Data ID

A unique identification number used for quick reference.

Title

Name of the database as supplied by the authors or data vendors.

Data Provider

Depending on the individual data set, this field may include:
- name of the researcher who provided the data
- name of the institution who collected the data
- name of the institution who commissioned the data collection

Country

Countries that are included in a data set.

Data Access

Not all data is directly downloadable from this website. DDCN also points to data available at other institutions and hence acts as a data locator. Under "Data Access" we let the user know if the data is archived at DDCN or available at other websites, etc. Click here to read about all seven options. 

Time Period

The time period (or dates) to which the data refer.

Data Category

DDCN has two data categories:
Macro data refers to data at the national (or country) level.
Micro data covers survey and registry data at the individual, household or firm level.

Data Type

We distinguish between three data types.
Cross Section: Survey data from a set of units at one particular point in time.
Time Series: Observations of a variable made over time. Time Series can also be constructed from cross sectional studies if the same questions are asked more than once over time.
Panel (Longitudinal): The same individuals (or households, or firms) are interviewed over time. 

Data Frequency

Frequency of the variables in the datasets. It could be annual, quarterly, monthly, daily, hourly, etc.

Unit of Observation

Refers to the unit of analysis in the dataset: country, region, household, individual, firm, etc.

Abstract

Short description of the dataset, prepared by DDCN using the documentation supplied by the data provider.

Variables

Contains examples of the main variables in the data set.

Article/Working Paper

Some of the data sets we archive have been used in working papers or journal articles. We provide the user with the reference (and sometimes the link) for the publication which used the respective data study. This reference has an informative purpose. It is left up the the user to follow up and identify all studies that have used a specific data set. Portals like Econlit, Jstor or Web of Science could help.

Funding Agency

Name of the institution who sponsored the data collection or acquisition.

Data Location

Name of the institution or person who distributes the data. For example, DDCN is a data distributor for all data sets downloadable from this website.

Link/Email

If the data can be obtained directly from DDCN this field will have "Download Data" as a link which will take the user to the data, provided they are already logged in or to the registration page. If the data are available from other websites, we provide the user with direct link to where the data is. If a person needs to be contacted in order to access the data, we indicate the contact's email address.

Cost

Free of charge: the data is available at no cost to the user.
Small fee (less $500): the data set is not free but it can be purchased from the data provider and the price is under $500.
Fee (typically over $1,000): commercial databases are typically under this category. The users would like to check with their affiliated institutions to see if they own such databases or would consider acquiring them.
ALL data downloadable directly from DDCN is currently free of charge.

Notes

Additional data information, not covered by the above fields. For example, we note here particular features of the website where the data resides, information on plans to extend the databases, information on the quality of the documentation, etc.

Date Added

Date when the dataset description was made available on line on the DDCN website.