The UK Data Service is available for free for those in Further and Higher Education. It consists of a portfolio of statistical databanks that collectively provide global economic, social and environmental data. Data is aggregated to country or regional level and is available as far back as 50 years. Although described as ‘UK’ this resource also provides a wealth of international macro data from the IMF, OECD and World Bank.
2) Click the Sign in link
3) Sign in with your normal University username and password (the same one you use for my.bham)
4) Into the search box type: UK Data Service
5) Change the Everything drop down menu so that it now reads: --Online items
6) Click the Search button
7) Find UK Data Service in the results list (it will have a Database picture next to it).
8) Click the View Online link (if you get asked to enter your username and password sign in with your normal university username and password).
If this is the first time you have been into the UK Data Service you will need to register (if you have been into the site before, proceed to the next section on Using UK Data Service once Registered):
9) Click on the Registration Form link
10) Fill in the requested details on the form
11) Submit form and wait for a confirmatory e-mail (5-10 minutes)
12) To complete the registration click on the web link contained within your confirmatory e-mail (if this doesn’t work copy and paste the address into your browser)
13) You will then receive an e-mail (containing a copy of the End User Licence) telling you that your registration is complete
14) Next time you log into UK Data Service from FindIt@bham you should be taken straight to ‘Your Account’ page without the need for further log on details.
Using the UK Data Service Once Registered
1) To find statistics click on Get Data and then the Key Data link
2) Click on the International macrodata tab
In the future you can also do a search using the Discover search box to help you find datasets that relate to your topic area by doing a keyword search.
A list of data sets will appear.
3 Scroll down and click onto a title to see e.g. IMF International Financial Statistics to see the record for that result.
NB: All of the different data providers work in different ways so you may want to open the Full Record of an item and then select the Related Studies and Guides section so that you can get more information about how to use that dataset.
4) Click the Access link
5) You may have to Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the Access Online button.
6) Navigate your way using the index on the left side of the screen. Click on the + symbols to expand the range of options.
