Statistical WarehouseTM is a true data warehouse. In the following paragraphs, we discuss the meaning of this term and its implications for statistical reference.
A data warehouse has two defining features (see
Minnesota State Archives):
| The data is stored in a relational database, and |
| it has an associated query tool. |
These important features are what distinguish Statistical WarehouseTM from other statistical data providers. Because the information in Statistical WarehouseTM is stored in a relational database, every data element can be addressed individually. This allows for reports to contain as few as a single data element, or many --- in a single subject category, or drawn from several --- for a single year, or for many years --- about a single location, or for many locations --- listed alphabetically, or ranked --- etc. The fact that the information is stored in a bona fide database provides opportunities for data retrieval and data display that are unavailable from a simple data collection.
The query tool is what makes the warehouse useful. Rather than providing answers in preformatted tables, our query tool assists users to formulate specific questions, and then answers those specific questions. If a user wants data for three states in two years, that's what he or she gets … nothing more … and nothing less.
The query tool embodied in Statistical WarehouseTM is a true breakthrough because it allows non-technical users to ask very demanding questions of highly technical databases, and get answers within seconds.
For example, a question like "What is the fastest growing city in the United States," which would formerly be a significant research project, can be answered rapidly using
Statistical WarehouseTM. Along with the answer to this question, users are shown the next 99 in rank.
(Watch a video of this example.)Statistical WarehouseTM can also answer simple questions like "What was the unemployment rate last month?"
Users can combine information from completely different databases in the same report. For example, a user who wanted to compare wage rates and crime rates in two metropolitan areas could do so in a single report.
Information in a data warehouse can be updated continuously. Annual, quarterly or monthly data is added to Statistical WarehouseTM as it is released, and simply "appears" in data reports when requested. When " Save Your Search " is activated (February, 2006), users will be able to retrieve updated information from a previously constructed search without modifying their search criteria.
Data warehousing is an important technology for statistical reference. Statistical WarehouseTM takes full advantage of this technology, and provides reference librarians and their patrons with many powerful advantages.