Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

MEL’s Database of the Week for 4/9/10

April 9th, 2010

Welcome to Database of the Week — a feature from the Management & Economics Library (MEL).  These weekly database snapshots will give you basic information about our most relevant and beneficial online resources.

Database name: SimplyMap, from Geographic Research, Inc.

Link: www.lib.purdue.edu/mel, in the pull down Quick Access to Business Databases alpha list right below the Libraries’ search box.

Description/focus: SimplyMap is a graphical interface that displays demographic, business, and marketing data.

Start with this hint: Our subscription to SimplyMap only permits 2 simultaneous users so try again later if you cannot connect.  SimplyMap works best with the creation of a personal workspace, but you can login to just try it.  Once you are in SimplyMap, select your geographical location on the left and hit Go. Next click on the Variables tab where you can search (ok) or browse (better) to select characteristics such as population by age, race, or income.  Click Add Selected Variables.  You can add another geographic area if you want a comparison, and add more variables such as employment, language, or education. Close the Variables tab and hit Update to redraw the map.   The map displays one variable at a time.  To see the raw data in a spreadsheet, select the Reports tab.

Why you should know this database: One of the features offered through our subscription to SimplyMap is the opportunity to set up a “Professor Workspace” where you can select the geographic location and variables for a space to share with your class. The datasets include governmental data (the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Expenditure Survey), as well as survey data gathered by companies such as MRI, Dun & Bradstreet, Environics Analytics, and the Neilson Company (Choices 3). Because usage is not intuitive, however, we recommend the tutorial videos.

How this database can be integrated into the curriculum: We can arrange one-on-one training so you can get the most efficient use of this product.

Cost:  2 seats, paid annually by the Libraries.

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Database of the Week comes to you from the Management & Economics Library (MEL). Our intent is to give you a brief introduction to a database that you may not know.  If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact kranlib@purdue.edu.  Database of the Week is archived  at https://blogs.lib.purdue.edu/news/category/MGMT/.  For more Purdue Libraries news, follow us on Twitter (@PurdueLibraries).

If you would like us to promote your favorite database, send an email to mdugan@purdue.edu.