Passport Economic Criteria--Using the Search Tree

Hi! This tutorial will show you how to use the Passport Search Tree feature to research the market for economic factors in a specific country.

Use the arrows below to navigate through this tutorial. You can also use the "contents" box at the top of this rectangle to navigate among different parts of the tutorial.

What is Passport?

Passport is a database with information on industries, countries, and consumers.

Before searching Passport, it’s helpful to remember the following:

• Passport is a British product, so it uses the Queen’s English. For example, cookies are “biscuits."

• Financial data are displayed in a country’s home currency. You will need to convert currencies to U.S. dollars ($) to compare countries with different currencies.

• The amount and type of information available differs from report to report. You may find a very useful table for one country/industry, but it may be unavailable for another.

Accessing Passport

Are you on-campus right now? If so, you should be able to see the Passport Terms and Conditions page on the right side of this screen.

If you're viewing this tutorial off campus, you may see a screen asking for your Butler ID and password. Enter this information now to access Passport.

Scroll to the bottom of the database page on the screen to the right, and accept Passport's terms and conditions, which will bring you to the Passport home page.

Using the Tree

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Let's say that you've been asked to compare inflation and money supply in China and India.

There are 2 main ways to search Passport for this information:

• Keyword search (not covered in this tutorial)
• Search Full Tree (focus of this tutorial)

If you wanted to use the keyword search, you would enter search terms in the upper right corner of the screen. Passport would then return results that contain the keywords you entered.

This tutorial will focus on building a custom search using specific criteria. You'll do this with Passport's Search Full Tree option.

Using the Tree

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You should still be looking at the Passport Home screen, where you will see a menu ribbon at the top.  Go to this menu, and click on "Search."

You should now see a page with two boxes:  "Search Full Tree," and "Browse Tree."

The Search Full Tree interface will allow you to "dig" deeply into the various topics and subtopics that Passport covers. This is a great starting place if you have a well-defined research question. 

The Browse Tree interface has the same topics and data as the Search Full tree option but presents topics in a more 'spread-out' manner for easier browsing of the various topics covered in Passport.

Using the Tree

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Let's start building your search. Remember, you're comparing inflation and money supply in India and China.

Because we have a clearly defined research question, we're going to use Search Full Tree. 

Make sure 'CATEGORIES AND TOPICS' is selected in the interface: 

Now click 'GO'

Locating Economic Criteria in the Category Tree

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You should now be looking at the Search Full Tree interface.

The two biggest "branches" of the Tree are Industries and Economy and Consumer Topics. All topics contained in Passport will exist under one of these two parent headings.

In the Search Full Tree interface, you can click on the minus(-) sign located next to the Industries heading to minimize all of the industry topics, leaving only Economic and Consumer Topics:

When using Passport, it is beneficial to think strategically about whether you are looking for either Industry information or Economic and Consumer information.

Locating Economic Criteria in the Category Tree

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At the top of the Tree is a search box, which you can use to more easily narrow down to specific topics in the tree. 

In the search box, type a term that describes the first economic factor we're researching: inflation. After you type inflation, click the magnifying glass icon, which is the search button.

This should reveal the category Inflation.  Now check the box next to Inflation under Economy and Finance.  Your screen should look like this:

Locating Economic Criteria in the Category Tree

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Once you've checked the Inflation box, notice that Inflation appears in the gray box on the top of the interface. This area will keep track of all of the topics you have selected. 

Locating Economic Criteria in the Category Tree

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Now you're ready to add money supply to your search. Go to the search box on the top of the screen and click 'CLEAR' next to magnifying glass icon. This will reset the interface. 

In the search box, now type money supply and click the magnifying class icon.

This should reveal the category Money Supply, under Economic and Consumer Topics --> Economy, Finance, and Trade.

Check the box next to Money Supply.  You should now see Money Supply added to the gray box at the top of the interface: 

 

Now that you've selected both economic factors for comparison, you're ready to tell Passport which countries you want to examine.

Selecting Geographies

Click the Geographies button located on top of the gray box at the top of the interface. 

Find India and China, and check the boxes next to each to add them to your search. Notice that you now have both countries in the Geographies tab at the top of the interface.

Viewing Data

1 of 3Congratulations! You've built a search and now you can view the available data.

Click the blue SEARCH button at the top of the screen.

You now should see a list of all of the available information available on your topic(s) in Passport. 

Viewing Data

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In Passport, there are two broad information types: Statistics and Analyses. Available statistics are found in the left column of the screen and analyses are listed in the right column. 

You are now able to click on any analysis or statistical report on your topic. You also have the ability to modify your search terms by clicking the 'MODIFY SEARCH' button. This will enable you to add or delete criteria by repeating the process described earlier in this tutorial.

Let's now take a look at a statistical report on our topic.  

Viewing Data

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Click on the statistical report titled 'Economies and Consumers Annual Data.' 

You should now be looking at a statistics table for the categories and countries you selected.  Note the following:

You can filter the results in each column, much like you would in an Excel spreadsheet.

The default view of the table provides information for six years; you can change the years for more historical or projected data.

At the top of the table, you also have the option to convert data; for example, you could convert the numbers for other currencies.

More Features

The default view of the table shows annual figures, but you can change to quarterly or monthly figures, if they are available.

There are also icons on the top right of the screen that allow you to print, save, and export data.  They look something like this:

For further assistance...

Passport is a powerful database, and this tutorial has just introduced you to its basic search features.

If you need further assistance with Passport or other business resources, please contact your Butler Business Librarian or visit the library’s website.

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