May 26, 2001 Volume 4, Number 5
CONTENTS
* Introduction - Editor's Comments
* What's New at www.gdsourcing.ca
* Statistics Canada releases
* The Antidote for Keyword Searches
* CANSIM II
* Small Business Stats Facts
RETURN
TO ARCHIVES
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INTRODUCTION - EDITOR'S COMMENTS
Hello,
Welcome to this issue of the BR Newsletter.
Yes we are still in business! I know. I know. No newsletter for 5
weeks, two weeks without a Stats Fact of the week, no Internet StatsPack
for a few months... Well we are back! Well actually we did not really go
anywhere. We were frantically trying the complete the 5th edition of
Researching a Small Business. We have had unprecedented interest in it
this year and I know many people have been anxiously waiting for the new
edition. I am glad to say:
RESEARCHING A SMALL BUSINESS 2001 IS NOW AVAILABLE!
We got a bit carried away with the updates this time nearly doubling
the size of the guide to 676 pages. The source lists are now organized by
subsector and have been increased by over 1200 entries. These include the
latest Stats Can reports, industry association surveys reported in trade
periodicals and all private sector surveys released through Canada
Newswire in 2000 and the beginning of 2001. New information has been added
throughout, old information updated and all 3000 plus Internet links have
been checked and verified (although knowing the Internet some are already
obsolete!). Without a doubt this is our best edition ever!
We promised everyone we would maintain 2000 prices but our printing
company was not impressed with the 311 new pages so some compromises had
to be made. The electronic version is available for download at the
GDSourcing site right now at last year's price of $35.00. If you order a
paper version now we will honour last year's price of $50.00 for the next
two weeks (until June 10, 2001) After that the price will increased to the
2001 price of $65.00. Paper versions will not be ready to ship until June
1, 2001
To place an order or for more information on the guide please see:
https://www.gdsourcing.ca/gdstart.htm
We would like to thank everyone who took advantage of our 20% discount
sale on Statistics Canada publications. As I warned you in the last issue
of the newsletter the deal is now off! We will however be offering a 20%
discount on newly released publications from Statistics Canada on the week
of their release. Make sure you check our home page to see what
publications are on special each week. This week's special is Education in
Canada 2000.
It summarizes data on institutions, enrolment, graduates, teachers and
finance for all levels of education. Its 206 pages, which include 71
tables, present a comprehensive overview of the key variables in Canadian
education.
For more information see the Statistics Canada catalogue:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/IPS/Data/81-229-XIB.htm
Statistics Canada Retail price: $51.00
GDSourcing price for the next week: $40.80
To place an order see our home page (https://www.gdsourcing.ca) or send
me an e-mail ([email protected]) with your telephone number and
someone will contact you to collect shipping and payment details. Put "StatsCan"
in the subject line of your e-mail.
By the way we are still offering a 15% discount on all other Stats Can
books and a 10% discount on electronic products.
Thank you for your subscription.
I hope you find this issue helpful.
John White
Editor, BRN
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WHAT'S NEW AT www.gdsourcing.ca - LEATHER &
DRUGS, LAWYERS & POLLUTION
The following web sites were added to the GDSourcing index over the
last five weeks. GDSourcing is a reference point for free Canadian
statistics on-line.
CANADA VS THE OECD - AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMPARISON
http://www.environmentalindicators.com/
GDSourcing Site Summary:
https://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/Environmental.htm
CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF DRUGSTORES
http://www.cacds.com/
GDSourcing Site Summary:
https://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/ChainDrug.htm
LUGGAGE, LEATHERGOODS, HANDBAGS AND ACCESSORIES ASSOCIATION OF CANADA
http://www.llha.org/
GDSourcing Site Summary:
https://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/Leather.htm
LAW SOCIETY OF UPPER CANADA
http://www.lsuc.on.ca/
GDSourcing Site Summary:
https://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/Lawsociety.htm
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STATISTICS CANADA RELEASES
The following statistics were release by Statistics Canada over the
last five weeks. We have listed those releases we feel are of the most
interest to Canadian entrepreneurs.
Very few of these statistics are available on-line. The URL listed is a
direct link to the press release associated with the data. It provides
contact and ordering information.
If you want to purchase any publication or electronic products related
to these releases please contact us. We offer a 15% discount on Stats Can
publications and a 10% discount on Stats Can electronic products. You can
reach us at [email protected]. Put "StatsCan" in the subject line of
your e-mail.
AGRICULTURE
Agriculture value added account 1981 to 1999
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010508/d010508c.htm
Balance sheet of the agricultural sector at December 31 1981 to 1999
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010508/d010508d.htm
Farm business cash flows 1981 to 1999 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010508/d010508e.htm
Farm Input Price Index 2000 (preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010515/d010515c.htm
Farm families' total income 1998
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010424/d010424c.htm
Greenhouse, sod and nursery industries 2000
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010427/d010427e.htm
Production of poultry and eggs 2000 Statistics Canada (May 15, 2001)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010515/d010515d.htm
Red meat consumption 2000
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010426/d010426k.htm
COMPUTER SERVICES
Networked Canada: The information and communications technology sector
1993 to 1999
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010427/d010427f.htm
Working with computers 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010523/d010523b.htm
CONSTRUCTION
Electric utility construction price indexes 1999 (final) and 2000
(preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010419/d010419f.htm
COMMUNICATIONS
Telecommunications statistics 1998
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010412/d010412e.htm
DEMOGRAPHICS
Deaths 1998
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010523/d010523e.htm
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Foreign control in the Canadian economy 1998
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010510/d010510f.htm
Labour productivity and multifactor productivity 2000 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010522/d010522b.htm
EDUCATION
Education in Canada 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010522/b010522a.htm
Income prospects of British Columbia university graduates
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010504/d010504d.htm
Report on adult education and training in Canada: Learning a living -
1998
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010510/d010510a.htm
JUSTICE
Adult criminal court statistics 1999/2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010516/d010516b.htm
TRADE
Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey
Year 2000 and fourth quarter 2000 (preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010412/d010412a.htm
HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
Children and youth at risk: Symposium report April 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010522/d010522h.htm
The health divide: How the sexes differ
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010426/d010426a.htm
How Health are Canadians
http://www.statcan.ca:80/english/freepub/82-003-XIE/free.htm
Health Indicators April 2001
http://www.statcan.ca:80/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/00401/toc.htm
Repeat users of Employment Insurance 1997
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010427/d010427c.htm
HOSPITALITY - TOURISM
Domestic travel
Year 2000 and fourth quarter 2000 (preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010417/d010417e.htm
"Canada benefiting from cruising boom," Travel-log Statistics Canada
(cat#87-003) (Spring 2001)
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010424/b010424a.htm
"Survey of Adventure Travel Operators 1999"
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010509/d010509d.htm
MANUFACTURING
Annual Survey of Manufacturers - 1999
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010523/d010523f.htm
Quarterly Business Conditions Survey: Manufacturing industries
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010504/d010504a.htm
PRIMARY SECTOR
Production and value of wildlife pelts 1998 (revised) and 1999
(preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010426/d010426l.htm
TRANSPORTATION
Operating and employment statistics for railways 1999
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010426/d010426m.htm
Road motor vehicle registrations 2000 (preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca:80/Daily/English/010426/d010426f.htm
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THE ANTIDOTE FOR KEYWORD SEARCHES
We live in a time when the availability of information has never been
greater. Unfortunately, as the volume of data and reports grows
exponentially, the ability to effectively access this information is
collapsing under the weight.
It is impossible to read everything so information specialists,
librarians and researchers are relying more and more on computer
databases. While the keyword search is an effective research tool, it
should not be the only research tool employed.
You must keep in mind that a keyword search is usually executed on a
database that contains a series of five or less "fields": title, author,
publisher, publication date and description (25 words or less). No matter
how concise a cataloguer is, their description cannot cover much more than
a mere "shadow" of a report/study. Add to that the fact that typos are not
uncommon, and terminology is not always standard and you can see how
flawed a keyword search can be.
A keyword search that indicates "no result" does not really tell you
anything. It simply says the data you are looking for, the way you
described it, is not covered in the title, author or description fields of
a database citation.
There are some databases where you are given the illusion that you are
searching the content of entire documents, notably periodical databases
and the Internet but do not be fooled. This is never the case.
In 1999 Internet search engines covered 1/6th of the content of the
Internet. By the end of 2000 that number dropped to 1/500th. The principal
reason for this is the increased use of file formats such as pdf and
dynamic databases that are all but invisible to search engines. In fact I
rarely find the exact information I am looking for anymore through an
Internet search engine. Search engines will identify sites and on-line
communities but the data itself is usually buried beyond their reach.
Similarly, periodical databases are not complete representations of
magazines or newspapers. First of all each periodical database covers a
different range of newspapers and magazines. And secondly nearly all of
them only cover the text of an article. Statistical information is often
presented in a graphical format which is rarely translated into a
database. Unless a specific reference to data is made in an article (which
is not always the case) you would never know through a keyword search that
the data you wanted was included in the article.
So how do your counter the shortcomings of the keyword search. First of
all you must take a creative approach to research. Think beyond the data
you are looking for to the sources of the type of data you need. Who might
collect the type of information you need? Who would also be interested in
the data you require? Search for these sources and then - the key to
research success - BROWSE.
Unscientific - you bet cha! Time consuming - definitely! Effective - no
question about it!
Of course when I say "browse" I do not mean you should start flipping
through every book in the library. What I mean is take the time to
actually look through sources related to your industry and market. Use
contacts and keyword searching as a means to put yourself in the right
research location whether that be a specific shelve in the library, a
particular periodical related to your industry or market or a specialized
Internet community. Once you find that location then take the time to
actually look at the documents there.
If it is a library shelve take the books off the shelf and read through
the table of contents and index. If it is a particular periodical look
through a hard copy version of the publication. If a hard copy version is
not available, look through an electronic version. Keyword search on the
publication's title. This will give you a list of every article from the
publication available in the database you are searching. By browsing
through articles in this way you often find topics and trends you never
considered. You may also find industry or market specific terminology you
can then use for keyword searching in other databases.
On the Internet you will generally find that web sites from particular
industries cluster together. They provide links to one other or reference
one another in their content. Most often the hub for a particular
industry's Internet community is an association web site but in many cases
it is a particular company that has established a strong Internet
presence. You will want to browse through all related web sites. Carefully
sift the content on each looking for relevant references, contacts and
links.
We recently did research related to small claims court in Canada and
collections agencies. Some of the key information we found was entirely
hidden from keyword searches. First of all we knew from related newspaper
articles that small claims courts in Canada have undergone numerous
changes over the last ten years. We therefore went to the government
documents section of a reference library and looked in the section under
the provincial Attorney General. There we found Law Reform Commission
reports. Included in one such report was a chapter on small claims court
which referenced available data and commented on it. From that "hidden"
information we were then able to track down two other reports.
Browsing also helped us to find key data related to collections
agencies such as the percentage of businesses that used collections
agencies in Ontario in the last five years (15%). The data came from a pdf
file (invisible to Internet search engines) located at the Law Society of
Upper Canada's web site in a report entitled: Report of the Paralegal Task
Force (This is included in our site summary added last week: https://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/Lawsociety.htm
We knew from the law commission report mentioned above that lawyers,
paralegals and collections agencies all went to small claims court for
their clients. When we conducted an Internet Search on paralegals we found
the Report of the Paralegal Task Force but it was not until we started
browsing the report that we found specific information on collections
agencies. This information in relation to the report is only a couple of
paragraphs and so would have never appeared in a library citation. Without
browsing it would have never been found.
Researching a new business is not something that can be accomplished in
one evening at the library and one Saturday morning on the Internet. Do
not rely solely on a keyword search. Take the time to look around and
browse, you will be reward with useful and important information.
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CANSIM II
Statistics Canada's CANISM database (the Canadian Socio-economic
Information Management database) has finally received a face-lift and
upgrade. Since 1969, CANSIM has been a point of access for tracking trends
in virtually every aspect of Canadian life, from demographics to
manufacturing to international trade.
I have always thought this database was well suited to the Internet
environment. Its chief advantages are that you can access the data
yourself (no need for a Stats Can middleman) and small data retrievals are
inexpensive ($3.00 per time series). Of course the principle draw back was
that it was a cumbersome and clunky system not well suited to new
researchers.
Happily CANSIM II (
http://cansim2.statcan.ca/) has solved the main problem while not
compromising the main advantages. Improvements include: multi-dimensional
access to make finding information easier than ever; a new user-friendly
format with improved labels, terminology and footnotes; and exhaustive
data not previously found in CANSIM on a wide range of topics. CANSIM II
contains more than 1.3 million individual data time series. Data are
updated on the day that new values for these series are released.
You can search for data by theme, keyword, table number or series
number. However I still found it somewhat difficult to find certain data
tables I was looking for that I knew were part of CANSIM! My solution to
this same problem in CANSIM I is just as effective in CANSIM II. Use the
Daily to search for key information. CANSIM tables are linked directly to
their related news releases.
The Daily is located here:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/dai-quo/index.htm
Make sure your business research includes a trip to CANSIM II. (By the
way in case you were wondering - we do not receive any commissions from
the CANSIM purchases.)
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SMALL BUSINESS STATS FACTS
Each Business Researcher Newsletter ends with a collection of five
statistics that every entrepreneur should be aware of.
1. What percentage of Small & Medium-sized businesses in Canada use the
Internet?
Spring 1999….61%
Fall 1999……..74%
Spring 2000….74%
Fall 2000……..76%
Source SES Research
2. What percentage of Small & Medium-sized businesses in Canada have
bought or sold on the Internet?
Spring 1999….27%
Fall 1999……..35%
Spring 2000….41%
Fall 2000……..40%
Source SES Research
3. How much did Small & Medium-sized businesses in Canada sell on the
Internet?
Fall 1999……..$240 million
Spring 2000….$350 million
Fall 2000……..$590 million
Source SES Research
4. How much did Small & Medium-sized businesses in Canada buy on the
Internet?
Fall 1999……..$430 million
Spring 2000….$410 million
Fall 2000……..$720 million
Source SES Research
5. What percentage of the Canada population are High Net Worth
Individuals?
High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) are those people with investable
assets of at least US$1million, excluding real estate.
4.7% or 177,000 people (a 3% raise over the number of people in 1999)
Source: Merrill Lynch and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young
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G D S O U R C I N G - R E S E A R C H & R E T R I E V A L
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