Data Project #1

Brief Description

Students collect trade data on a given topic (Export of Educational Service by Canada), organize and

summarize the data, and draw conclusions.

Detailed instructions

 Collect data.

Detailed steps can be followed in the video clip in this folder. Watching the clip is highly

recommended. I also explained the dataset in the clip, which may help you understand the data

you are using better.

1. Go to comtrade.un.org/data/.

2. Make the following choices and click to download CSV file. (You may later want to download

more data based on your questions.)

3. You can follow the steps in the video clip to clean the data.

4. You can also take a quick look at page 4-5 in the reference file from Statistics Canada.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/statistical-programs/document/1536_D2_T9_V1-eng.pdf

 Organize and illustrate the data. (Please see the general instruction file.)

 Submission (Please see the general instruction file.)

 Grading (Please see the general instruction file.)

List of Potential Research Questions

1. (This is a question that does not need data illustration. Every team must complete this question.

Make sure every team member knows about the answer.) Please use your own words to explain

some background information on the topic. (The answer is in the reference file.)

a. What is export of education-related expenditure?

b. How is it measured?

2. What are the patterns in Canadian Export of “Education-related expenditure”?

3. Have the patterns in Canadian Export of “Education-related expenditure” changed over time? If

yes, what are the major changes?

4. What are the common/different points between the changes in the patterns in Canadian export of

“education-related expenditure” and the changes in the patters in other Canadian service export?

5. (1-3, but change from “Canadian export to the world” to “Canadian export to the USA”. This

counts as three questions.)

6. How important is the USA as a trade partner to Canada in this category?

7. What are the common/different points between the (changes of) the patterns in Canadian export

of “education-related expenditure” to the world and that to the USA.

Hint: As you can see, you can always start from the pattern of one product one partner one year, and

then gradually extend to any (combination) of 1) comparison with other products; 2) comparison with

other partners; and 3) the trend across time.