Data Sources
There are a large number of dataset repositories, catalogs and portals which can be used in business research. This page presents a selected list of resources, organized in broad categories by type of data:
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Identifying alternate data sources
Use Library Research Guides
Search Institutional Repositories
Conducting Primary Research
Researchers also conduct primary research, collecting and managing their own original data.
- Research Data ManagementIf this is an area that interests you, please review UBC Library's Research Data Management guide.
Obtain help
Data limits
Most databases only allow you to download a certain amount of data. It is crucial that students stick to those limits, otherwise there might be implications on our database licenses. Information about data limits for databases is found on the resource page for each database. For example:
If you have questions about data limits about a particular resource that isn’t answered on its information page, please contact the library:
Large Data Sets
These sources enable you to access large sets of data, which will assist you with the assignment in which you have to analyze over 1,000 data points.
- Abacus Data Repository This link opens in a new windowAbacus is UBC's collection of data sets, including public use microdata from Statistics Canada, public opinion polls, and geospatial data. Look here for Statistics Canada surveys and data.
- CANSIM (CANadian Socioeconomic Information Management) Database (Statistics Canada) This link opens in a new windowCANSIM is a comprehensive database from Statistics Canada containing more than 52 million numeric time series covering a wide variety of social and economic indicators.
- Canadian Census Analyser This link opens in a new windowCanadian Census Analyser features census profiles for multiple levels of geography as far back as 1961, online analysis of public use microdata files 1971- , and postal code conversion files 1996- .
- Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) This link opens in a new window
- NesstarAllows users to perform basic analyses of data using only a web browser. Cross-tabulations, graphs, regressions and more can be performed without any complex and expensive additional statistical software. Supported by UBC's Data Library.
- Roper Center for Public Opinion Research This link opens in a new windowA vast collection of public opinion polling data and information from the United States and international sources. Main features are downloadable data sets and a large question bank.
- Trade Analyser Database This link opens in a new windowThe Trade Analyser Database has detailed statistics on Canada's merchandise trade with other countries, 1988- . Use for: finding Canadian import and export data and world trade data.
Financial Data
- Bloomberg This link opens in a new windowInvestment analysis database. Use to find stock prices, ratios, betas, business news, freight rates, stock exchange members, etc. Available on specific machines in the Canaccord Learning Commons, Wayne Deans Investment Analysis Centre (current Sauder students and faculty and staff only) and UBCO Library.
- Datastream This link opens in a new windowInternational economic, company and financial data, that can be downloaded for analysis, display and print
- IMF eLibrary Data This link opens in a new windowAnnual, monthly, and quarterly financial and economic time series for more than 200 countries and over 40 regional and special groups of countries.
- OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new windowA complete online collection of journals, books, and statistical series and databases published by the OECD since 1998. Use for: full-text access to books, journals and statistics from the OECD.
- Pew Research Internet ProjectAuthoritative source on the evolution of the internet through surveys that examine how Americans use the internet and how their activities affect their lives.
- Standard & Poor's Capital IQ This link opens in a new windowComprehensive database of global public and private companies, banks, investment firms and M&A transactions.
- TSX-CFMRC This link opens in a new windowData from the TSX Group (includes the Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Markets and TSX Datalinx). Contains historical stock prices and other corporate financial data for TSE and TSX-listed companies.
- WRDS (Wharton Research Data Services) This link opens in a new windowWRDS is a Web platform hosting data from Standard & Poor's Compustat, CRSP, CSMAR, Execucomp, Global Insight, I/B/E/S,Thomson Reuters Mutual Fund (s12) Holdings, and Institutional (13f) Holdings and more.
- US Bureau of Transportation StatisticsPresents statistics on the U.S. transportation system, including its physical components, safety record, economic performance, the human and natural environment, and national security.
Economics and Social Sciences Databases
- Data.govData.gov is the home of the U.S. Government’s open data. Federal, state and local data, tools, and resources to conduct research, build apps, design data visualizations are freely available.
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS) DataThe UBC Library provides access to GIS resources, including data, hardware, software and tutorials.
- Government PublicationsKoerner Library is a full depository library for the Government of Canada. Government publications are excellent providers of primary source materials, covering topics diverse enough to be of interest to researchers in every discipline
- Penn World TablePWT is a database with information on relative levels of income, output, inputs and productivity, with country and period coverage depending on the release.
- UNdata This link opens in a new windowSelected statistics from the entire UN system. Summary tables cover agriculture, population, industry, national accounts, energy, health, human development, trade, refugees, education, employment, and technology.
- World Bank Data This link opens in a new windowDevelopment-oriented statistics from the World Bank: social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental indicators for over 200 countries and 18 country groups, covering 1960 to the present.
Help Finding Data
- Contact Librarian Irena TrebicDavid Lam Business Liaison Librarian for PhD and MSc students
Nature Masterclasses online modules
Nature Masterclasses offers 15 modules, covering the entire publishing process including Data Management, Data Presentation, Authorship and Authors’ Responsibilities, Peer Review, Selecting a Journal, etc., edited by Nature journal editors.
UBC graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, staff and faculty may register with their UBC e-mail and access the training. Access is available from any UBC computer, including UBC-Okanagan. If accessing from home, you must first VPN in.
Basic Visualization Tools
The following tools were written for people with little or no programming experience and have an intuitive user interface.
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Tableau PublicA desktop application that lets users simply analyze and visualize data sets. Free and paid versions. University students and faculty can download the full version for free.
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Many EyesA web-based tool designed by IBM that lets you visualize and share your own datasets in various ways. Free.
SPSS & NVivo Workshops and Consultations - Koerner Library
- Research CommonsThe Research Commons at Koerner Library offers workshops and one-on-one consultations on SPSS statistical analysis software and NVivo qualitative data analysis software.