Introduction to Datastream
Francesco Franco
Datastream is a program designed for navigating massive amounts of data. It allows access and interaction with the Datastream International databases in London. Each type of data is organized by a code number. The data can be displayed, analyzed or downloaded with different methods, each one organized by a program number. You input a command through the command line or the menus.
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First steps : Open Datastream, observe the main program window. Control functions in
Datastream fall into two categories, those that are aimed towards finding a program number and others that are for finding data codes. The first line Program Number: is the command line. Immediately below you have two menus Type of Request and Type of Data.
The Type of Request menu allows to choose the method to retrieve data (equally you can directly input the program number in the command line).
-Reports : produces a variety of output in for of tables. It is useful to obtain information such as economic indicators for a country over a short time span. As an example click on Reports in the Type of Request, then on Economics in the Type of Data and finally on Economic Indicators in the Programs Available. The program number 150F appears in the command line. Let’s check the Key Indicators of your favorite country.