. Additional fees apply to commercial usage - however,
it is often the case that we are not permitted to supply datasets that we
obtain via other national archives for commercial usage.
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The data I want is not here
- where will I find it?
If you cannot find the data you require from this service, ESDS International
provides a Guide
to freely available International data and resources, intended to be used
as a resource discovery tool for additionally available free international
data and information resources.
ESDS International aims to provide a responsive data acquisition service
and with this in mind a Data
Wishes section has been added to the ESDS International website. This
will give users the opportunity of requesting specific datasets they would
like to see available via the international data service in the future.
Users simply need to send an email to international@esds.ac.uk
providing the name of the requested dataset and their user details, i.e. name
of Institution, user type (teaching staff, support staff, UG/PG etc), required
use of dataset (teaching, research etc). The Data Wishes section of the ESDS
International web site will be updated with all user requests and will influence
ESDS International’s future data acquisition strategy.
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What supporting documentation is
provided for each dataset
A comprehensive dataset user guide is provided with each dataset in the portfolio,
including details on the topics and countries covered, the periodicity and
time range of the dataset, access requirements, and links to useful documentation.
The guides are available in html and PDF format. See the full
list of available dataset user guides.
Our dataset specific software guides
to accessing international data are designed to introduce the Beyond 20/20
WDS interface and are available in html or PDF format.
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What training is available?
ESDS International has developed a programme
of courses intended to introduce users to time series data analysis techniques
and to the data portfolio provided by the service. Please contact ESDS
International if you would like any of these courses to be delivered at
your institution.
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In what format can the datasets
be downloaded?
The Beyond 20/20 Web Data Server application gives users the option to download
dataset results in *.ivt, *.csv or *.xls format. There is a download limit
of 15000 data cells.
Registered users can log in to their account and
order their chosen micro international data in a number of formats, including SPSS.
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Where do I find previous releases
of the datasets?
Contact the ESDS
International help desk to arrange access to previous releases of the datasets.
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Are there any restrictions
on the use of the datasets, i.e. terms and conditions?
You must correctly cite the origin
of your data and comply to the terms and conditions associated to each dataset.
Dataset specific terms and conditions are shown under the documentation section
of each dataset user guide and in the End User License and Special Conditions
(if applicable) agreed to during the registration procedure.
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How do I get help?
You can email us at international@esds.ac.uk
or telephone us on +44 (0) 161 275 6109.
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How can I keep informed of developments
to the ESDS International service?
News on developments to the service and events will be posted on the ESDS
web site, but if you would rather be emailed with up to date information rather
than having to go and check the web site, you can always join the new ESDS
international mailing list. The JISCmail list serves to:
- disseminate information to users of the ESDS International Datasets, including
details of new releases, updates, courses, workshops and events
- act as a moderated discussion list of users
- be a source of user feedback, i.e. to keep the ESDS-International team
informed of your data needs and thoughts on service development plans.
To join the list, you simply need to either go to http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/esds-International.html
or alternatively you can send an email to listserv@jiscmail.ac.ukwith
the following subject header - subscribe esds-international <yourname>
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I am getting a SQUID Zero Sized Reply error message when trying to access international macro data via Beyond 20/20?
Error message: ' ERROR, The requested URL could not be retrieved, While trying to retrieve the URL
[url of international data site], the following error was encountered: Zero Sized Reply, Squid (or the web cache) did not receive any data for this request'.
This error occasionally occurs for some users at some institutions.
People experiencing this problem should do both of the following before attempting to access macro data:
- Register with ESDS
- Agree to special conditions
Once you have done both of these, you should not receive the squid error message. If this still does not resolve the problem, please get in touch with the ESDS International helpdesk at international@esds.ac.uk:
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Are there any guides to using
Beyond 20/20 Web Data Server?
The Beyond 20/20 WDS software was upgraded in September 2009 and includes a more user-friendly interface and useful additional features. A user guide detailing the New Features in Beyond 20/20 WDS version 8.0 is available on the website.
Beyond 20/20 WDS help pages are also available from within the application. Simply
click on the Help question mark icon and either browse the help contents, use the help tutorials
or use search the help using key words.
In addition, ESDS International provides step-by-step guides
to accessing international data via Beyond 20/20 which provide easy to
follow instructions helping users to find, visualise and extract real data
from within the ESDS International portfolio. Available in html and PDF format.
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When trying to extract data I
keep getting no data or missing values returned - what am I doing wrong?
It could be that you are selecting a grouping folder within the database
rather than data at a series level. For example a grouping folder within the
OECD Main Economic Indicators would be represented by the group folder Series
by country/area or a country group folder, such as Australia.
These group folders are available for selection even though there
is no data available at this level (this is due to the way information has
been formatted).
To resolve the problem, you will need to de-select these groups and select
the data within these groups, i.e. the next level down.
To do this use the Select items to View icon 
. You will see a list of the dimensions
for that dataset and can select items from each available dimension in turn.
For example in the OECD Main Economic Indicators, you will see the first
dimension under the Select items to view menu
is Series:
- Select this dimension and in the screen which appears you will see a
group folder called Series by country/area.
- Ensure this group folder is not selected and that any of the Country
group folders are also not selected. Tick the data items within the country
group folder that you require and move onto next dimensions using the Select items to view icon then choosing the dimension name.
For the majority of datasets, ESDS International provides guides
to accessing the datasets via Beyond 20/20 WDS.
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I have selected a few time series,
but I can only seem to download them one country at a time. Is there any way
that I can download one file with data from multiple countries for multiple
times series?
Once you have made your data selection and clicked on 'Show Table' you
should be able to re-arrange the format of whichever dataset table you are
viewing so that all the data appears in one table - this can then be downloaded
in .xls, .ivt or .csv format.
To do this you will need to 'drag and drop' the dimension headings in the
table to re-arrange the data table format (known as 'Nesting Dimensions' in
Beyond 20/20 WDS).
For example, the screen shot below shows the FLOW dimension heading being
dragged from the top of the screen and the horizontal yellow line indicates
it will be dropped between the TIME PERIOD and COUNTRY dimensions. To drag
and drop a dimension heading hover your mouse over the heading (though not
on the hyperlink) and left click. The heading should turn yellow and keeping
your mouse button pressed you will find that you can drag this heading into
another position. All the dimension headings can be moved until the desired
table layout is reached.
Please note, that some datasets (e.g. IMF IFS) combine the country and the series in a single dimension. This means that you will be unable to select "country" separately.
In the current version of Beyond 20/20, you can also re-order table dimensions
by using the Set Dimension Order 
icon. ESDS International provides software
user guides to accessing the data using Beyond 20/20 WDS and further information
is provided under the Help tab in the application.
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How do I download my results?
From the Table tab, click on the Download 
icon from the
toolbar to download
a report to your local computer in the format of your choice. You will be
given four download options:
- Beyond 20/20 Table format (*.ivt)
- Microsoft Excel format (*.xls)
- Comma-delimited ASCII format (*.csv)
- Semicolon-delimited ASCII format (*.csv)
The data will be downloaded in exactly the same format as shown on screen
so use the drag/drop headers functionality to manipulate format of the table
prior to download.
N.b. Downloaded reports have a size limit of 15,000 data cells and in Excel
a maximum of 255 columns.
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Why is it that nothing happens
when I click on items in the interface?
It could be that your browser is not Javascript-enabled. Please see the
system
requirements for more information.
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I see more data in
the table than I expected - what am I doing wrong?
You probably have items selected without realizing it. What you see in the
table reflects exactly what items are selected from the available dimensions
under the Select items to view icon . If
you do see more data than expected, select one of the available dimensions
and use the clear all cross icon. Then select your required items again and
return to the table tab to see the results.
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How do I carry out an 'OR' search?
For example, using the OECD MEI I want to search for all available series
items for two countries?
To carry out multiple searches (an 'OR' search) in the Search input
box at the top of the screen within a dimension view you will need to
type in your first search criteria > click on search > tick desired
series items > then type in next search criteria > click on search and
tick items again - this can be carried out numerous times - Beyond 20/20 does
not clear selected items each time a search is carried out.
For example, using the OECD MEI as the source data you can find all unemployment
series items for both Japan and the United States by doing the following multiple
search:
- Input JPN and unemployment in the search input
box and click Search
- Select the series items required by ticking the checkboxes.
- Input USA and unemployment in the search input box and
click Search
- Select the series items required and move onto next dimension using the Select items to View icon from toolbar.
When the time period has been selected and the report is viewed, it will
show the unemployment series items for both Japan and the United States.
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What is the correct Copyright
statement when Beyond 20/20 WDS has been used to create an image?
Whenever Beyond 20/20 images are reproduced in any format, the standard
copyright as follows should be associated with the image - Copyright © Beyond
20/20 Inc. All rights reserved.
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Are there any guides to
using CommonGIS?
ESDS International provides the following CommonGIS software guides:
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What is a GIS?
A Geographical Information System (GIS) combines layers of information to
give a clearer view and understanding of the spatial, geographical patterns
of the data.
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Can anyone access ESDS International's
CommonGIS application?
ESDS International's CommonGIS interfaces to the CIA World Factbook data, the IMF's World Economic Outlook data and UN Common Database are freely available to all.
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Why is there is more functionality
described in the default CommonGIS help pages than is actually available?
ESDS International is using a simplified teaching version of CommonGIS which
has had some of the more advanced data analysis methods removed. Please see
the Overview
section for details of data visualisation and analysis methods which are
available.
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Why does the system appear to 'hang'
when using using Calculate tool?
If you click on the Calculate tool and then click off the screen
and onto another application, you may find when you return to CommonGIS that
it appears to be hung. This is just because the application has opened a smaller
Computation window which requires input from the user and is hidden
from view. To resolve the problem, minimise all other applications and the
computation window will become visible. Either cancel or choose the calculation
you wish to perform.
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What international data is available
on CommonGIS?
See the Visualisation
section of the website for a list of the CommonGIS interfaces to international
data.
In the future ESDS International plans to develop CommonGIS interfaces to
data within our international data portfolio. Please let us know if there
is a specific international dataset or theme you would like to see available
through the CommonGIS visualisation software.
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