1003.0 - LEP Newsletter (Issue No. 51), Feb 2005  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 01/03/2005   
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Training news...

Rendezvous with researchers
'Counting on the ABS: Making the most of statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics' - was the title of a workshop run for researchers from Canberra's universities in January.

Kim Farley-Larmour, National Manager, Library Extension Program, and Pat Stracey, ACT Coordinator, Library Extension Program, showed the group of enthusiastic researchers some of the myriad paths to ABS information which could be useful in their research work. The spotlight was turned on the ABS web site, focusing on navigation, search tips and useful links. AusStats yielded its wealth of information as the wide range of material was sampled - from publications to data cubes. And participants were introduced to SuperTABLE, useful software used to manipulate data to produce tailored tables.

Carolyn Kennedy, Assistant Director, CURF/RADL Management Unit, and Donna Goodman, Client Manager, CURF/RADL Management Unit, introduced researchers to a statistical goldmine - CURFs (Confidentialised Unit Record Files).

Finally, students explored the ABS web site themselves during a hands-on session, using exercises (and answers!) provided.

Question: What do you get when you bring enthusiastic researchers and supportive ABS staff together?
Answer: In the words of a workshop participant: "I wish I'd done a course like this when I was researching for my Masters degree!"