New Wharton Interface

The past year Wharton has developed a new platform/interface for searching subscribed databases. The new interface has now replaced the previous version. In practice this means that searching databases like CRSP, Compustat etc. has become easier. Help information is now also more readily available when doing a search.

Contrary to earlier annoucements the new Wharton interface is available without users having to mail and using an Access pass. Below you see a screenshot of the new Interface:

Search Business Source Elite using your mobile!

A new service is now available: the literature databases of the provider EBSCO can now be accessed using your mobile! Business Source Elite is one of these databases. Business Source Elite provides access to references from for over 1,000 business publications. This includes full-text access to some journal articles. The database provides information dating back to 1985. More than 10,100 company profiles from Datamonitor are also included.

Other EBSCO databases that can be searched on your mobile are: ATLA Religion database, Cinahl, Historical Abstracts, New Testament Abstracts online, Old Testament Abstracts online, Psycarticles, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, SocIndex and SportDiscus!

If you can connect to the internet on your mobile using the Wi-Fi campus network you now have access to millions of references in these databases. Information on setting up Campus internet access can be found on the website of the Digidesk: http://www.digidesk.vu.nl

The addresses for accessing the special Mobile platform for the EBSCO databases are:
http://m.ebscohost.com
http://search.ebscohost.mobi/

This service has been made possible by the Electronic Resources department of the library.

New free database: UN Comtrade

A new database has been added to the e-Resources: the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade). It contains detailed imports and exports statistics reported by statistical authorities of close to 200 countries or areas. It concerns annual trade data from 1962-present. More than 5000 different products are covered. You need to register to get access to the database. Access to the data is available only for the parts that are free of charge!

If you have any questions about UN Comtrade you can send an email to the Data Center or you can call us at 020-598 5166.

Wharton maintenance problems probably gone

Today the problems that were caused by the maintenance on the Wharton servers appear to be largely gone. I have submitted some queries and the search results were displayed after more or less the regular amount of time.

Let's hope that the maintenance was successful and the Wharton portal remains operational at it's usual speed. If problems return or new search problems appear please do not hesitate to contact the Data Center Team.

You can send an email to the Data Center or you can call us at 020-598 5166.

Maintenance Wharton interface

Earlier this week Wharton announced that they were going to do some maintenance on 29 September on their servers to increase capacity and allow for expansion. This meant that the databases available through Wharton (CRSP, Compustat, NYSE TAQ, Amadeus etc.) could temporarily not be queried through the Wharton website.

At the moment queries can be run again through the Wharton website but the maintenance is still causing problems for students and researchers. Queries will take much longer than usual: the search result can easily take 30 minutes before it is ready for download.

The problems have been reported to the Wharton support desk.

Training: Global Market Information Database

The Data Center is organizing a training on the Global Market Information Database on the 30th of September. The training is given by the database provider (Euromonitor). Students, researchers and professors are all welcome. This training will be given in English.
Registration required, max. 15 participants: register here
Start date: 30-09-2009
Time: 14.00-15.30
Location: VU MediaXperience, Main building, room 1A-01j
Description: How to use this database to find information on consumers, industries, service sectors, etc.

New courses published !

The Data Center has organized some courses on the most heavily used databases. Those databases are:

• Datastream (Stocks, Bonds, Macroeconomic data, etc.)
  
• SDC platinum (Mergers & Acquisitions, IPO's, Venture Capital)
  
• Wharton databases (Amadeus, Compustat Global, CRSP etc.)

The courses will help you get started using the database and give you some tips on more advanced options. You can find the courses on the library website in the Agenda.Through the Agenda you can also sign up for the course(s) of your choosing.

Global Market Information Database

Training on the usage of the Global Market Information Database (GMID) will take place on Wednesday 30-09-2009 from 14:00 to 16:00 h in the MediaXperience (VU main building 1A-01).
Registration: email to Data Center

Training outline:

• Short introduction to Euromonitor International
• Summary of GMID's content
• Sample searches demonstration
  * the different ways of searching for data
  * how to manipulate data (for example convert currencies, do forecasts and per capita analyses, look at growth rates and create graphs)
  * how to find help if needed
  * 'MyPages' and how to personalize your GMID pages
• Questions and answers

Business Source Elite

Since the 1st of September you can access the online bibliographic database 'Business Source Elite' through the eResources section of the VU Library website.

Business Source Elite provides access to more than 350 scholarly journals, about 100 magazines and 200 trade publications in the field of business, management and economics. It also includes 10,100 company profiles from Datamonitor.

CBS Microdata

The CBS Microdata databases contain microdata from the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) in the Netherlands. This microdata is gathered by the CBS and used to report on trends in Dutch society on items like consumer expenditure, GDP, etc. to the government. Aggregated statistical data based on the microdata is available through the free access database CBS StatLine.

Researchers at FEWEB have the option to "remotely access" CBS Microdata on a computer in the VU library. This computer is located in the Data Center to offer easier access. Some important conditions are attached to using the CBS Microdata:

1. You must contact the Central Bureau for Statistics to arrange access to the data through the remote connection. More information is available at the website of the CBS.
   
   
2. Once your request to access the microdata has been approved by the CBS, you can make an appointment to use the computer at the Data Center. You can do so by sending an email to: datacentrum@ubvu.vu.nl

Opening of the Data Center

As of 8 June 2009, the Library has a new service: the Data Center. The Data Center offers support in finding Economic data for educational and research purposes.

The Data Center provides training to VU University students, faculty and staff in the use of Economic databases such as Datastream, SDC Platinum, and Wharton.

You can either visit the Data Center, or you can get started on your own via the online helpdesk in Blackboard.
Opening hours: Wednesday and Thursday 12 noon - 4 pm.
Upon request, individual or group trainings can be organized.

For more information please visit the web page of the Data Center at the Library website.