Searching for data

Need data for your article or paper? As a VU student, staff member and lecturer, you can use the commercial databases to which the University Library subscribes free of charge. There are also many public, freely accessible databases - such as CBS and the OECD. Furthermore, we are happy to support you in searching for data. Check out the possibilities here.

Which data do you need?

Economic and financial data
Economic and financial databases, such as LSEG Workspace and SDC Platinum, contain company data, stock prices, market research and macroeconomic information.

Geographical, demographic and sociological data
The databases CBS, OECD, EU and the World Bank contain sociological and demographic data in addition to economic data. Often, geographical information is also available for the corresponding data. On VU Geoplaza you can download geographical data or display your own data on existing maps.

Access to the University Library databases
Some databases can only be used on computers on campus that have special software installed. In the Libguide: Finding Data you can read how you can use the databases for which the library has licenses.

Do you need support with searching for data?

Data search and processing support
Online Libguides Finding data and Working with data.

Finding data helps you find data you need for your research in business economics and related fields. It includes general information on translating your research question into data needs, and provides information on useful sources for specific types of data.

The Libguide Working with data provides advice on, among other things: organising your data, merging different datasets and using different software tools.

Special question? Visit the walk-in hours or make an appointment
Do you have a question that is not answered in the online courses or workshops? Then you can visit during the (online) walk-in hours:
• In January and February on Wednesdays from 13:00 till 16:00.
• From April till June on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 13:00 till 16:00.
It is also possible to make a personal appointment using the contact details below.

Are you a VU student or researcher?

The Data Support team can support you in:
• translating your research question into a search query
• building a high-quality dataset

Are you a teacher and do you teach a subject that requires students to work a lot with data?

Team Data Support can help you:
• set up a lesson or develop a workshop
• find suitable data to use for exercises or examples

Which data do you need?

Do you need support with searching for data?

Are you a VU student or researcher?

Questions about the use of data?