Research Students Seminar, 5:00pm 22 October 2009, 4418

Introduction to Computing Resources.

Presentation by Satoshi Miyamura

Powerpoint used in the session. (MS Powerpoint presentation; 100kb. Also available from W:\ECONPHD intranet folder)

1.  Open access computers
2.  Departmental Courses
3.  Computer Courses outside of the Department
4.  The Economics Department Website
5.  The IT Department Website.
6.  Software.
7.  Data.
8.  General Internet Resources.
9.  The Careers Department.
10.  Library Resources.
11.  Miscellaneous.

1. Open access computers

2. Departmental Courses

Further courses can be found from the departmental website:

3.  Computer Courses outside of the Department.

The IT Department runs a number of introductory courses in computing, the details of which are to be found at
http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/it/training/ittraining.htm
The courses include downloadable training manuals from Software Made Simple and courses run here at SOAS.  The courses at SOAS cover Basic Computing, Internet and Email, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Endnote.  The courses are free, a £5 deposit being returned once you have attended the course.

The Library runs courses on the various on-line bibliographic databases.  Details of these will be published later in the term.

4.  The Economics Department Website.

The Departmental Website:
http://www.soas.ac.uk/economics

Course details, reading lists and additional resources are available from here.

5.  The IT Department Website.

Aside from the training courses listed in 1 above, the IT Department Website is an essential source of information on IT services in the School.  
http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/it/index.htm

Documentation on the rules covering the use of computers in the School and a range of other information is available from:
http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/it/docs/docindex.htm

Of particular interest is the Quick Guide to IT Services for Students which sets out the basic information: how to log on; location of computer rooms; file storage; etc.

The Guide to Printing in the Computer Labs is useful.  
http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/it/docs/guides/printing.pdf
The cogent points are:

6.  Software.

Most of the software on the computers at SOAS is not licensed for home use and we cannot provide copies to individual students.

However, the main exception is SPSS.  Students can download copies of the software for their own use by following the links at:
http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/it/download/software.php

Details are also available on software deals negotiated by the IT Department, such as bibliographic software.

Of interest to Economists is the offer to students versions of statistical and econometric software:

7.  Data.

Broadly speaking data can be split into time-series data, and survey data.  

The former are commonly collected by country, and provided within a database by an international organisation or by the statistical office of the country.  For example, IMF members will report data as part of their membership of the IMF.  Some of the data will be shared, for example the World Bank may report IMF data within their databases.  Having located a database with the necessary data, the task is to download the data, and the definitions, usually as a comma separated variable file (.CSV) which can be accessed in Excel.  The data will then be manipulated in Excel or in an econometrics package.
 
The latter commonly take the form of survey data, and may be undertaken by an international organisation, a university or government.  Within this category would fall household surveys, such as those carried out with help from the World Bank or USAID.  Here it is more common to gain access to the entire survey, and the documentation.  The manipulation and analysis of the data is commonly within a statistical package such as STATA or SPSS.

7.1  Time Series Data.

Historically, the Department purchased a range of databases of time-series development data  that were accessed either from the Library or from all open access computers.  The vast majority of these are now available on-line, ensuring that the data is as current and accessible as possible.  The 2003 versions of UNIDO and World Bank Data are still available from open-access computers at SOAS, but almost all the more recent databases are now accessible from the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS See below).

Two major exceptions are:
Datastream.  This provides access to a vast range of economic, commodity and stock market data.  It is expensive and so we have joined with Birkbeck to purchase a single copy.  Access is limited at SOAS to between 9 and 12 a.m. through a computer located in the ground floor of the Library.  Time slots may be booked from the Library Enquiry Desk on the ground floor.

World Bank Africa Database.  This is not available on ESDS and is purchased annually by the Library.  Please refer to the enquiry desk for information on the most recent version.  The Library classmark is 2006: MCD129; 2005: MCD98.

The 2005 versions of the World Bank data are still useful as a starting point to search for data as their interface is easy to use.  The data can then be updated using ESDS.

7.1.1  Economic and Social Data Services (ESDS) International

ESDS is funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee and the Economic and Social Research Council, and delivered through the Universities of Manchester and Essex.  It consists of 4 components: International; Government; Qualidata; Longitudinal, of which International is of most relevance for SOAS.

This is an excellent resource, providing not simply data, but descriptions of the data, search facilities, user guides on accessing the data using Beyond 20/20, thematic guides, software guides and information on alternative data sources.

Login to ESDS is currently in transition. Until the service moves solely to Federated access in July 2009, there will be two methods of accessing ESDS International data: (1) Federated access (e.g., Shibboleth) and (2) access via Athens.

Full details are available from the website, but as an indication of the range of data available, the following are the data sources:
www.esds.ac.uk

ESDS International Annual Conference
    30 November 2009, Institute of Materials, London
    http://www.esds.ac.uk/international/news/conf.asp

Also ESDS presentation at SOAS scheduled in early 2010 (Date TBC).

In addition ESDS provide comprehensive data guides, essential to good data analysis.
http://www.esds.ac.uk/international/access/access.asp

7.1.2  United Nations Common Database.

Since May 2007 the United Nations has made access to its common database free, and with subscription.  The UN Common Database (UNCDB) has since been replaced by a new system, UNdata, which was launched in February 2008. Though available through ESDS International, the United Nations site provides access to documentation of methods and classifications.

http://data.un.org/

7.1.3  National Statistical Offices.

The National Statistical Offices of a country are likely to be the original source of any macro-economic data, and often provide data series through their websites.   A list of data sources by country has been collected at the University of Auckland, which can be used to locate the national statistical office, or alternatively, try Google.
http://www.offstats.auckland.ac.nz/

In addition, governments from the developed world have departments relating to international development, which can be used to investigate development policies and are sources of papers and reports.  These tend to have the  .gov domain rather than the .org domain their addresses.  For example
The Department for International Development
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
http://www.sida.se/English/
USAID
http://www.usaid.gov/

7.2  Survey Data.

The World Bank and other international organisations have invested a great deal of time and money in improving survey methods in the developing world.  Much of the data collected in surveys is available now on-line, usually after specifying the research you are going to undertake.  

Aside from the large institutions, surveys are undertaken by Universities and charities, making it worth searching the web for information.  

7.2.1  The International Household Survey Network.

Motivated by the desire to measure the Millenium Development Goals, this site is an outcome of the 2004 Marakkech Action Plan for Statistics.  Of particular interest is the Central Survey Catalogue which allows a search of surveys by country.
http://www.internationalsurveynetwork.org/home/index.php

7.2.2  Demographic and Health Surveys (USAID).

The site contains data and documentation for nationally representative surveys, carried out at regular intervals, for a range of developing countries.  The data is available on application, and then can be downloaded from the site.  There is also a facility to download specific statistics directly from the site.
http://www.measuredhs.com/  

7.2.3  Living Standard Measurement Studies (World Bank).

Implemented in a wide range of countries, the living standard measurement study surveys have been used to measure poverty.  The site contains access to some of the data, and to a great deal of useful background information.
http://go.worldbank.org/IPLXWMCNJ0

7.2.4  Firm Level Data.

Increasingly data is available on surveys of firms in various developing countries. Firm Analysis and Competitiveness Surveys for the World Bank, aim to provide firm level data from developing countries, collected with a common instrument and methodology.  The site Includes data from Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asian countries.
http://go.worldbank.org/CGO8TPY1T0

The Centre for the Study of African Economies website also lists firm-level data for a number of African countries.
http://www.csae.ox.ac.uk/datasets/main.html

7.2.5 Linking Macro and Micro Data.

ESDS has put together a training resource on combining micro data (survey data) with data from the large macro economic collections.  This site consists of notes, exercises and examples of best practice.
http://www.esds.ac.uk/international/elearning/limmd/

7.2.6    Practical Exemplars and Survey Analysis (PEAS).

A site devoted to providing examples of the correct analysis of survey data, taking into full consideration the sample design.  This authoritative site is sponsored by NatCen, the ESRC, Napier University and the Research Methods programme.
http://www2.napier.ac.uk/depts/fhls/peas/index.htm

8.  General Internet Resources.

8.1  The Economics Network of the Higher Education Academy.

Designed to help Economics Lecturers, this site contains a great deal of useful information for anyone learning economics..  
http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/  

8.1.2 The Internet Economist.

Constructed by the Higher Education Academy, Economics, this on-line tutorial is a good place to learn how to use the internet specifically for Economics research.  It is quick to complete and introduces the user to a range of specifically Economics related sites.
http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/he/tutorial/economist  

8.1.3 Data.

The site provides links to a full range of freely available data sources, and those requiring subscriptions.
http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/links/data_free.htm

8.1.4  Handbooks.

The lecturers handbook is a useful source for new Economics lecturers.
http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/handbook/

There is a similar handbook for teaching assistants in economics.
http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/handbook/gta/

8.2.  Search Engines.

A first port of call to find information is to use a search engine such as Google.  Frequently this is an excellent way of finding information, though care should be taken to evaluate the quality of the source.  

Some alternatives that are geared specifically for the academic community are as follows:
Intute is a search engine designed and supported by the UK academic community.  It is backed by an amalgamation of UK Universities and supported by Joint Information Systems Committee.
http://www.intute.ac.uk/
Google has also branched out into academic searches with Google Scholar.
http://scholar.google.com/

8.3  The Anatomy of a Uniform Resource Locater (URL).  

(from the Internet Economist site referenced above).
The address or URL of a site can be an indicator of the source of information and so its quality and reliability.

URL

What's this?

Tell me more...

http://

Transfer Protocol

The first part of the URL is called the protocol. It tells your browser how to deal with the file that it is about to open. The most common you will see is HTTP, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol.

www.intute

Server Name

This refers to the computer (or server) where the Web pages or files you want to view are hosted. It usually contains the name of the organisation responsible for the site; in this case, "intute" (representing Intute).

ac

Top Level Domain/Organisational Code

This tells you something about the type of organisation responsible for the site (see below for more information).

uk

Country Code

This tells you in which country the site is hosted (find out more below).

news

Directory

This is a specific folder of information on the server (although it's not always given). There can be any number of these in a URL, indicated by "/" characters.

index.html

File Name / File Type

This is the file you are, or will be viewing. In this case, .html is the file extension. This can change depending on the type of file: eg .mov is a video file; .doc is a document; .gif is an image.

Note that the one country that does not have a country locater is the USA.  Some of the domain and organisational codes differ between the UK and the USA, for example ac for academic in the UK, as opposed to edu for educational in the USA.  

8.4  International Organisations.

The major international organisations such as the World Bank, the ILO, the various United Nations Agencies, all have their own websites and are valuable resources for articles, data and information on development in general.  

The websites share the domain .org, so commonly the web address will be www.****.org  where the institution's name replaces the ****.
For example:
www.fao.org www.ilo.org www.iadp.org www.ifpri.org  www.imf.org  www.undp.org  www.unido.org www.who.org  www.worldbank.org

Many of the large sites have sub-sites, for example the Living Standards Measurement Study of the World Bank
http://go.worldbank.org/IPLXWMCNJ0

Or the specific site to download World Bank documents
http://go.worldbank.org/H1Q3T60M80

Many of the MSc courses reference articles directly For example, the Growth and Development course references discussion papers at IFPRI, the World Bank, UNDP and IADB on their reading list.

8.5.  Software Guides.

There are many guides for a range of software on the web, some attached to course descriptions from Universities some not.  The very best that I have found for SPSS and STATA is that of the Academic Technology Services Department of UCLA.  UCLA has a famous statistics department as well, no doubt contributing to the work of Technology Services.  The site contains seminars, short movies, textbook examples and even web books on for example regression with STATA or with SPSS.  

For a full range of resources on SPSS
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/spss/default.htm

For a full range of resources on STATA
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/default.htm

8.6  On-Line Statistics Books.

There are a large number of statistics books available on the web.  In addition the notes from a wide range of statistical courses are available.  As usual, Google is a good place to start, but the following couple are particularly good.

Created by StatSoft Inc, the makers of the statistical software STATISTICA, this is an excellent statistics book, incorporating some dynamic graphics.
(Electronic Version): StatSoft, Inc. (2007). Electronic Statistics Textbook. Tulsa, OK: StatSoft. WEB: http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stathome.html

Statnotes by Prof G.David Garson provides clear, outlines of major statistical techniques, and references to further reading. http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/PA765/statnote.htm


9.  The Careers Department.

Located in room G12 on the ground floor of the main building opposite the main lifts, the careers department provides a range of resources that should help planning your next steps.  An events brochure will be available from the Careers Service at the beginning of term.

General information is available on their hompage.
http://www.soas.ac.uk/careers/ 

SOAS has been particularly successful in placing postgraduate economists on the Overseas Development Institute fellowship scheme, which provides two-year placements for postgraduate economists in the public sector of developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Information on the scheme is available from the ODI website.
http://www.odi.org.uk/fellows/index.html

The Government Economic Service is another major employer, and it will be holding an open day on Friday, 23 October 2009 - however there are no more places available - the next GES Open Day will take place in Spring 2010, details of which are available from the following website.  
http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/networks/professional/ges/events.aspx

Of particular interest is the Working in Development site.
http://www.careers.lon.ac.uk/output/Page615.asp

And within that, the Careers Department has gathered together information of major employers of graduate economists in development.
http://www.careers.lon.ac.uk/files/pdf/SOASEconomist.pdf

10.  Library Resources.

10.1  Federation/ Shibboleth Access. 

Since Friday 5th September 2008, SOAS has replaced the use of the Athens authentication system with a new system (UK Federation/Shibboleth) which will allow you to use your SOAS id and password to access resources (Athens usernames and passwords will no longer be valid).

The new system will allow you to access all of the same resources as before, including access to the ESDS and collections of on-line journals.

10.2  On-Line Journals.

If you have a reference, the simplest way to obtain journal articles is to download them on-line.  The Library subscribes to a number of provides of journal articles, such as JSTOR and Academic Premier.

The easiest way to access the journals is to use the A-Z of Library journals available from SOAS.
http://atoz.ebsco.com/home.asp?Id=soas

Ex:  Find and download an article entitled Graphs in Statistical Analysis by F.J.Anscombe, The American Statistician, Vol 27, No 1 (Feb. 1973).  This is a famous article and the data will be used in QM1 and Research Methods 1.

Many of the reading lists will flag that articles are available in electronic format.  See for example the reading list for Growth and Development.  In week one there are a number of articles in a journal that you will use frequently in more than one of your courses, namely World Development.

Ex: Locate the following article taken from the Growth and Development reading list for lecture 1.  
1.     (E) M. McGillivray (1991) ‘Redundant Composite Development Indicator,’ World Development 19 (10), pp.1461-1468, ISBN 0305-750X.

10.3  Bibliographic Databases.

Bibliographic databases are used to locate articles and books on a topic of interest.  A citations database will list the references from a book and article allowing you to build up a bibliography on a specific topic.  

Of particular interest are the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Econlit and the ISI Web of Knowledge, the latter of which includes the Web of Science, which in turn includes the Social Science Citations Index.  Both of these are accessible through the library and from outside of SOAS via the UK Federation/Shibboleth using the SOAS username and password.  From within the library a good starting point is the bibliographies home page.
http://www.soas.ac.uk/library/resources/indices/

The searches can be undertaken by topic or by author.  In both instances the easiest way to build up a bibliography is to have the results sent to you by email.

Ex:  Using the Social Sciences Citation Index locate articles and books by Ben Fine and email them to yourself.  (Hint: when asked for institutions linked to the author include all spellings of Birkbeck, SOAS, CEPSA and the University of London).

10.4  Economics Subject Guide.

The Library has put together a range of on-line resources relating to Economics which are accessed from their subject guide pages.
http://www.soas.ac.uk/library/subjects/economics/

10.5  Exam papers.

Past exam papers are available at
http://www.soas.ac.uk/library/resources/exams/

11. Miscellaneous.

11.1 Economics Jokes.

Not always that funny.
http://netec.mcc.ac.uk/JokEc.html

11.2 Bad Science.

First prize 2007 Royal Statistical Society Prize for Statistical Excellence in Journalism won by Ben Goldacre of the The Guardian.
http://www.badscience.net/?p=230

11.3  Dynamic Presentations of Descriptive Statistics.

Gapminder is the site for Prof. Hans Rosling’s presentations of development statistics.  
www.gapminder.org