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User Guide
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OECD.Stat Web Browser User Guide

OECD.Stat Web Browser
User Guide
Release 1/1a
September 2008
Table of Contents:
TUIntroductionUT ....................................................................................... 4
TUOECD.Stat ConceptsUT ............................................................................................. 4
TUData OrganisationUT ............................................................................................... 4
TUReference SeriesUT ................................................................................................. 5
TUSearchUT ............................................................................................................... 5
TUThe OECD.Stat Web BrowserUT ................................................................................. 5
TUUser GuideUT .......................................................................................... 6
TUGetting Started PageUT ........................................................................................... 6
TULanguage SelectionUT ............................................................................................. 7
TULocating Data through the OECD.Stat SearchUT ....................................................... 8
TULocating Data by Browsing ThemesUT ..................................................................... 9
TULocating a dataset or a query in the theme listUT .................................................. 10
TUUsing the Table FeaturesUT ................................................................................... 11
TUSelecting Dimensions and their VariablesUT ............................................................... 12
TUChanging the Time DimensionUT .............................................................................. 14
TURotating Dimensions by Adjusting the Dataset ViewUT ................................................ 17
TUFormatting OptionsUT ............................................................................................. 19
TUExporting to ExcelUT .............................................................................................. 22
TUExporting to a CSV fileUT ........................................................................................ 22
TUDownloading related files and large data selectionsUT ................................................. 23
TUExporting to PC-Axis TableUT ................................................................................... 25
TUCharting DataUT .................................................................................................... 26
TUViewing MetadataUT .............................................................................................. 28
TUOther Related MetadataUT....................................................................................... 28
TUFlagsUT ................................................................................................................ 28
TUWorking with QueriesUT ........................................................................................ 29
TUSaving a QueryUT .................................................................................................. 29
TUMerge QueriesUT ................................................................................................... 30
TUCreating a Merge QueryUT ...................................................................................... 30
TUViewing the QueryUT .............................................................................................. 31
TUChanging the QueryUT ............................................................................................ 32
TUSaving a Multi-Dataset QueryUT ............................................................................... 32
TUViewing Frequently Requested and Saved QueriesUT ............................................. 33
TUViewing the Country Statistical ProfilesUT ............................................................. 34
TUPrinting Data from the Browser UT ......................................................................... 37
TUProviding FeedbackUT .......................................................... ................ 38
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0BIntroduction
TOECD.Stat provides a single online platfo rm where users can discover and access statistical da tabases
from the OECD. You will be able to build tables and extract data from across databases as well as work within individual databases. Use Browse Themes or Search to find the statistical information you need. Each database includes detailed metadata to help you understand the numbers.
OECD.Stat offers a number of opportunities for improving data management, in particular in the following areas:
• General data identification, taxonomy and classification
• Data accessibility and security
• Data relevance by the provision of related metadata
• Fostering coherency of statistical data and metadata
• Eliminating duplication of effort by maintaining a single copy of key series
It also provides a common platform for future development and implementation of standards for statistical data and metadata across the OECD.
3BOECD.Stat Concepts
OECD.Stat features the following main concepts:
• Catalogues of information on themes, datasets, dimensions, dimension members and reference series
• Storage of metadata at all levels from dataset through to cell level
• Storage of numeric data figures, as well as cell-level flags
• A data warehouse searching mechanism
16BData Organisation
Datasets
Within OECD.Stat, statistical data are organised in the form of datasets. A dataset is a collection of numerical values and their associated textual information, with all values sharing a common set of dimensions. Each dataset is attached to a specific statistical activity or sub­activity.
Dimensions
The dimensions of a dataset are the axes on which the data are described. Country and year are two common examples of dimensions. Dimensions can be presented as either a flat list or as a hierarchy.
Dimension Members
Every dimension contains a pre-defined list of items, called dimension members. In the country dimension for example, the dimension members are the individual countries.
Metadata
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Qualitative data, attached to the quantitative data in OECD.Stat is called metadata. Metadata can be found at various levels, ranging from an abstract found at the level of an entire dataset, country- or series-level footnotes which apply to a broad selection of data within a dataset, and down to the level of a single cell.
Flags
When a qualitative note is recurrent in a dataset, and the exact same note can be attached to many individual data figures, this may be stored as a flag. A flag is a letter, which appears alongside the numerical data in any table cell where it applies. A legend appears beneath the table, explaining the signification of each flag present in the table. Flags are frequently used to note general data properties such as “confidential”, “provisional” and “estimated”.
17BReference Series
A number of data series, identified by the OECD Statistics Directorate as being generally useful in the calculation of indicators, are available via the Reference Series dataset. Data in this dataset are linked dynamically to the source datasets from which they are taken, so that there is no duplication of data and in order to ensure that the Reference Series contain the most recent data a v ai l ab le.
18BSearch
A text-based search facility, which searches through dataset names, dimension names, dimension member names and metadata, can be used to quickly locate relevant datasets and view tables.
19BThe OECD.Stat Web Browser
The OECD.Stat Web Browser provides the online user environment to access OECD statistical information. The browser has been designed to allow both experienced and new users to rapidly locate and retrieve statistical data and related metadata.
Main features include:
• Links to frequently requested tables - access the latest versions of the most frequently requested OECD Reference Series data (Exchange rates, GDP figures, etc.)
• “Table View” – view data, flags and metadata from a table that includes a number of features for customising the layout of the data.
• “Data Basket” - save data queries for later viewing, and share them with others.
• Merge Queries – combine queries to allow cross-dataset comparisons along common
dimension(s).
• Metadata access - access all metadata from dataset level down to series footnotes and data flags.
• Microdata viewer - access transaction-level microdata in addition to aggregate macrodata.
• Full Text Search - rapidly locate series across data sets, data dimensions and metadata.
• Dynamic graphics – visualize data dynamically in a line chart, bar chart or pie chart.
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1BUser Guide
The OECD.Stat Web Browser has been designed to be straightforward and intuitive in use. It does, however, contain a number of advanced features, which reflect the diversity of the Organization’s statistical resources. This User Guide has been prepared to help acquaint first-time users with these features, by stepping through them with the aid of selected screen shots.
47B4BGetting Started Page
From the Getting Started page, the user has the option of finding OECD statistical data and metadata through a number of different avenues.
Data can be located in various ways:
• OECD.Stat Search
• Browse Themes
• Browse Queries
Each of these options will be explained in more detail in the remainder of the User Guide.
The browser is best used in full-screen view at 1024x768 pixel screen resolution or higher.
Click here to open/close left panel.
Click on arrow/dash to expand or collapse the respective panel. Click on question mark for contextual help.
Figure 1: OECD.Stat Browser Getting Started page
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5BLanguage Selection
The interface and data can be viewed in English or French. The language can be changed by clicking on the language option, located at the top of the screen.
Figure 2: Changing the language of the browser
46B
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6BLocating Data through the OECD.Stat Search
Data can be located by e ntering keywords in the OECD.Stat Search box, at the top right of the page. This will return a list of links giving the name of each dataset in which the keywords were found, and providing further details as to where the keywords are present within each dataset. The most relevant links are shown first based on the frequency with which the keywords appear in each dataset, and at which level they were found. A keyword found in the name of a dataset is considered mo re relevant than a keyword found only in o ne of the dimension members of a dimension of the dataset or in the metadata.
Clicking on the link will op en the datas et with the default view. If a country has been entered as a keyword, the results will be filtered to reflect this. The tables resulting from a search will contain any references to the search keywords entered that could be found in the data. These tables can be modified and used as a starting point to find data related to the keywords entered.
Figure 3: Results from the search ranked in order of relevance
45B
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7BLocating Data by Browsing Themes
In the Browse Themes panel, click a theme title, click a sub-theme title and so forth, until you can select a dataset. Datasets can be recognised by the table icon in front of their name. A pre-defined, default view of the table will open. This view can be customized (see next section).
Navigate through themes and sub-themes down to a dataset. Click the dataset title once to open the default view.
Figure 4: Browsing through themes to view data
49B
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8BLocating a dataset or a query in the theme list
At the top of the Browse Themes panel click the text box and enter a key term to search for within the theme and data set list. Click the “>>” sign or press Enter to execute the sear ch . All found entries will be highlighted in yellow.
To start over, simply click Reset to the right of the text box and click the text box agai n in order to enter a new key term.
Enter a key term and search among the themes and data sets in the theme panel. Results will be highlighted in the panel.
Figure 5: Find a theme or data set
This search routine will look for exact matches of the entered text string, including spaces but irrelevant of miniscule or majuscule characters.
This method also allows a quick lookup for well known OECD data sets by their acronym, e.g. MEI, STAN, ITCS, etc.
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9BUsing the Table Features
When a dataset is first opened, a table in a default view is presented. This default data selection can be modified using the features found atop the table.
Figure 6: Default dataset view and Current Selection values
The Current Data Selection information shows the dimensions of the dataset with an indication, in parentheses, of the number of items, or members, selected in each dimension. If you click a dimension title, a list of the members you can chose from will be shown.
Once you have made your data selection, you can:
• click on one of the several option buttons to customize the layout ( display (
• click the Export to Excel button (
• click the Other Export button (
) of the current table
) to save your selection as an MS Excel file
) to save your selection as a CSV file, PC-Axis table,
, ) and/or
or download related, ready-made files
• click on the Chart button (
• click the Merge Queries button (
) to dynamically graph the displayed data
) to add your current table view as a query for
further work. You will need to login first to take full advantage of all query features.
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20BSelecting Dimensions and their Variables
The items selected for each dimension, often referred to as dimension members, can be modified by clicking on the
button to Select Dimensions at the top of a tab l e.
Figure 7: Using the Dimension Selector
To select or deselect an item, click the check box to the left of the item. In hierarchical dimensions, a plus or minus will appear next t o parent-level items. Clicking on this symbol will allow you to show or hide the child items.
At the top of the screen, a series of options appear. To apply your modified selection of items for the current dimension and see a table of data
corresponding to this new selection, click View Data. Alternatively, after changing the selection for one dimension, you can click on another dimension to modify, before viewing the new table of data.
For hierarchical dimensions, clicking on Expand Branch or Collapse Branch will show or hide all the child-level items of the dimension.
Note: If all members of a hierarchical dimension are selected, the resulting table could contain empty rows or columns corresponding to the higher levels (see below).
36BDimension Member Colour Coding
The OECD.Stat Web Browser uses colour coding to help you identify for which dimension members data exists. This is especially important for sparse datasets where data can be found in only a small proportion of dimension combinations. This function has be en provided to save time by avoiding searching for non-existent data.
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