[01 What you’ll learn]
In this exercise, we’ll look at how to find the same data for multiple countries at once, using the Economics by Concept database. Then, we'll try to compare and measure how each country has recovered after the financial crisis, by the using rebase analysis. Finally, we will apply some basic charting adjustments.
[02 Finding data - introduction]
The first step is to find the data. Since we’re looking at comparing an indicator across countries, we should start by taking a look at the Economics by Concept database. For this exercise, we’ll use GDP from National Sources.
[03 Finding data – by Concept]
You can find GDP series under National Accounts. Now we just need to select the countries we are interested in and add the series to the document. To add multiple series at once, hold on CTRL while selecting series. And then press “Add selected Series”.
[04 Analysis Tree – introduction]
Now that we’ve added our series to the document, let’s move on to the Analysis tree. As you can see, by default a time chart is already in place below the series list. Right now, it shows the raw series. Let’s insert a Rebase analysis before the chart to compare their evolution.
[05 Rebase analysis]
In Rebase, the next step is to define the settings for our analysis. We’ll use the Absolute Method and set the base date to the 1st of January 2008. To apply these settings to the rest of the series, we will use the fill-down arrow. To see the result click on time chart.
[06 Editing the chart – start date]
We have our analysis in place, but the chart could still be improved a bit to suit our purposes. We can adjust the time range, like clicking on the X-axis and looking up the command bar, at the Presentation properties tab. Under Display range, we will set the start date to 2008.
[07 Editing the chart – title]
To edit text, double click on a text element, such as the chart title, and adjust the text in the editor that pops up.
[08 Editing the chart – legend text]
To edit the legend text for a specific series, you’ll need to double click on its graph in the chart. Clicking on the legend itself allows you to edit the legend as a whole. To tidy it up a bit, we can remove the analysis text.
[09 Editing the chart – horizontal line]
To add the finishing touch let’s highlight the reference value, which in this case is 100. Click on the Chart annotations tab and select horizontal line. You can place it manually, but if you want to make sure it’s in the exact position, type it in, here.
[10 Conclusions]
If you want to save the document you can do so via the file menu. You can also export the chart to Microsoft Office by right clicking on it selecting Copy, and pasting it into an Office document. And that’s how it’s done.