Statistical Universe (Lexis-Nexis)

Contents & Access | Searching | Display | Exporting Results | Further Assistance

Contents and Access

What does this database contain?
Statistical Universe indexes and abstracts statistical publications produced by more than 200 U.S. Federal Government agencies, private and state government agencies, and international intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations. Equivalent to the print American Statistics Index (ASI), Statistical Abstract of the United States, Statistical Reference Index (SRI), and Index to International Statistics (IIS). Updated monthly. Provides full text and/or microfiche access to statistical reports and tables on national income and production statistics, trade data, economic, social and demographic statistics, crime, agriculture, and much more.

Where do I access this database?
Through the UTSA Library web page (http://www.lib.utsa.edu) under Databases & Article Searching > A - Z

Available off-campus?
Yes, to UTSA faculty, staff and currently enrolled students.

Full Text of articles available online?
Some full text/full image content, including tables, graphs and spreadsheets, from 1995 to present available online. Be aware that even though the list may say that full text is available, UTSA only subscribes to the base package and only those documents will be linked. ASI, IIS and SRI documents are available on microfiche in the Reference Room (John Peace Library, Main Campus) using the ASI (1974-current), IIS (1983-current) or SRI (1994-current) number on each record. Some records also provide Internet links to government web sites when full text is available there. Check UCAT to see if UTSA Library owns a print or microfilm copy of the book or document.

Language of documents?
All materials indexed are in English.

List of publications included in this database?
Currently contains Statistical Abstract of the United States, American Statistics Index, Statistical Reference Index (SRI), and Index to International Statistics (IIS). Click "Help" > "About" > "Sources Covered" for list of publications included in the Research version.

Searching

Is there an online thesaurus or subject list?
Yes. Use of the online "Subject List" is essential to a successful search. Click on "Subject List" link next to each search box in "Power Table" and "Abstracts" search screens to access the thesaurus or subject list. Type in a few words of the term you are looking for to see a list of subject terms, along with narrower, broader and related terms. You may have to try several synonyms to get the term you need. Check off the box next to the desired term and click "paste to search" to add to your search statement. Additional pastes will be added as an "or" but can be changed to "and." Searches in Statistical Universe use the controlled vocabulary of the American Statistics Index. Free text (keyword) searching is also available but may be less successful.

Basic search options?

For known items:

Title (exact title or part of title)
Author (of publication or document)
Attachment titles (titles of full text attachments: graphs/tables)
Number (ASI, IIS, SRI, LC card, SuDoc, or Monthly Catalog)
Publisher (by name of government agency)

For subject searching:

Subject (free text or choose words from
online Subject List)
By Category (use check boxes for data by category; e.g., by sex, by race, by state etc.) and combine with keywords or words from Subject List.

For basic search terms use pull down menu to limit to:

and (will narrow your search)
or (will broaden your search)
and not (will eliminate records with term)

w/s (within the same sentence)
w/p (within the same paragraph)

How do I limit by Date?
Use the pull-down menu from any of the search screens to select a predefined date range or enter your own custom date range.

Truncation?
Use the Exclamation Mark (!) to automatically retrieve most plural and possessive forms of words. The Asterisk (*) serves as a placeholder for a character within a word and it is possible to use more than one asterisk in a word.

Examples: child! Retrieves child's, children, children's and any word beginning with child (childbearing, childless, or childhood)
child*** retrieves children, children's or childish
wom*n retrieves woman, woman's, women, and women's

Display

How do I display my search results?
"Document List" lists relevant hits. Choose the "Table View" tab to see the individual table described. Click on "More info..." link next to document title in this view to find links to other tables from the same document and link to a PDF file of entire document (may be very long and further down in list.) Click on "Internet" link to go to government agency web site where the document may also be available full text. May be available full text on government web site even when there isn't a link. Documents will also be available on ASI, IIS or SRI microfiche collection.

How do I sort my search results?
The default sort order for documents in Abstracts is reverse chronological order. You can also sort by relevance.

How do I display the full text or full image of the document?
Look for active (underlined) links on the complete document record to determine if full test or full image is available online. Full text may be available in several formats:

PDF - Best option for printing. Tables and charts in PDF identical to print version. In the full text of the document, look for the contents column down the left side of the document to easily navigate within long documents. Links to tables are inserted in the text. To print, note page numbers you wish to print on bottom display and enter just the page numbers you wish to print. You can also use the select feature to copy an area of a page to the clipboard and then use the print icon to print just that portion. It will be sized to your page.

GIF Image (image format) Gif images can be saved to a floppy using your right hand mouse button. Printing may need to change to "Landscape" view. A better option for printing is the Text or PDF options. GIF images can also be opened in a Word file at one of the computer labs. Save the GIF image to a disc, then choose Insert > Picture > From File The GIF file opened in a Word Document will be automatically sized to the size of the sheet.

Excel Spreadsheet and Comma-Delimited Format files (manipulable data) Some tables are available in spreadsheet formats. Links to files labeled XLS are in Excel spreadsheet format and links labeled CSV are in comma-delimited format which can be read by any spreadsheet program. These files cannot be accessed on Reference Room computers but can be accessed and downloaded at one of the computer labs.

Internet When links are given in the record to government web sites, this indicates that the full text of the document is available on that site. Link will not take you directly to the document but can usually be found easily. It's also possible to search the title in Google or another search engine to see if full text is available.

Microfiche The complete document of all ASI and IIS and SRI items in Statistical Universe are found on microfiche in the Reference Room (John Peace Library, Main Campus) using the ASI or IIS or SRI number on each record. You can print from the microfiche.

Printing, Downloading, E-mailing

How do I print my citations?
From the file menu choose print...or, click on the print button. Or use the print /save button on the navigation bar to select the citations for printing or saving through your browser.
For printing full text images (PDF, GIF, Excel etc.), see above format descriptions

Can I download or save the list?
From the file menu choose save as...select where to save the file (if you are using a public workstation, type a:\myfile.txt and save as a text document not as HTML). Or use the print /save button on the navigation bar to select the citations for printing or saving through your browser. For a gif file, click your right hand mouse button, choose "save image as" and type a:\filename

Can I e-mail search results/documents to myself?
Results lists and text files can be e-mailed. Select from the current search results and e-mail to the address you choose. Simply click the e-mail button on the navigation bar and fill in the requested information.

Help

Where do I go for more help?
Check search tips at the bottom of each search page. Click on "Help" or "How Do I?" at top of screen for more detailed instructions. Or ask at the Reference Desk for assistance: (210) 458-4573 (Main Campus) or (210) 458-2440 (Downtown Library). A detailed, 28 page PDF instruction booklet is available for printing free through the CIS web site at: http://www.lexisnexis.com/academic/1univ/stat/StatUUserGuide.pdf

What other databases/indexes would give me more information like this?
Electronic: StatUSA; Current Index to Statistics
Print: Statistical Abstract of the United States (Ref Desk HA202 .B8) (Main Campus & Downtown Library)
Print Index with microfilm: American Statistics Index (JPL Ref HA214 .A46); Index to International Statistics (IIS) (JPL Ref Z7552 .I53); Statistical Reference Index (SRI)(JPL Ref Z7554.U5 S79)
Internet: See Country Statistics Subject Guide; Statistical Resources on the Web

7/01/04 rlw