Research databases
Quantitative primary and secondary data are an important source of information for researchers and students in economics and social sciences.
Below is a selection of important research databases that are licensed at the University of Cologne or at the WiSo Faculty, or are also freely accessible on the web.
The access rules are explained in the information at the bottom of the page.
A
ALLBUS
Database description
The General Population Survey of the Social Sciences (ALLBUS) collects current data on attitudes, behaviour and social structure of the population in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Keywords: Statistics
Access information
freely accessible on the web (personal registration may be required)
Amadeus (Access via WRDS)
Database description
Access information
Access only possible with a WRDS account.
You can find out how to apply for an account here.
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The Case Centre
Database description
The Case Centre offers case studies that are published by Harvard Business Publishing, Ivey Publishing, Darden Business Publishing, INSEAD, IBS Hyderabad, IMD, London Business School and other international managementschools.
The WiSo-Faculty is member of „The Case Centre“. Staff at the WiSo Faculty get lower prices. To accomplish an order, you need to order at least 5 copies of each case study.
Order
How to order case studies:
- approved staff at the WiSo Faculty receive case studies at discounted prices as a member of The Case Centre
- the minimum order quantity is five copies of each case study (one copy must be ordered per student on the course)
- academics must independently place an order at "The Case Centre" when they need cases
- staff should ensure they select the University of Cologne when they register to receive the membership discount once they are approved
- cases should be paid for from their own departmental funds (specify your cost centre (Kostenstelle))
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by email.
Contact
CESSDA
Database description
CESSDA (Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives): The database is a collection of social data, in particular on the countries Germany, USA, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Israel, Great Britain, Netherlands and Hungary.
Keywords: Statistics
Access information
freely accessible on the web (personal registration may be required)
CRSP (Access via WRDS)
Database description
CRSP US Stock contains the current status of market and corporate action data for securities listed on NYSE, MKT, NASDAQ and Arca.
(Access via WRDS)
Keywords: Stock Prices / Markets
Access information
Access only possible with a WRDS account.
You can find out how to apply for an account here.
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Datastream (see also EIKON)
Database description
Access information
Only for members of the WiSo factual database agreement
Access to Datastream and Refinitiv Eikon is provided via a terminal. During the coronavirus pandemic, access is handled remotely via AnyDesk software.
For further information please contact us.
Deutschland in Zahlen
Database description
Statistical key figures on the development of the economy and society in Germany. The data range from labour market, purchasing power to balance of payments. In addition to regional and national statistics, there is also a lot of information on Germany in an international comparison.
Keywords: Statistics , Germany , Economy
Access information
freely accessible on the web (personal registration may be required)
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EIKON
Database description
Eikon is a service mainly for financial experts with information on commodities, equities, fixed-income securities and hedge funds, on the foreign exchange & money market and on wealth management.
Various services are available via the Eikon platform, in particular the Datastream database and the Worldscope database. The database contains tools for navigating news including videos of live and on-demand equity news broadcasts. It provides key market data, charts, time series analysis and streaming news from Reuters and other financial institutions and market research firms for price analysis and global indices of individual stocks. It also includes charts and fundamentals, proprietary data and analysis to provide actionable insights into the global equity market.
Keywords: Bonds and fixed Income , Company Info and Financial Statements , Currency Exchange Rates , Deriatives / Options , Indices and Factors , Stock Prices / Markets
Access information
Only for members of the WiSo factual database agreement
Access to Datastream and Refinitiv Eikon is provided via a terminal. During the coronavirus pandemic, access is handled remotely via AnyDesk software.
For further information please contact us.
European Social Survey
Database description
The European Social Survey is a current social science survey that examines the social and political attitudes of citizens from more than 30 European countries.
Keywords: European Union
Access information
freely accessible on the web (personal registration may be required)
EUR-Lex
Database description
EUR-Lex is a comprehensive service of the Publications Office of the European Union. The database offers inter alia access to the daily published Official Journal of the European Union. It consists of the two series L (legal regulations) and C (notifications and announcements). Moreover, there is a collection about the sources of the EU law and its lifecycles. For example, treaties, EU legal regulations, parliamentary questions and international agreements. Another service are information about the interaction of European and national law. EUR-Lex presents national jurisdiction and implementation measures. The respective national laws are accessible in the linked N-Lex.
The website also contains searchable documents about European legal procedures. With this, you can follow the development of legal acts from its proposition to its enactment.
EUR-Lex also offers assistance for the research, for example directories, summaries of the EU legislation and a document search via the bodies and institutions of the EU.
Keywords: European Union
Access information
freely accessible on the web (personal registration may be required)
Eurostat
Database description
Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union, based in Luxembourg. Its mission is to provide the Union with European statistics that allow comparisons between countries and regions.
Eurostat also provides micro-data.
Microdata are the data units on the basis of which aggregated statistics are compiled. They consist of data sets containing information about individuals or individual companies. Access to microdata from the European Commission is restricted in order to protect the anonymity of the individuals and organisations surveyed.
Keywords: Statistics , European Union
Access information
freely accessible on the web (personal registration may be required)
The WiSo faculty is recognised by the European Commission as a research institution.
If you would like to apply for microdata access authorization, please contact WiSo Library and Campus Service
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Gallup Analytics
Database description
Gallup Analytics is an online research platform that provides data on the life situation and behaviour of people in more than 160 countries. The data includes topics such as: Trust in the Economy, Trust in Leadership, External and Internal Security, Religion, Food, Environment, Migration, Freedom of the Press, Corruption and many more.
You can find more information on the WiSo public drive at: P:\wiso library and campus service\Gallup Analytics
Access information
Accessible from the university network (also by VPN)
Our subscription includes 4 individual user licenses to the respondent level datasets (raw data) for the World Poll and US Daily Polling databases.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by email.
Contact
GENESIS
Database description
GENESIS (Joint New Statistical Information System) is a metadata-based statistical information system developed jointly by the Federal and State Statistical Offices of Germany. It opens up the wide range of data offered by official statistics through metadata-based research.
Subjects: Areas of expertise: Areas, Population, Employment, Elections / Education, Social Services, Health, Health, Law / Housing, Environment / Economic activities / Foreign trade, Enterprises, Craft trades / Prices, Earnings, Income and Consumption / Public finances / Total accounts.
Keywords: Statistics , Germany
Access information
freely accessible on the web (personal registration may be required)
GICS History (Access via WRDS)
Database description
Global Industry Classification Standard is a classification scheme developed by Standard & Poor's and MSCI for the financial world for various industries.
(Access via WRDS)
Access information
Access only possible with a WRDS account.
You can find out how to apply for an account here.
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IAB
Database description
The IAB Information Platform provides structured information from labour market and career research free of charge. The selected topics contain information on: publications, research projects, institutions and further links.
Keywords: Economy
Access information
freely accessible on the web (personal registration may be required)
IBES (Access via WRDS)
Database description
The I/B/E/S database contains the earnings estimates (EPS) of banks and individual analysts. The estimates are offered to American companies (HSEPSUS) and international companies (HSEPSINT). Explore I/B/E/S on WRDS to access summary and individual analyst forecasts of company earnings, estimates and recommendations. Enhance your research using I/B/E/S, I/B/E/S Global Aggregates, I/B/E/S Key Performance Indicators (KPI), and I/B/E/S Guidance.
Within I/B/E/S, access:
- I/B/E/S Global Aggregates Extract earnings forecasts plus related data for 87 countries and major international indices — global asset allocation, cross-border valuation, sector and industry aggregation and derivatives.
- I/B/E/S Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Effectively evaluate a business and how likely it is to perform in the medium and long terms. KPIs allow researchers to effectively evaluate a business and how likely it is to perform in the medium and long terms.
- I/B/E/S Guidance Directly compare analyst and management expectations on company performance for over 8,200 companies, safe in the knowledge that they are using the same accounting basis for consistent analysis.
(Access via WRDS)
Keywords: Banks , Company Info and Financial Statements
Access information
Access only possible with a WRDS account.
You can find out how to apply for an account here.
ISY
Database description
International Statistical Yearbook (or AllThatStats)
National and international economic databases of official institutions; Eurostatistics: foreign trade, country tables, total trade, trade balance, national accounts, national accounts, economic surveys, energy, agriculture, tourism, retail trade, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, industrial development organisation, Deutsche Bundesbank, German Federal Statistical Office, German Institute for Economic Research, OECD.
Contains over 1.8 million quarterly, half-yearly and annual time series since 1960.
Keywords: Statistics
Access information
Accessible from the university network (by VPN)
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MarketLine Advantage
Database description
MarketLine Advantage is a database in which international market, industry and company research can be carried out. The data is prepared according to the following types of information:
- Industry profiles for searches by industries and markets in different countries. These provide a concise overview of the market situation
- Company profiles with data on company history, business activity, competitor companies, partly with SWOT analyses, etc.
- Case studies
- Country information with macroeconomic framework data and indicators, as well as a political overview (PEST / PESTLE)
- News archive for industry-related news (Company News, Financial Deals)
Number of data sets: more than 6,000 industry profiles, more than 100,000 company profiles (with more than 12,000 SWOT analyses) more than 18,000 company financial information, more than 450 case studies and about 110 country analyses
Depending on the licence, it is also possible to use the interactive databases to create your own datasets and analyses.
Language: English. Update: daily
Keywords: Economy
Access information
Accessible from the university network (by VPN)
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MF Links (Access via WRDS)
Database description
The MF Links database offers tables that provide a reliable way to link CRSP Mutual Fund data (fund development, costs, further information) to the securities portfolio data of the Mutual Fund Ownership Current and History database of Thomson Reuters. (Access via WRDS)
Keywords: Stock Prices / Markets
Access information
Access only possible with a WRDS account.
You can find out how to apply for an account here.
Morningstar Direct
Database description
Morningstar Direct provides comprehensive data on investments worldwide. The database contains data points on portfolios, performance, risk and master data.
Keywords: Company Info and Financial Statements
Access information
Access only for members of the WiSo factual database agreement.
For further information please contact us.
Contact
Mutual Fund Ownership (Access via WRDS)
Database description
The database provides information on securities holdings for all registered investment funds that report their holdings to the SEC. The securities include all NYSE/AMEX/NASDAQ, Toronto, and Montreal ordinary shares. (Access via WRDS)
Keywords: Stock Prices / Markets
Access information
Access only possible with a WRDS account.
You can find out how to apply for an account here.
Nexis
Database description
(formerly LexisNexis/Economy)
The database contains international press releases, company and financial information, information on people from business, politics and current affairs, sector data, country reports and legal information.
Keywords: Comapny Info and Financial Statements , Economy
Access information
Accessible from the university network (by VPN)
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OECD iLibrary
Database description
OECD iLibrary is the online library of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It provides access to all OECD studies and statistics and can be considered one of the largest online libraries for data and analysis on economics, social issues and the environment. Depending on the licence, access is available to
- electronic books, about 300 new e-books per year
- electronic journals, containing a large part of the publications by the OECD since 1998
- working papers
- statistic databases of the OECD
Since 1.3.2022, the IEA statistics module is included in the licence of the University of Cologne.
Keywords: Statistics
Access information
Accessible from the university network (by VPN)
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PreLex
Database description
PreLex, the database of interinstitutional procedures, allows you to follow the various stages of the Community legislative process between the Commission and the legislative bodies (the Council and Parliament) or other institutions. They will be informed about the status of the procedure, the decisions taken by the institutions, the names of the persons and the services responsible. You will also be given bibliographical information and an insight into the work of the various institutions (European Parliament, Council, Economic and Social Committee, Committee of the Regions, European Central Bank, Court of Justice, etc.).
Keywords: European Union
Access information
freely accessible on the web (personal registration may be required)
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SHARE
Database description
Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe
SHARE contains data on the health, social and economic status and social and family ties of people over the age of 50, collected in 2004 in eleven European countries (Denmark, Sweden, Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Greece). Other data come from Israel (2005/06) and Ireland, Poland and the Czech Republic (2006/07)
Keywords: Statistics
Access information
freely accessible on the web (personal registration may be required)
Statista
Database description
Statista is a statistics portal that bundles statistical data from various institutes and sources. The database offers:
- Statistics on over 80,000 topics from more than 18,000 different sources
- Sector information from agriculture to administration and social affairs
- Company information with key figures of over 1000 companies
- Information graphics on current topics
Premium content is decision-relevant data whose research and preparation is time-consuming. The main sources of these figures and data are studies and results from current market research.
For each statistic, the available metadata such as source, publication date, number of respondents, etc. are published and thus make the information verifiable for statistics. Data sets are prepared according to scientific criteria.
Keywords: Company Info and Financial Statements , Statistics
Access information
Accessible from the university network (by VPN)
SOEP
Database description
The Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) is a representative repeat survey that has been running for 30 years. On behalf of the DIW Berlin, TNS Infratest Social Research is currently interviewing around 30,000 respondents in almost 11,000 households in Germany each year. The data provide information on income, employment, education and health. Because the same people are interviewed every year, long-term social and societal trends can be tracked particularly well.
Keywords: Germany
Access information
Access is granted only to owners of a data transfer contract or registered SOEP data users.
After the conclusion of a data transfer agreement with DIW Berlin, applicants receive the SOEP data record via a secure personal download link.
Please contact the SOEP-hotline if you have any questions.
If you would like to apply for access to SOEP data, you are also welcome to contact us in advance.
Contact
Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder
Database description
Federal and state statistical offices
The statistics portal provides central access to basic statistical information from the 16 Statistical Länder Offices and the Federal Statistical Office and enables a cross-country comparison of this information. The information offered consists of a large number of retrievable data tables with information about the Federal Republic of Germany and all federal states (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia)
Keywords: Statistics , Germany
Access information
freely accessible on the web (personal registration may be required)
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WRDS (Wharton Research Data Services)
Database description
Wharton Research Data Service (WRDS) is a web-based retrieval tool of Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. WRDS provides a business intelligence, data analytics, and research platform to global institutions enabling comprehensive thought leadership, historical analysis, and insight into the latest innovations in academic research. Search, combine and save information from various databases and different data providers via a singular search interface or use your own software to connect with the database.
See list of data providers
WRDS consists of two different kinds of databases:
- 1. Databases that are included automatically when subscribing to WRDS (included datasets & analytics): Bank Regulatory, Blockholders, CBOE, DMEF, Dow Jones, Fama French, FDIC, Federal Reserve Bank Reports, IRI, OTC Markets, Penn Wold Tables, Philadelphia Stock Exchange, SEC Disclosure of Order Execution, TRACE.
- 2. Databases that can be included in WRDS search with a separate license with the data providers (additional datasets & analytics), e.g. Amadeus/Orbis, Audit + Compliance, COMPUSTAT, CRSP, Eventus, I/B/E/S, MFLinks, Ownership, Worldscope.
Keywords: Banks , Bonds and fixed Income , Company Info and Financial Statements , Currency Exchange Rates , Derivatives / Options , Indices and Factors , Stock Prices / Markets , Statistics , Economy
Access information
How do I get access into WRDS?
To apply for WRDS access, you must meet the following requirements:
- You are a member (student or employee) of the WiSo faculty.
- You have a valid Uni-Köln identifier (Uni-KIM).
1. Faculty internal application procedure
The following groups of people can apply for a WRDS account:
Group | Account-Type | Registration form |
Professors, Assistant Professor | Faculty-Account | Download Form (Science) |
Scientific staff, PhD student | PhD-Account | Download Form (Science) |
Student assistants | Research Assistant-Account | Download Form (Student) |
Master students | Masters-Account | Download Form (Student) |
Please fill out the appropriate registration form digitally, sign it (for student accounts, the signature of the supervising person is also absolutely necessary) and send it to Ingrid Mauer (mauer@wiso.uni-koeln.de).
Following this, you can create a personal account at WRDS as described below.
2. Personal registration on the WRDS platform
a. Open in the web browser: https://wrds-www.wharton.upenn.edu/register/
b. Fill out the online form and select "University of Cologne" in the subscriber field and select your appropriate account type in the User Type field.
c. After registration, an email will be sent to the WRDS administrators who will then verify WiSo faculty affiliation..
d. Once approved by the WRDS administrators, your personal WRDS account will be created and you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to proceed.
3. Important notice
If you already have a WRDS account - active or recently inactive - do not request another WRDS account. Use the account-transfer-form to automatically transfer the account or contact the WRDS Support.
Further information
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Information
Please always mind the corresponding terms and conditions of use and license.
The general rule applies to publishing house offers subject to licensing:
Employees and students of the University of Cologne are allowed to access the full texts. Library users who are not members of the university can only use the media subject to licensing in the library rooms. Database contents as well as full texts of articles and e-book chapters may only be printed or stored for personal use and research purposes. Articles may not be passed on to third parties either electronically or in printed form. Systematic downloading of journal articles (e. g. all articles from a journal issue) or database contents, in particular also by robots, is contrary to licensing law and is prohibited. In the case of extensive downloads, access may be blocked by the provider not only for its own IP, but also for the entire IP area of the university.
Do you need further Information? Please do not hesitate to contact us.